The "advertising" shows how the stereotypical images of American Indians was widely used in past and is still being used. That was the purpose of the huge display. Purpose of display was not to "impress" anyone, but to make a point that many Americans got strange ideas about Indians from looking at these silly advertising signs, ads, and seeing 1950s movies. The museum has less funding than the African American museum, so less displays, etc. Those will take some time. Overall it is a good new museum with a beautiful exterior and interior. The displays of Lakota leather shirts was wonderful, hope you saw those, and also the beaded work in the center cases.

Heading to DC in early August. Have never been to National Museum of the American Indian; how much time should I allot? For comparison, I spent 4 hours at the Holocaust Museum a few years ago.

Hello Jim G. and others, I visited the museum yesterday with my daughter and grandson. Although I enjoyed the displays, I was most interested in seeing how the curators would handle the influence of European colonization upon the American Indian. I only saw a vague reference to that in a short video (on the right) as we entered the American Indian enclave. I'd like to know where to find the section referred to by Jim G.as we obviously missed it. Thank you. ANOUL