National Museum of the American Indian Museum
Opening, Washington, DC, 2004
& Potawatomi

by Gary E. Mitchell

On September 21, 2004, well over 60 Prairie Band Potawatomi took part in the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. Most of the Potawatomi rode a chartered bus to the nation’s capital. The 2,000 mile round-trip was long, but enjoyable, if a person likes to read or watch videos or just to rest.

The trip wound through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and we passed by old Civil War battlefields, into Washington, D.C. on the way there. And back we traveled through West Virginia, the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky and Missouri. Both were very scenic routes.

Some of the land resembled Eastern Kansas, such as the many cornfields, until the bus got into the Pennsylvania area where it seemed like it turned into a gigantic forest. The towns and highways seemed like they were carved out of the woods and were a testimony to man trying to conquer Mother Nature.

News reports said there were over 20,000 Indians in the parade. Most of the Indians dressed in their traditional clothing. The Potawatomi women wore Indian dresses in our unique style, and the men wore Indian shirts, vests and beaded medallions. Our veterans’ group, We Ta Se, and the tribal council led the Potawatomi through the long parade. They all looked great and represented our tribe well.

It was interesting to see so many people lined up to watch the parade; many were taking pictures of the Indians in the parade. Some people asked our group if they knew how to talk English, which we thought was funny.

The museum is four stories high, and it’s near impossible to see all the 800,000 objects in a two hour tour. The entire collection has over 800,000 objects collected from North, Central, and South America.

Many children were seen watching a small television screen, which told traditional tribal stories.

Some tribes were angry because they had very little represented there. Others were angry to see sacred drums and other objects displayed.

Personally, I thought there was little to represent how the Indian people lost their land, how the Indians were killed by the thousands, and how our people were treated in the removal period.

I always thought the Jewish people did it right when they built their museum. They displayed all the atrocities because they didn’t want the same thing to happen to their children and grandchildren. It’s early in the museum’s development, and in time the whole story will be told at that level.

After the parade and tour of the museum, we were able to attend a concert headlined by Buffy St. Marie, an outstanding singer, who has aged gracefully. The emcee, Charlie Hill, is a truly funny comedian. One of his messages to the large crowd was that casino tribes should hire Indian performers like they saw on this night. I guess that was a plug for Indian preference in the music and entertainment business.

The next day, many of the Potawatomis went on tours to see the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and all of the veterans’ memorials. One amazing fact about D.C. is the extreme poverty and the large amount of homeless people living there. Some were seen eating out of trash cans and sleeping on park benches—all of that in a city of such power and riches.

It makes you wonder what the politicians think when they ride by in their limousines and fly by in their helicopters.

On the last night there was an outstanding performance called “Spirit—the Seventh Fire.” This was performed by an all-Indian cast, and it involved pow-wow singing, dancing and acting. They had their own tent that included the stage and seating. The sound and special effects were outstanding parts of the performance. Douglas Schofield, who is married to tribal member Josette Wahwasuck, performs in the troupe.

It was well worth the time to ride the bus, get lost on the subway twice, do all that walking, participate in the parade, see the Spirit performance and see some of the nation’s capital, but above all, it meant a lot to be part of such a grand event.