These projects offer a special opportunity for the people of Pittsburgh and beyond to view many of the wonderful ethnographic objects in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and also to learn about the people who made and used them.

Unique in many ways, the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians is the only major museum exhibit organized around American Indians' relationships with the natural world. These relationships are illustrated through case studies of societies living in four major geographical areas - the Tlingit of the Northwest Coast, Hopi of the Southwest, Lakota of the Plains and Iroquois of the Northeast. Another important topic is American Indians' experiences in urban areas, especially Pittsburgh. Concentrating on the 19th and 20th centuries, the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians is one of few museum exhibits dealing with American Indian cultures in the present.

The Hall of American Indians employs a variety of exhibit techniques to thoroughly engage visitors. A rich array of nearly 1,000 historical and contemporary artifacts is displayed, most of which have never been seen by the public. These objects "come to life" in a dynamic environment boasting highly realistic dioramas illustrating American Indian lifestyles, eight audio programs, nine short video presentations, two interactive computer activities and a planetarium-style theater.

About 50 Native people partnered with Carnegie Museum of Natural History to develop the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians. Their historical and cultural knowledge, personal experiences and belongings, talents, artwork, guidance and time shaped the messages and impact of the hall. Some artifacts were created specifically for the exhibit by contemporary artists, and all of the human figures featured in the dioramas were made from casts of living American Indian individuals. Under the close advisement of these consultants, the content and design of the Hall of American Indians were directed by Dr. Marsha Bol, associate curator in anthropology, and James Senior, chairman of exhibit design and production, both of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Many individuals and organizations contributed to the completion of the hall. The Alcoa Foundation provided the lead funding for the exhibition, and the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed substantially. Other funding was furnished by the Anne L. and George H. Clapp Charitable Trust, the Hopwood Charitable Trust, Torrence M. Hunt, the Massey Charitable Trust, the Mudge Foundation, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, the Scaife Family Foundation, and an anonymous contributor.

The majority of this Web site is based on the exhibition catalogue North, South, East, West: American Indians and the Natural World, a dramatic, full-color depiction of how Native Americans relate to the world around them. The catalogue shows both the contrasts and the striking continuity between the art, objects, and people of different Indian groups.

North, South, East, West: American Indians and the Natural World presents moving Native quotes and vibrant photographs of Native Americans to depict how they relate to the world around them. Striking color photographs of over 200 artifacts, never before published, from the Carnegie Museum's outstanding American Indian collection give tangible expression to a rich heritage of belief and customs. Dr. Bol focuses on four groups: the Hopi of the Southwest, the Tlingit of the Northwest, the Lakota of the Plains, and the Iroquois Nations of the Northeast, and includes a section on urban Indians.

Woven within the text is the acclamation that, even while outside pressures from Euro-Americans often have devastating effects on Indian society, these various Native groups still maintain their viable cultures in today's world with unbroken threads to their past.

Dr. Marsha C. Bol, Associate Curator of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, was Project Director for the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, which opened in 1998. An expert in the field of Native American arts, with a specialty in Lakota art and culture, Dr. Bol has a Ph.D. in Native American art history.

This book is available from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Store and can be purchased online from copublisher Roberts Rinehart Publishers.

Roberts Rinehart Publishers
6309 Monarch Park Place, Niwot, CO 80503,
phone: 800.352.1985, fax: 800.401.9705,
sales@robertsrinehart.com

ISBN 1-57098-094-2 cloth, $40.00,
176 pages, 200 color and 88 b&w photos, 10 x 11,

1-57098-197-3 paper, $24.95

This Web site was developed and designed by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to complement the opening of the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians. Unless otherwise noted, photographs were taken by Tom Barr. Please direct any questions or comments to cmnhweb@CarnegieMNH.org.