‘IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas’ Exhibit Opens at the NMAAHC

A part of the American story has long been invisible—the story of people who share African American and Native American ancestry. Over centuries, African American and Native people came together, creating shared histories, communities, and ways of life. Often divided by prejudice, laws, or twists of history, African-Native Americans were united by a double heritage that is truly indivisible.

On Tuesday November 10th  IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas, a collaborative exhibition between the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the National Musuem of the American Indian and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES) will be open to the public.

The 20-panel banner exhibition focuses on the interactions between African American and Native American people, especially those of blended heritage. It also sheds light on the dynamics of race, community, culture, and creativity, and addresses the human desires of being and belonging. With compelling text and powerful graphics, IndiVisible includes accounts of cultural integration and diffusion as well as the struggle to define and preserve identity.

Stories are set within the context of a larger society that, for centuries, has viewed people through the prism of race brought to the Western Hemisphere by European settlers.  By combining the voices of the living with those of their ancestors, IndiVisible provides an extraordinary opportunity to understand the history and contemporary perspectives of people of African and Native American descent. The exhibition is accompanied by a 160-page publication and 10-minute media piece.

The program will be held at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Rasmuson Theater at 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW in Washington, DC. The program is free and open to the public. 

In addition to the exhibition a symposium will be held on November 13, 2009 from 3:30 to 6:30. NMAAHC Director Lonnie G. Bunch, III will deliver opening remarks at the symposium and National Museum of the American Indian Director Kevin Gover (Pawnee)will moderate. The symposium will also be webcast live at www.americanindian.si.edu/webcasts. For further information, please contact nmai-ssp@si.edu. The exhibition opens today November 10, 2009 and runs through May 31, 2010.

Posted by The Cotillion Online on Nov 10 2009. Filed under Art, Music, Culture & Lifestyle, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry