American Indian Museum Prose

The Circle of Life

By Bri Litchholt

      Throughout my stay at the National Museum of the American Indian, I noticed a reoccuring motif of circles. The building itself is shaped like one, with twisting staircases along the circle’s edges. However, the plethora of circles and cycles I noticed has lead me to believe that this style of architecture may not have been an accident.

A large part of American Indian culture is connectedness. For example, the Quechua tribe separates all things into two categories: masculine and feminine. Despite this divide, one group can not exist without the other.

In addition, mitakuye oyasin is a popular American Indian saying, meaning “we are all related.” It is often used during prayer and religious ceremonies.

Another part of American Indian culture is the importance of the moon. In Native folklore, the moon creates all life on Earth, and its cycles guide the external forces of the universe and help to document time. The cycles of the moon are crucial to American Indian existence, making it yet another example of the strong symbolism of the architecture of the museum.

Lastly, I observed a handful of instances of museum-goers who demonstrated connectivity themselves. In one room, I came across two women sitting cross-legged on the floor watching an educational movie and murmuring to each other. In another room there was a babysitter with two children, and she was explaining to them how a lot of people actually have Native American ancestors, and we are all related in one way or another. In both these cases, the groups of people embodied the connectedness that American Indians believed was so important to life.  

Overall, circles, cycles, and connectedness are important facets of American Indian culture that are also represented in the architecture of the museum.