Discussion

Ancient Ohio Trail and NMAI

Context

There are two locations of the National Museum of the American Indian, the original one in New York City and the newer location on the mall in Washington D.C. Originally, the museum was called the Museum of the American Indian in New York City, and was founded by George Gustav Heye in 1916. His personal collection became the basis of the museum’s collection, including about one million objects. In 1989, the museum changed venue and became part of the Smithsonian Museum complex through a federal act based on building another Native American museum on the mall. Dialogues with Native communities and individuals began, and a document entitled “The Way of the People” (Venturi, 1993) established the building requirements for Native sensibilities. Some of the key themes of this document were that the museum needed to be both historical and contemporary, be a part of nature, have celestial references “such as east-facing main entrance and a dome that opens to the sky, and an active creek bed” (Venturi, 1993), to name a few. The building was to be aligned with the cardinal directions, as well as the center point of the Capitol dome, according to Paul Chaat Smith (2005), because “You get the last open space on the National Mall because the country’s decided, in the mysterious ways nations decide such matters, that it’s time, at last, to speak about the hard things, the painful things, the unspeakable things” (p.2).

Chief Billy Redwing Tavac of the Piscataway tribe performed a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony in 1999, and soon after construction began. But none of this was done without criticism and conflict. With over 500-plus tribes in the United States of America, often with different traditions and cultural ways, it was impossible to satisfy everyone in terms of the design and building materials.

After construction was complete, there were several opening ceremonies for various audiences, but the first one included a grand opening procession of Native American people from all over the United States in regalia. Prior to the opening was a six-day First American Festival. Over 80,000 people attended on the first day.

Th Ancient Ohio Trail is a project that began with John Hancock from the University of Cincinnati. He wanted to provide a tool that provided entailed information about the earthworks in Ohio that included multiple forms of information about the earthworks in Ohio.

What to do: Review the instructions for this week's discussion posting.

Before You Start

Go to the following websites:

Ancient Ohio Trail
- View one of the sites in Ohio and the resources. Consider what could or would you use for your students?
National Museum of the American Indian
- View their exhibition.

Considerations

The point of this response is for you, as the educator, museum curator, or parent, to determine how you could use these sites. Be specific.

Discussion Question

How could you use what the Ancient Ohio Trail site and NMAI have to offer, either in your classroom or museum?

Response Expectations

Your initial reflection post should be submitted no later than Thursday at 11:59pm.
- Emphasize critical analysis. Reflection posts should be thoughtful, substantive, and exhibit some degree of original thought. This is not a space for rote summarizations and regurgitations of course material. Rather, students should employ critical analysis and evidence-based interpretation. Make sure these posts exhibit critical thought and deep reflection.
- Consider length. There is no length requirement for this assignment; however, I reserve the right to deduct points from posts that are either overly short or of low quality.
- Be creative. You are welcome to embrace all forms of creative expression: art, craft, music, poetry, drama, etc. We encourage all sorts of outside-of-the-box thinking, especially if it helps communicate a strong idea or interpretation.
- Use either text or video. Students have the freedom to submit their reflection posts either as a written response or a video address of equivalent length and rigor. These should be recorded and uploaded via Canvas Media Recorder. Please note that these posts should be as structured, substantive, and coherent as a written discussion board post.
- Ask questions. You are also encouraged to conclude your initial post with whatever lingering questions you might have about the readings or course material. These will guide our conversation and provide further avenues for inquiry.
Once you have made your initial post, please respond to at least three other discussion posts. These responses should be submitted no later than Saturday at 11:59pm.
- Create a dialogue. Respond to each post with the goal of creating an open dialogue. Make sure you challenge and/or contribute to each other's posts in a thoughtful, substantive fashion.
- Be respectful. Students should remain civil and culturally sensitive in all of their communications.
- Answer questions. Respond to each other's queries. Ask new ones. Learn and grow through your conversations.

This is an example of a discussion assignment; you cannot reply to this prompt.

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