The National Museum of the American Indian [NMAI] is the only national museum dedicated to the Native peoples of North, South and Central America. Chartered by congress in 1989 as the 16th museum of the Smithsonian Institution, our mission is to recognize and affirm to Native communities and to the non-Native public the historical and contemporary culture and cultural achievements of Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
The George Gustav Heye Center [GGHC] is NMAI’s New York presence. Prior its Smithsonian affiliation, it was the Museum of the American Indian, located for close to a century in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood. There, the museum conserved and exhibited the unprecedented, 800,000-piece collection of Native American art and artifacts that had been amassed by New York banker George Gustav Heye. This collection continues to be the largest of its kind in the world. Since 1994, as the National Museum of the American Indian, it has been located in the landmark Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Lower Manhattan. This move downtown followed a $24-million building renovation that was supported through a partnership among the City of New York, State of New York, and Smithsonian Institution.
Today, the NMAI-GGHC offers both historic and contemporary exhibitions, music and dance performances, film and video performances, educational opportunities, and a host of vibrant programs for close to 300,000 visitors each year. Additionally, the NMAI has sites on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and a Cultural Resources Center in Maryland.
Learn More: http://www.AmericanIndian.si.edu