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Skateboarders representing tribes across the nation participated in the first "Native Skate Jam" at the
National Museum of the
American Indian in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
The Agua Caliente, Saginaw Chippewa, Pala and Navajo skaters demonstrated their skills at a half-pipe that was installed in the museum's atrium. The presentation accompanied
Ramp
It Up< an exhibit that documents Native skateboarding culture.
"I think there's a lot of preconceived notions out there about what Native American art is and what Native American culture is," artist Bunky Echo-Hawk, whose work is featured in the exhibit, told The Washington Post. "Like that we're a people of the past, or that the only part of our culture that's worthy of exhibition is our past."
The exhibit runs through September 13.
Get the Story:
Riding Out of the Past
(The Washington Post 7/6)
Related Stories:
NMAI in DC hosts first ever 'Native Skate
Jam' (6/30)
Indian skateboarding exhibit
opening at NMAI (6/10)