New York is a place where almost everything is a landmark, we have yet another! The American Indian Museum on Bowling Green in lower Manhattan is a wonderland in a city of wonders. The American Indian Museum houses artifacts from Native Americans from the far north across Canada all the way to the Caribbean Islands, and everything is under one roof! The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City is a part of the Smithsonian Institution and works in collaboration with native peoples to help foster and protect these native and amazingly unique cultures.
Here one can see the eclectic collections of funerary objects, clothing, human remains, animal skins tools, religious articles, weapons, tepees and the very first log cabins erected in the Americas. The collection also includes exhibits from Central and South America spanning all their major native cultures but also all the native tribes of The United States and Canada.
The Museum was established in 1989 by an act of The United States Congress and was the 16th museum of The Smithsonian Institution. The American Indian Museum in New York City is officially named The George Gustav Heye Center, after the man that amassed the vast majority of the original collectables in the museum.
The museum hosts tours, live performances, lectures, film screenings and workshops. All ages can come here to learn and enjoy. The building is comfortable in size and allows time for its guests to just browse at an easy laid-back pace. Visitors are encouraged to sit and read and learn in peace at ease and pressure free from the outside world.
The National Museum of the American Indian is located at 1 Bowling Green adjacent to Battery Park in downtown New York (Tid-Bit: Bowling Green was used by the Dutch as New York’s first recreational park!). The Museum can be easily accessed by subway, bus, train, (not subway) taxi and tour bus. The Museum is open daily including weekends and is definitely a must see!
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