The permanent exhibitions showcase some 8,000 objects from the museum's world-renowned collection. Through our interactive multimedia exhibitions, 24 tribes and Native communities give voice to their own histories and stories.
"Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World" (fourth level) is a guide to the many Native world views and philosophies. Organized around the seasons of the solar year, the exhibition highlights the Denver March Powwow, the Day of the Dead, the North American Indigenous Games and other celebrations that bring Native peoples together.
"Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories" (fourth level) examines how disease, guns, bibles and governments affected indigenous peoples after 1491.
"Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities" (third level) introduces the cultural, social, linguistic and political issues of Native people and communities in the 21st century.
"Window on Collections: Many Hands, Many Voices" (third and fourth levels) showcases more than 3,500 artifacts including animal-themed figurines and objects, beadwork, containers, dolls, peace medals, projectile points and qeros (cups for ceremonial drinking).
"Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake" (second level) provides an overview of the continued Native presence in what is now Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware.
In the Changing Exhibitions Gallery (third level) through August 3, is "Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses," a presentation of the museum's stunning collection of historical and contemporary Native dresses, leggings, moccasins and purses from the Plains, Plateau and Great Basin regions of the United States and Canada. The exhibition's Išnati Activity Room offers hands-on activities for children ages 5 to 11 (and their families).
The Mitsitam (meaning "let's eat") Native Foods Café on the 1st level offers delicious entrees and snacks from the Northwest Coast, the Great Plains, Northern Woodlands, Meso America and South America. The café's menu includes a variety of specialties—including Indian tacos made with frybread, fire-roasted salmon, buffalo burgers, desserts, snacks and beverages.
Café hours: daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The cafe's full menu is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a smaller menu from 3 to 5 p.m.
On the first floor, the Chesapeake Museum Store offers beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry, pottery and textiles handmade by Native artisans. On the second floor, find books, music, jewelry, T-shirts, toys and souvenirs in the Roanoke Museum Store.
Daily free films by and about Native people are presented in the Rasmuson Theater on the first floor; no tickets required, check showtimes at the Welcome Desk, closed some Wednesdays.
"Welcome Home" (13 min.) depicts highlights from the museum's opening on September 21, 2004.
"Who We Are" (13 minutes) is on view in the state-of-the-art Lelawi Theater on the fourth level.
Hand-held translations for the film are available in Spanish, French, German and Japanese.
The American Indian Museum stores offer beautiful items handmade by Native artisans including silver, turquoise jewelry, pottery, books and music.
The American Indian's Mitsitam Native Foods Café offers Native-inspired meals and snacks that draw on the culinary traditions of the Americas.
