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Collections
Collections
The collections of the former Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
form the cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of the American Indian. Assembled at the turn of the twentieth
century by wealthy New Yorker George Gustav Heye (18741957), the collections
are distinguished by thousands of masterworks, including intricate wood
and stone carvings and masks from the Northwest Coast of North America;
elegantly painted and quilled hides, clothing, and feather bonnets from
the North American Plains; pottery and basketry from the southwestern United
States; eighteenth-century materials from the Great Lakes region; the C.B.
Moore collection from the southeastern United States; and Navajo weavings
illustrating a broad range of very early types. Works on paper and canvas
include Plains ledger drawings as well as contemporary prints and paintings.
The museum's collections also include a substantial array of materials from
the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America, including a wide representation
of archaeological objects from the Caribbean; ceramics from Costa Rica,
central Mexico, and Peru; beautifully carved jade from the Olmec and Maya
peoples; textiles and gold from the Andean cultures; and elaborate featherwork
from the peoples of Amazonia.
NMAI's collections include materials not only of cultural, historical, and
aesthetic interest, but also of spiritual significance. Funerary, religious,
and ceremonial objects associated with living cultures are displayed only
with the approval of the appropriate tribes. Repatriation is another important
concern being addressed by the museum. Human remains and funerary objects,
religious and ceremonial artifacts, communally owned tribal property, or
any holdings acquired illegally are returned upon request to individual
descendants or tribal groups who can demonstrate a cultural affiliation
and factual claim to the property in question.
For more information about George G. Heye, please visit the Smithsonian
Magazine site to view an article about Heye by Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution Lawrence M. Small, in the November 2000 issue.
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