DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas:
Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.
Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.
Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show?
[Slideshow]
Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]
Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
AMIND_190327_02.JPG: George Rivera
Buffalo Dancer II
For the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, the Buffalo Dance is an enduring celebration, a prayer for the well-being of all.
AMIND_190327_08.JPG: George Rivera
Pojoaque Pueblo
Buffalo Dancer II
Case bronze, ed. 2/4
26/7920
Gift of the Pueblo of Pojoaque, George Rivera and Glenn Green Galleries
For the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, the Buffalo Dance is an enduring celebration, a prayer for the well-being of all.
AMIND_190327_17.JPG: Restoration of the Land
Four hundred years ago, the Chesapeake Bay region abounded in forests, meadows, wetlands, and croplands. The National Museum of the American Indian restores these environments and is home to more than 27,000 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants representing 145 different species.
Native peoples encouraged the growth of a variety of plants, also known as biodiversity. Ethnobotanist Donna House (Diné/Oneida) used this concept in her work to restore the museum grounds. She was also guided by the Diné (Navajo) principle of hózhó, which means "beauty and harmony coming about." The original peoples of present-day Washington, D.C., the Anacostans – for whom the Anacosta River is named – understood this land through observation of nature. Such ancient observations came together with rigorous botanical research in the re-creation of these grounds.
Translations in Virginia Algonquian, Tuscarora, Catawba, and Munsee Delaware
courtesy Dr. Blair Rudes, University of North Carolina
"We give a greeting and thanksgiving to the many supporters of our own lives – the corn, beans, squash, the winds, the sun."
-- Sotsisowah [John Mohawk (Seneca)]
Knowing This Place
We invite you to walk around the museum grounds and find panels that explain the meanings of each environment. You will learn about the many ways that Native peoples changed and were influenced by the forest, meadow, wetlands, and croplands.
AMIND_190327_18.JPG: Rick Bartow (1946-2016)
Wiyot
Oregon
We Were Always Here, 2012
Old-growth Western red cedar, Port Orford cedar, old-growth Douglas fir, oak, maple, stain, sealer
Commissioned from the artist 2011 (26/8852)
In creating these two poles from a single old-growth cedar tree, artist Rick Bartow has drawn on the patterns and symbols from his Northern California Native heritage. These include Bear's conscientious and protective role as a healer and Raven's playful and sometimes comical acts that shaped the world and human society. The pole bases' horizontal pattern references the changing tides of Oregon mudfloats and symbolizes the flow of knowledge and inheritance--in Bartow's words, "the movement down to generations or up through the generations... like little waves."
AMIND_190327_23.JPG: Rick Bartow (1946-2016)
Wiyot
Oregon
We Were Always Here, 2012
Old-growth Western red cedar, Port Orford cedar, old-growth Douglas fir, oak, maple, stain, sealer
Commissioned from the artist 2011 (26/8852)
In creating these two poles from a single old-growth cedar tree, artist Rick Bartow has drawn on the patterns and symbols from his Northern California Native heritage. These include Bear's conscientious and protective role as a healer and Raven's playful and sometimes comical acts that shaped the world and human society. The pole bases' horizontal pattern references the changing tides of Oregon mudfloats and symbolizes the flow of knowledge and inheritance--in Bartow's words, "the movement down to generations or up through the generations... like little waves."
AMIND_190525_012.JPG: Always Becoming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Always Becoming is an artwork created in 2007 by Nora Naranjo-Morse (born 1953), a Native American Potter and poet. She currently resides in Espańola, New Mexico, just north of Santa Fe and is a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo.
Description
The sculpture consists of five separate sculptures, that make up a family.
Grounded in figures from Santa Clara Pueblo oral tradition the sculptures are named:
Father
Mother
Little one
Moon Woman
Mountain Bird
The sculptures were built in-situ over the summer of 2007, Nora Naranjo-Morse worked with her niece Athena Swentzell Steen and her husband Bill Steen who are experts at building structures with natural material, and the family of Don Juan Morales (Tepehuan) from the Mexican state of Durango, as well as many volunteers including museum staff and visitors.
Being strangers at the beginning of this journey, we came from distant places with the intent to build sculptures, and in the process built a family as well.
-- Nora Naranajo-Morse, 2007
Materials
The Sculptures are made entirely of natural materials: dirt, sand, straw, clay, stone, black locust wood, bamboo, grass, and yam vines. These natural elements were selected to take on a life of their own and thus affect the sculptures over time. In this way the materials ensure the forms are 'always becoming'.
Dimensions
The five sculptures range in size from seven and a half to sixteen feet tall.
History and Location
On May 24, 2006, the National Museum of the American Indian announced that Naranjo-Morse had won its outdoor sculpture design competition. "Always Becoming" was selected unanimously from more than 55 entries submitted by Native artists from throughout the Western Hemisphere.
During the summer of 2007, on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC, Naranjo-Morse built a family of clay sculptures. The commissioned work is located on the 'Native landscape' at the museum's south entrance on Maryland Avenue S.W. near 4th Street and Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C.
A public dedication, officially opening these public works of art, took place on September 1, 2007.
The sculptures are intended to disintegrate over time, and the lives of sculptures from the initial idea through the continued process of stewardship are being documented by Filmmaker Dax Thomas (Laguna/Acoma). As the sculptures disintegrate the films of their life will form a more permanent record of their existence and are therefore an essential part of the artistic process, and the work of art itself.
Native culture and the environment served as the inspiration for the sculpture design. 'Always Becoming' will reflect themes of growth and adaptation and represent indigenous peoples' unique relationship to the environment, ... The sculpture's metaphor of home and family not only conveys a universal theme to all peoples, but also enhances the visitors' experience that they have entered a Native place when they step foot [sic] on the museum grounds.
-- Nora Naranajo-Morse, 2007
AMIND_190525_033.JPG: Tobacco
When Columbus and his crew encountered Native peoples inhaling smoke from burning tobacco leaves, the plant had long been considered sacred in the Americas. Today, Native peoples use tobacco in ceremonies and for healing -- traditional uses involve offering tobacco and its smoke to carry prayers or offer protection.
Tobacco was the first plant exported to a worldwide market from the Americas, beginning in the mid-1500s. Once the large leaves are harvested, tobacco is dried -- then smoked, chewed, powdered, or wrapped into cornhusks and bundles for use in ceremony or to give as gifts.
Did you know that tobacco has been grown by Native peoples for more than 5,000 years? The Taino peoples of the Caribbean first called the plant tabacu'.
AMIND_190525_045.JPG: Wetlands
These diverse wetlands--and the ducks, squirrels, and dragonflies that make their home here--represent the original Chesapeake Bay environment, the largest estuary in North America. Chesapeake means "Great Shellfish Bay" in the Algonquian language.
Living on the Water
Before European settlement, the local environment looked very different. Because erosion was not so extensive, Chesapeake waterways were clearer and deeper, and dolphins frequently swam along the shores.
During the winter, Native communities harvested the roots of cattails and yellow marsh marigolds for food. Cypress trees--like the fallen one in the middle of the wetlands--were prized for making dugout canoes. Native peoples used reeds to weave mats and fish nets. They roasted oysters to provide food through the seasons.
AMIND_190525_059.JPG: In gratitude for the life and service of U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye
September 7, 1924 - December 17, 2012
Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian
AMIND_190528_31.JPG: Lunar Calendars
The circles and moon phases marked on the pavement refer to a phenomenon known as lunar standstills. Lunar standstills occur every 18.6 years when the moon reaches a northern extreme at summer solstice and a southern extreme at winter solstice. This also occurs with the sun, twice a year around each solstice date. When the sun and moon reach these points, they appear to stand still in the sky.
These moon phases represent circular markings found in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon and honor the ancient cultures that lived there and observed lunar cycles.
AMIND_190707_001.JPG: Strawberries * Maskihkiwiminar
One of the most popular fruits around the world, the strawberry is an excellent source of antioxidants such as Vitamin C.
Native peoples greatly value the sweet fruit and have many stories of how it came to be. Tribes such as the Haudenosaunee and Cherokee crushed the fruit and mixed it with cornmeal to make cakes, boiled it to make jam, and ate it raw as food and to treat stomachaches.
Did you know that the strawberry is a member of the rose family?
AMIND_190707_014.JPG: Cardinal Direction Markers
Native peoples honor the Four Directions through ceremony, song, art, and architecture. On the edges of the museum site, four large stones known as Cardinal Direction Markers honor Native cultures of the north, south, east, and west. Can you find them all?
The markers were selected by Native communities within Canada, Chile, Maryland and Hawai'i. The oldest is four billion years old, and the youngest is 300 years old. All were given a ceremonial blessing before and after their arrival at the museum. A piece of Kasota limestone, the stone used to build the museum, was given to each community in a symbolic exchange.
AMIND_190707_017.JPG: George Rivera
Buffalo Dancer II
For the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, the Buffalo Dance is an enduring celebration, a prayer for the well-being of all.
AMIND_190707_035.JPG: Bald Cypress • Ártu (ar-too)
In the middle of the wetlands, you can see the entire life cycle of the unusual bald cypress tree. A fallen cypress was placed in the wetlands to evoke an authentic wetlands environment--and a young cypress has begun to grow out of the stump of the fallen tree.
Often covered with Spanish moss, the bald cypress can only be found in shallow marshlands. The Choctaw used the tree's bark to make cordage, and local communities such as the Piscataway favored the tree for canoe and paddle making.
Did you know that this tree is called a "bald" cypress because it loses its leaves in the winter?
AMIND_190707_038.JPG: Broadleaf Cattail • Káhkáhaskwar (kaw-kaw-has-quar)
Nearly every Native community in North America has used the cattail as food, medicine, or raw material for baskets and mats. The cattail contains ten times the amount of starch as potatoes--an important source of energy.
The Micmac and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), among many other tribes, made cordage or thick ropes, from twisted strands of cattail leaves. The cordage was used to make strong, weatherproof mats for house or floor coverings, as well as toys, dolls, and duck decoys.
Did you know that the "fluff" on a cattail is really its seeds? The soft fluff was often used by Native peoples to pad moccasins, bedding, and baby cradleboards.
AMIND_190707_051.JPG: Wetlands
These diverse wetlands--and the ducks, squirrels, and dragonflies that make their home here--represent the original Chesapeake Bay environment, the largest estuary in North America. Chesapeake means "Great Shellfish Bay" in the Algonquian language.
Living on the Water
Before European settlement, the local environment looked very different. Because erosion was not so extensive, Chesapeake waterways were clearer and deeper, and dolphins frequently swam along the shores.
During the winter, Native communities harvested the roots of cattails and yellow marsh marigolds for food. Cypress trees--like the fallen one in the middle of the wetlands--were prized for making dugout canoes. Native peoples used reeds to weave mats and fish nets. They roasted oysters to provide food through the seasons.
AMIND_190707_061.JPG: Swamp Milkweed * Wihsakan
Distinguished by its scarlet, hourglass-shaped flowers and white sap, the swamp milkweed is a beautiful wetlands plant. The Menominee harvested the plant "heads" when in full bloom and added them to soup, or stored them for winter use. The Sac and Fox used swamp milkweed root in a strengthening bath, and the plant fibers for making twine, fishnets, and straps.
AMIND_190707_090.JPG: Upland Hardwood Forest
You are standing next to an upland hardwood forest--a group of shrubs and more than 30 species of trees--that reflects the dense forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains and other local sites.
The Forests' Bounty
The Nanticoke and other communities relied upon forest plants for food and medicine. Now the most widely used drug in the world, aspirin was created from the inner bark of the willow tree--a painkiller often used by Native peoples, who boiled or powdered the bark.
Native peoples discovered medicinal plants in many ways, including the observation of animals. By recognizing how bears interacted with certain plants, for example, Native peoples learned to treat human illnesses.
AMIND_190707_098.JPG: Sassafras * Winahk
For centuries, Native peoples have used the bark, roots, and leaves of the sassafras tree as medicine and flavoring in foot and beverages.
As Native peoples taught settlers how to harvest and use sassafras, demand grew quickly. In the 1700s, it became one of the largest exports to England, second only to tobacco. The Shawnee continue to harvest sassafras today, drinking tea made from the root bark to remove impurities from the blood.
Did you know that sassafras root is used as a flavoring in one of the most popular soft drinks, root beer?
AMIND_190707_108.JPG: Shhhh, quiet please! Listen.
Can you hear the echo of the water bouncing off the rock?
Stand in front of this boulder, and listen to the echo of the water. This stone surface amplifies sound, just like ancient Mayan ball courts. In the Chichen Itza ball court in Mexico, a whisper can be heard clearly from 500 feet away.
AMIND_190707_111.JPG: Wingapo
Restoration of the Land
Four hundred years ago, the Chesapeake Bay region abounded in forests, meadows, wetlands, and croplands. The National Museum of the American Indian restores these environments and is home to more than 27,000 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants representing 145 different species.
Native peoples encouraged the growth of a variety of plants, also known as biodiversity. Ethnobotanist Donna House (Diné/Oneida) used this concept in her work to restore the museum grounds. She was also guided by the Diné (Navajo) principle of hózhó, which means "beauty and harmony coming about." The original peoples of present-day Washington, D.C., the Anacostans – for whom the Anacostia River is named – understood this land through observation of nature. Such ancient observations came together with rigorous botanical research in the re-creation of these grounds.
"We give a greeting and thanksgiving to the many supporters of our own lives – the corn, beans, squash, the winds, the sun."
- Sotsisowah [John Mohawk (Seneca)]
Knowing This Place
We invite you to walk around the museum grounds and find panels that explain the meanings of each environment. You will learn about the many ways that Native peoples changed and were influenced by the forest, meadow, wetlands, and croplands.
AMIND_190707_118.JPG: Rick Bartow (1946-2016)
Wiyot
Oregon
We Were Always Here, 2012
Old-growth Western red cedar, Port Orford cedar, old-growth Douglas fir, oak, maple, stain, sealer
Commissioned from the artist 2011 (26/8852)
In creating these two poles from a single old-growth cedar tree, artist Rick Bartow has drawn on the patterns and symbols from his Northern California Native heritage. These include Bear's conscientious and protective role as a healer and Raven's playful and sometimes comical acts that shaped the world and human society. The pole bases' horizontal pattern references the changing tides of Oregon mudfloats and symbolizes the flow of knowledge and inheritance--in Bartow's words, "the movement down to generations or up through the generations... like little waves."
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas) directly related to this one:
[Display ALL photos on one page]:
2023_07_30C2_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (4 photos from 07/30/2023)
2022_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (2 photos from 2022)
2021_DC_Amerind: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (23 photos from 2021)
2020_DC_AmerInd_4Ward: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Forward Into Light (3 photos from 2020)
2020_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (62 photos from 2020)
2018_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (8 photos from 2018)
2017_DC_AmerIndV: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- View from... (1 photo from 2017)
2017_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (40 photos from 2017)
2014_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (3 photos from 2014)
2009_DC_AmerInd: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Outside Areas (20 photos from 2009)
2019 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000.
Trips this year:
a four-day jaunt to Massachusetts (Boston, Stockbridge, and Springfield) to experience rain in another state,
Asheville, NC to visit Dad and his wife Dixie,
four trips to New York City (including the United Nations, Flushing, and the New York Comic-Con), and
my 14th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con (including sites in Utah).
Number of photos taken this year: about 582,000.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Limiting Text: You can turn off all of this text by clicking this link:
[Thumbnails Only]