American Indians in Lawrence and across the country say they are hopeful that beginning today, at long last, their history will be accurately presented.

Today marks the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. It is the 16th of the Smithsonian Institution’s museums to be erected on the National Mall.

Comrade

“I’m hoping that the displays and the museum will give more of a tribal point of view rather than an anthropologist saying ‘this is what it is,'” said Ray Farve, a Native American studies instructor at Haskell Indian Nations University. “Many times we read what anthropologists say, and many times tribal leaders say that’s not what really happened.”

The museum and the lessons it will teach should benefit American Indians and the descendants of those who later settled in this country, said Dan Wildcat, a Lawrence artist and professor of Native American studies at Haskell.

“I think native people are looking forward to having the opportunity to share their stories through the museum with an eye to the fact that until very recently most of our history has been conveyed through the lens of non-natives,” Wildcat said.

Several Haskell officials, including President Karen Swisher, are in Washington today for the grand opening of the museum. Earlier this summer Haskell sent one of its statues, “Comrade in Mourning,” to the museum for display.

The statue’s commission in 1947 by artist Allan Houser was to honor Haskell students killed in World War II. It depicts an American Indian standing with his eyes focused straight ahead. A plain shawl covers all but his neck and face, and an upside-down feathered headdress lies at his feet.

Haskell has another connection to the museum as well. The founding director of the museum, W. Richard West, is the son of the late Walter Richard West Sr., an American Indian master artist who taught art at Haskell in the 1970s and at one point was chairman of the art department, those who remember him said. West Sr. also designed the logo of the three faces on the university’s campus sign.

West Jr. is an attorney and very much an “inside-the-beltway activist,” said Wildcat, who knows him. He has been active in setting national agendas and American Indian policies, which is probably one of the reasons he was chosen for the job, Wildcat said.

The National Museum of the American Indian opens today in Washington. To celebrate, a six-day First

“I think it is going to be interesting,” Wildcat said. “He is qualified and capable.”

West Jr., a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma, has been a partner in a Washington law firm and an American Indian-owned law firm in Albuquerque. He has served as an attorney for numerous tribes and organizations.

As for the museum, it should give American Indians better control over their own history, Farve said.

“At least they have a say and a choice in the way it is presented,” he said.

Wildcat hopes the museum speaks to the fact that American Indians and their cultural traditions are still alive.

“Using a metaphor, we don’t want to be artifacts in a display case of a museum,” he said. “We’re still here. We’re still dynamic.”

Smithsonian’s American Indian museum taking shape (8-11-03)

The museum has been a project in development for many years, Wildcat and Farve said.

“It’s probably only been during the last 25 years that Indians have been listened to,” Farve said. “I think their time has come. They are putting forth ideas and effort and I think it is paying off.”