Geared toward grades 5-9
Duration 90 minutes

Click the Video button to watch an inline video or the Project button for double size video suitable for projection in the classroom.

Welcome to the Electronic Field Trip "Sharing Perspectives at the National Museum of the American Indian." This Electronic Field Trip introduces you and your students to the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and it introduces the three main themes of the museum:

The Museum is a Native Place

This concept is represented through Our Universes and an explanation of the Native peoples' relationship with the world and their sense of place by looking at the stars, the seasons, and the symbolism within the National Museum of the American Indian.

Native People: We Are Still Here

This concept is illustrated by looking at the moment of contact when everything in the world changed: 1491, as well as the traditions of daily lives that have continued from then into modern day and the oral traditions used to convey the culture of the Native peoples.

Representing Diverse Communities

To understand this concept, take a broad look at a sampling of the communities that are self-curated at the National Museum of the American Indian. You'll be able to see the diversity of the cultures that still exists today.