American Style" exhibition. The students' pester designs were 

 so popular that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

 reproduced several of them to display at their facilities in 

 Veteran's hospitals nationwide. 



Major planning was started at the National Museum of 

 American Art for an upcoming renovation of its home in the 

 Old Patent Office Building, the first in over 30 years, and on 

 the quiet phase of a capital campaign to raise private funds for 

 expansion space and new endowment for future programs and 

 acquisitions. As a part of planning for the upcoming renova- 

 tions, the Museum began making arrangements for an am- 

 bitious program to share masterpieces from the permanent 

 collection with museums all over the nation while the Old 

 Patent Office is closed to visitors in Washington. Eight 

 thematic exhibitions were offered to dozens of museums and 

 bookings began for the tours. The Museum also invested con- 

 siderable effort in finding a corporate partner for the touring 

 program to provide heightened visibility for this unusual op- 

 portunity for many Americans to see their national treasures 

 at a museum close to home. 



National Museum of the American Indian 



W. Richard West, Director 



The National Museum of the American Indian is dedicated to 

 the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, 

 literature, history, and arts of the Native peoples of the Western 

 Hemisphere. In consultation, collaboration, and cooperation with 

 Native peoples, the museum works to protect and foster their 

 cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging artis- 

 tic expression, and providing a forum for Indian voices. Through 

 innovative public programming, research, and collections, the 

 museum works to fulfill irs mission. 



Construction of the museum's Cultural Resources Center in 

 Suitland, Maryland, was nearly complete at the close of the 

 1998 fiscal year, with the museum preparing to occupy and 

 begin moving the collection to the state-of-the-art facility in 

 early 1999. The Cultural Resources Center, designed in col- 

 laboration with tribes and Native peoples, will house, protect, 

 and care for the one-million-object collection; serve as a center 

 of research, study, community service, and outreach; and sup- 

 port the museum's public facilities on the National Mall and 

 the George Gustav Heye Center (GGHC) in New York City. 



A $500,000 challenge grant awarded by the Kresge Foundation 

 in July 1997 was successfully met in April 1998 thanks to the gen- 

 erous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations. This 

 response has raised more than Si. 6 million for the Cultural Resour- 

 ces Center's completion and surpassed the October 1998 deadline 

 of approximately $1.5 million set by the Kresge Challenge. 



Plans are well under way for the move of collections into 

 the new Cultural Resources Center. As collections are moved. 



they will be digitally photographed to allow increased access 

 to the collections through the Internet. 



In November 1997 the museum ptesented its biennial Na- 

 tive American Film and Video Festival at the Heye Center, of- 

 fering screenings of 70 films, videos, radio programs, and 

 multimedia products by 70 indigenous media makers from 

 North America and Latin America. 



More than $1.1 million was contributed during this fiscal 

 year to NMAI's endowment funds fot the completion and 

 financial stability of its facilities and programs. Much plan- 

 ning and other work was completed this yeat in preparation 

 for the December 2, 1998, fund-raising gala supporting che 

 George Gustav Heye Center Endowment Fund. 



"Indian Humor," an exhibition of 87 paintings, photos, 

 sculptures, and mixed media works that use humor and irony 

 to dispel the stereotype of stoic and serious Indians, opened at 

 the GGHC in May. The exhibition addressed stereotypes 

 through sarcasm, irony, and humor. "Indian Humor" was 

 developed by American Indian Contemporary Arts of San 

 Francisco. 



"The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the 

 Kuna of Panama" opened in September at the GGHC with 

 Kuna tribal leaders in attendance. Featuring approximately 

 300 works of art, including vibrant molas (colorful, richly 

 decorated applique blouses that express all aspects of Kuna 

 culture), the exhibition illustrates contemporary and historical 

 Kuna life. "The Art of Being Kuna" was organized by the 

 UCLA Fowlet Museum and features molas from the NMAI 

 collection. Support for the GGHC exhibition was given by 

 the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives and the 1998 

 Latino Initiatives Fund. 



The museum continues its commitment, under federal law 

 and museum policy, to repatriate human remains and objects 

 of religions and cultural patrimony to Native groups 

 throughout the hemisphere. Among the most significant 

 returns this year was to the Haudenasaunee (Iroquois Con- 

 federacy) in September. 



National Museum of Natural History 



Robert W. Fri, Director 



Since the National Museum of Natural History first opened 

 its doors in 1910, it has become the most popular museum in 

 the world among young people, their families, and their 

 teachers. More than 165 million visitors — almost 6.5 million 

 in 1998 — have seen the treasures of the U.S. national collec- 

 tions and learned about Earth and human cultures from the 

 museum's exhibitions. Looking ahead to a new century, 

 Natural History remained committed to offering visitors ex- 

 periences that are both rewarding and fun. At the same time, 

 the museum worked toward fulfilling its goal of becoming a 



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