National Museum of the American Indian

Today, I went to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC with a friend. We saw two exhibits in the museum one called "Our Universes" and the other one called "Our Lives." We began our visit by seeing an introductory movie about Native Americans and then we went on to seeing the two exhibits. "Our Universes" explained a little bit about each Native American tribe in the Americas. It was really interesting to see that all the tribes are different in their own way whether it is the way they dress, hunt or their philosophy. "Our Lives" talked all about contemporary Native Americans and the issues and problems they face in the modern world.

I especially found the exhibit "Our Lives" interesting. I did not realize how poor a lot of these Native American tribes are. To me, it is really sad that the Native American tribes have to fight the government to keep their lands and have lost a lot of their ancient traditions because they are unable to adapt them to the modern world. However, despite the modern day struggles Native American tribes live in reservations all across the Americas and find ways to keep their beliefs strong. I think the Native American culture is really fascinating with their strong connection to nature and I hope they continue to cling to their strong beliefs. I think living in America is all about the freedom and opportunity to practice your beliefs in your own way and I believe the Native Americans like any other culture deserves that same freedom.