Chickaloon represented at Smithsonian NMAI

CHICKALOON -- Hundreds of people representing indigenous tribes across the nation attended the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., last month, including Chickaloon's Kari Johns and her daughter, Mary.

As a member of the Small Cultural Center and Museum Consortium, Johns was among a group of Alaska representatives invited to attend the event by the Rasmuson Foundation, which contributes to the Smithsonian Institution.

"I was there to represent the Chickaloon people and the Chickaloon Cultural Center," Johns said Thursday.

The museum is located in the National Mall at the end of a park strip, near the U.S. Capitol building, Johns said.

"The opening of this museum marks a unique cultural achievement as Native Americans from North, Central and South America realize a long-awaited dream to share and honor their vibrant cultures with visitors from throughout the world," according to the museum's Web site, at http://www.nmai.si.edu/.

Johns, who is also the education director for Chickaloon Village, said she was pleased by the representation of Native people at the museum, despite the small number of nations represented -- 24 of the 500 in the U.S., 227 of which are in Alaska alone -- although the displays are expected to rotate.

Johns said she was impressed by the number of people who attended the opening event -- more than 200, all dressed in their Native regalia.

"It was just amazing. I don't think I've ever seen that many people dressed in full regalia at one time," Johns said. "There were traditional chiefs in full headdress there, many passed down from generation to generation. That was the really neat part of it, to see these Native people walk in with full 'galia, especially the older people, because you knew that this was passed down to them."

Johns said the visit was an opportunity to represent the Chickaloon people and also to make contacts and find out more about displaying and preserving Native history. The Ya Ne Dah Ah School at Chickaloon also houses an extensive library of approximately 400 resource materials, and one of the village's goals is to extend its collection into a cultural resource center within the school.

"Just seeing the museum helped me see what I think we can do, such as in displays, collections and cultural resources. In part of the [national] museum people can go in and view old pictures and media-type things, that's kind of where we're going with our center, and we want to offer to the community what we've collected within our tribe," Johns said. "The experience really opened the door to what the possibilities are."

Johns said she paid for Mary to come with her to join in the experience. It was their first trip to Washington, D.C., and, they both said, hopefully not their last.

"There was a lot of bead work and stuff," the 10-year-old said. "That was pretty neat. It took a long time to look at everything. We didn't get to see some stuff. I would like to go back."

Johns said she and Mary worked together to create Mary's dress before the event, with Mary doing much of her own bead work.

"We worked on a dress before the event that would have significant meaning," Johns said. "It's part of her growing up, and she'll have that to remember this by. It's the first dress she ever made."

The museum's portrayal of indigenous people had the most impact on Johns, she said.

"They represented the Native people -- not just the history, but today. We're still here representing our tribe. We need to know our history to teach, but we want to go into our future, to succeed and carry on our tradition," Johns said. "That was the best part of the museum. They showed that. They showed them as a living culture."

Johns said they were also tickled when they picked up the Washington Post the day after the event and read the words, "… from Chickaloon Village to Brazil …"