9/21/2007 - Reflections on the Native American Museum

Janelle Esposito

Anna, Mrs. Le, Dr. Redick and his family and I all went to the Native American Museum today, in Washington, DC. Walking around the museum, experiencing some of the artifacts, clothing, stories, and sayings of different Native tribes had a strong effect on me. It struck me how simply, beautifully and gratefully they live, but still were considered “savage” by the Europeans who have nearly diminished their culture. I saw a painting of a native- sitting stoic in his vibrant colors and leather, rugged dress, juxtaposed to an adjacent painting of staunch looking white man in a business suit, and I wanted the Indian’s life, not literate white culture. One thing which disturbed me was the stories of Jesuit priests who preached Christianity irrelevantly to the natives. They saw God in nature and worshipped him there but the Jesuits said God could only be worshipped in a church building- a construct of literate society. The Jesuits did not see a God that could be all around them in nature- the wilderness was devil’s territory. What I find sad is that they could have presented Christianity relevantly, if not for all the rules they added on. When bringing a message to a people, one must always first learn about their culture and attempt to integrate their lives with them, not beseeching that they get rid of traditions. Truth exists everywhere. I wonder what it would like for the Jesuits to honor their truth and bring forth their truth in relevance, not opposition. They would have built up trust instead of undermining it.

There was a few exhibits on acorns. What I found to be interesting was the Golden Acorn Casino. Many contemporary Native Americans have opened casinos to gain profit and provide jobs for those unemployed. The integration of naturalist symbols into something that is a product of Western expansion was interesting to me. In fact, many artifacts we were exposed to represented the integration of Indian tribes and and literate Western culture.

We went to the National Cathedral after our visit to the museum and I found it interesting how the two cultures seen within these buildings juxtaposed each other. It reminded me of "Black Robe" where there were contrasting shots of the wilderness and the fancy church building. Right outside the Cathedral, we engaged in the primal activity of "gathering," as we picked up as many acorns as we were able to, to gather them into bags for the class' acorn bread. We did this on the sidewalk and the street alongside a string of nice, well-built houses as people in cars drove by, looking at us gatherers very strangely. This activity tied together our experiences at the National Cathedral and the Native American Museum quite well.