Smithsonian institution national museum of the american indian

Bask in every aspect of the Native American experience at this free Smithsonian landmark.

The National Museum of the American Indian has officially reopened and will return to a seven days a week schedule beginning May 30, 2022. For more information regarding hours and safety protocols, visit the museum's website.

What is the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and where is it?

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is located on Independence Avenue SW on the National Mall. The museum boasts one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native American objects, photographs, artifacts and media. The NMAI is dedicated to bringing Native voices to life throughout its contemplative exhibitions and colorful activities.

The easiest way to get there is via public transportation. If traveling by Metrorail, get off at the L’Enfant Plaza stop on the Blue, Orange, Silver, Green and Yellow lines and use the Maryland Avenue/Smithsonian Museums exit. If traveling by bus, take the DC Circulator’s National Mall route or the 30, 32, 34 or 36 Metrobus lines.

What’s inside the National Museum of the American Indian?

The NMAI provides its first “wow!” moment before you even walk in the door. The building (designed entirely by Native architects) is one of DC’s most visually striking, with its curvilinear structure and limestone material designed to resemble rock formations affected by wind and water over thousands of years.

Visitors at Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall - Free Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC

The museum's collections represent more than 12,000 years of history across 1,200-plus indigenous cultures from the Americas. These objects range from the aesthetic to the religious to the historical, helping to form a comprehensive catalogue of Native American culture.

Ongoing exhibitions at the museum include Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake, which allows you to meet the Native peoples of the Chesapeake Bay through maps, ceremonial objects, photographs and interactive displays. These details can help you have a deeper understanding of just how prevalent Native Americans were, and are, to the areas surrounding DC.

The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire takes you back to earlier Andean cultures to explore the foundations of the Inka Road. You will learn of technologies that made the road possible, the politics and cosmology of the Inka world and the legacy that the Inka Empire left, from the colonial period to today. Of course, the museum regularly features new exhibits, so check to see what’s on display before you go.

NMAI is not currently offering its usual slate of in-person programs, but you can enjoy virtual entertainment such as the Native Cinema Showcase, as well as conversations with various authors.

Mission
In partnership with Native peoples and their allies, the National Museum of the American Indian fosters a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples.

Vision
Equity and social justice for the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere through education, inspiration, and empowerment.

About the Museum
A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The museum cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.

The National Museum of the American Indian operates three facilities. The museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., offers exhibition galleries and spaces for performances, lectures and symposia, research, and education. The George Gustav Heye Center in New York City houses exhibitions, research, educational activities, and performing arts programs. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland, houses the museum's collections as well as the conservation, repatriation, and digital imaging programs, and research facilities. The museum's off-site outreach efforts, often referred to as the "fourth museum," include websites, traveling exhibitions, and community programs.

Since the passage of its enabling legislation in 1989 (amended in 1996), the National Museum of the American Indian has been steadfastly committed to bringing Native voices to what the museum writes and presents, whether on-site at its venues, through the museum's publications, or via the Internet. The museum is also dedicated to acting as a resource for the hemisphere's Native communities and to serving the greater public as an honest and thoughtful conduit to Native cultures—present and past—in all their richness, depth, and diversity.

5 stories

185 items

Does the Smithsonian have a Native American museum?

How long does it take to go through the American Indian museum?

Is National museum of American Indian free?

Where can I take Native American artifacts?