" Like all museums, the facility serves at least one grand, noble purpose: It defies time. But in an ideal world, its defiance would not have to be so heartbreaking.

The National Museum of the American Indian honors the cultures that were once a vibrant part of this land � as dominant, if not as bombastic, as our pop culture is today.

Time makes the past irretrievable for every individual, every culture, but when societies become the victims of greedy and rapacious predators, the loss is even more poignant. And so is the attempt to honor that loss, to record that history, the good and the bad, the glorious and the reprehensible. "

Get the Story:
Editorial: Museum honors past and present (The San Antonio News-Express 9/27)
pwpwd

Relevant Links:
National Museum of the American Indian - http://www.nmai.si.edu

Related Stories:
Take a sneak peek at the new NMAI in Washington (9/16)
Natives get ready to descend on DC for NMAI fest (9/16)
Non-recognized Virginia tribes welcome NMAI opening (9/16)
NMAI curators seek to translate culture for visitors (9/15)
Agua Caliente Band among largest donors to NMAI (9/15)
Politics on tap for NMAI grand opening week (9/14)
New NMAI nears grand opening in Washington, DC (9/13)
Eastern Cherokees choose 10 events for NMAI exhibit (9/14)
New NMAI nears grand opening in Washington, DC (9/13)
Navajo ethnobotanist part of NMAI design team (9/9)
California tribe featured in opening NMAI exhibit (9/8)
Gaming tribes donated big money for new NMAI (9/8)
New Indian museum to be open to ceremonies (08/19)
NMAI prepares to welcome Native people to DC (08/10)
Use of pipestone at new NMAI prompts complaints (8/6)
New Indian museum in DC promises to be 'different' (8/2)
New NMAI includes focus on urban Indians (07/28)
NMAI: From saving Indians to honoring them (03/18)
Week long festival planned for NMAI opening in Sept. (01/16)