Groundbreaking for National Museum of the American Indian

Summary

The groundbreaking ceremony for the National Museum of the American Indian on The Mall in Washington, D.C., is held on 28 September 1999. In attendance are Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman, NMAI director Richard West, and representatives of many Native American tribes. The event included a blessing ceremony by Chief Billy Redwing Tayac of the Piscataway tribe. The building is based on a concept developed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, designed by Native American architect Douglas Cardinal, carried out by the architectural staff of the Smithsonian Institution.

Subject

• Cardinal, Douglas
• Tayac, Chief Billy Redwing
• West, W. Richard
• Heyman, Ira Michael 5/30/1930-11/19/2011
• Office of Design and Construction
• Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates
• National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

Smithsonian Year 1999. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000, p. 37.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

September 28, 1999

Topic

• Design
• Secretariats
• Groundbreaking
• Architecture
• Secretaries
• Historians
• New Museums
• Museums
• Piscataway Indians
• Museum directors
• Buildings
• Building
• Indians of North America--Museums
• Architecture--Design and plans
• Indians of North America

Place

Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)

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