Douglas Cardinal, Architect: National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

The architect for this striking museum building is Canadian Douglas Cardinal,  http://www.djcarchitect.com/work/. He has built dozens of public buildings all across Canada. The building familiar to us is the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, across the Ottawa River from Ottawa.

This panorama from ceiling to floor gives only an idea of the great size of the main room. The huge drum and dance circle is at street level and can be seen and heard from every floor.

[from the web page http://nmai.si.edu/about/:]

About the Museum

A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.

 The National Museum of the American Indian operates three facilities. The museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., offers exhibition galleries and spaces for performances, lectures and symposia, research, and education. The George Gustav Heye Center (GGHC) in New York City houses exhibitions, research, educational activities, and performing arts programs. The Cultural Resources Center (CRC) in Suitland, Maryland, houses the museum's collections as well as the conservation, repatriation, and digital imaging programs, and research facilities. The NMAI's off-site outreach efforts, often referred to as the "fourth museum," include websites, traveling exhibitions, and community programs.

Since the passage of its enabling legislation in 1989 (amended in 1996), the NMAI has been steadfastly committed to bringing Native voices to what the museum writes and presents, whether on-site at one of the three NMAI venues, through the museum's publications, or via the Internet. The NMAI is also dedicated to acting as a resource for the hemisphere's Native communities and to serving the greater public as an honest and thoughtful conduit to Native cultures—present and past—in all their richness, depth, and diversity.

Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, Douglas Cardinal, Architect

Directly across the Ottawa River in Gatineau (renamed from Hull) in Quebec, this complex is architecturally handsome both inside and out. The history of Canada and changing exhibits makes every visit interesting no matter how often one visits. Highly recommended in any season. Amazing how little we were taught about Canada, our closest neighbor to the north.

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Douglas Cardinal, Architect

The Grand Hall contains recreations of six northwest coastal tribal villages. It took my breath away the first time I saw it. Once you enter the museum, you step to a balcony two tall stories above the floor of the Grand Hall and witness this space that feels sacred.

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Douglas Cardinal, Architect

The Canadian Museum of Civilization is in Gatineau, just across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. This huge painted shield is four stories up, at the top of the round gallery at the far end of the Grand Hall.

Enlarge it to good effect.