For countless rural Americans before the turn of the cen- 

 tury, the promise of this inscription went largely unfulfilled. 

 In the 1890s, more than half of the populations lived in rural 

 areas. Inadequate mail service plagued most of these roughly 

 30 million Americans, especially farm families. However, with 

 the inttoduction of Rural Free Delivery in 1896, these same 

 rural residents were receiving mail with much the same fre- 

 quency and reliability as Americans in cities and towns. 



In honor of the centennial of Rural Free Delivery Service, 

 the National Postal Museum developed two new video presen- 

 tations and conducted a day-long symposium highlighting 

 this important service — a highlight of the museum's year. 



In 1996, the National Postal Museum also joined in the 

 celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Smithsonian and 

 the 25th anniversary of the creation of the United States Postal 

 Service. The latter included an exhibition, entitled "Reinvent- 

 ing Government: The Transformation of the United States 

 Postal Service," and the presentation of a variety of public 

 programs, including a one-day symposium that featured six 

 postmasters general. 



The National Postal Museum, celebrating its third anniver- 

 sary in July, opened an array of new exhibitions, and enjoyed a 

 record year of fundraising, both in-kind and financial. 



National Museum of the American Indian 



W. Richard West, Jr.. Director 



The National Museum of the American Indian is an institu- 

 tion of living culture dedicated to the preservation, study, and 

 exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of 

 the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere. Its formal 

 mission statement is to recognize and affirm to Native com- 

 munities and the non-Native public the historical and con- 

 temporary culture and cultural achievements of the natives of 

 the Western Hemisphere by advancing — in consultation, col- 

 laboration, and cooperation with natives — knowledge and un- 

 derstanding of native cultures. The museum has a special 

 responsibility, through innovative public programming, re- 

 search, and collections, to protect, support, and enhance the 

 development, maintenance, and perpetuation of native cul- 

 tures and communities. 



Activities during the year, as in years past, were directed 

 toward fulfilling the mission with a focus on exhibitions, 

 public programming, collaborations, and outreach to Native 

 communities. Key milestones in the museum's progress in 

 Washington, D.C., were reached, with attention now turning 

 to the Cultural Resources Center, scheduled to open in Suit- 

 land, Md., in 1998, and the Mall museum in 1002. 



At the close of the fiscal year on September 30, the 

 museum's National Campaign announced the successful com- 

 pletion of the initial fundraising goal for the construction of 



the Mall museum: $36.7 million. Within the legislation estab- 

 lishing the National Museum of the American Indian on 

 November 28, 1989, under Public Law 101— 185, the Smith- 

 sonian Institution was mandated by the U.S. Congress to raise 

 one-third of the cost of constructing the museum on the Na- 

 tional Mall from non-federal sources. The total cost for the 

 museum is projected to be $110 million. This historic en- 

 deavor was largely achieved because individuals, foundations, 

 corporations, and Native American tribes throughout the 

 country have demonstrated a resounding commitment to the 

 creation of the National Museum of the American Indian on 

 the Mall. 



The concept design of the Mall museum was approved in 

 May by the Commission of Fine Arts, chaired by former direc- 

 tor of the National Gallery of Art, J. Carter Brown. In 1993, 

 the Smithsonian selected the architectural firm of GBQC Ar- 

 chitects, Philadelphia, in association with Douglas Cardinal 

 Architects Ltd. of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to design the 

 Mall museum. Additional approvals of the concept design 

 were secured from the National Capital Planning Commission 

 and the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review 

 Board, and the museum has now entered the schematic design 

 phase (the second phase of design activity). 



In October, dedication ceremonies were held on the future 

 site of the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Md. The 

 CRC will house the museum's vast one-million object collec- 

 tion and provide space for research and community services, 

 including support for the resource centers at the museum's 

 George Gustav Heye Center in New York City and the Mall 

 museum. Those on hand to take part in the dedication in- 

 cluded museum Director W. Richard West, Jr. (Southern 

 Cheyenne); Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman; Smith- 

 sonian Director of Government Relations John Berry; 

 museum Board of Trustees member Allen V. Pinkham (Nez 

 Perce) and other museum supporters. An official groundbreak- 

 ing for the facility is planned for spting 1997. A splendid 

 limited-edition print by Native artist Dan Namingha 

 (Tewa/Hopi) commissioned by the Smithsonian Associates 

 and titled "Hopi Eagle Dance" honors the future opening of 

 the CRC. 



At the end of the Heye Center's second year of operation, at- 

 tendence was 500,000, surpassing everyone's expectations. 

 That total was 20 percent higher than the Center's first-year 

 attendance. According to F odor's Guide to Seu- York City, the 

 Heye Center has become one of the top eight places to visit in 

 the city, and has been cited by local media as the institution 

 that launched the economic and cultural redevelopment of 

 lower Manhattan in recent years. A generous grant from J. P. 

 Morgan, secured during the year, allows the Heye Center to 

 remain open until 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings. 



"This Path We Travel: Celebrations of Contemporary Na- 

 tive American Creativity," one of the three inaugural exhibi- 

 tions at the Heye Center, closed on April 8. The other two 

 exhibitions, "All Roads Are Good: Nanve Voices on Life and 

 Culture" (on view indefinitely) and "Creations Journey: 



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