National Museum of the American Indian

Seeking respite from the icy blast of December winds, we stumbled onto his museum. The building started off as a Customs House and was built to impress. Mission accomplished. It’s impressive. Soaring ceilings with murals surrounding the incredible skylight, graceful arches and lovely detail. The echo of marble floors and airiness of vast open spaces contribute to the Impress factor.
The Native American Indian artifacts are the best I’ve ever seen. They even have 1 of 2 War Robes in existence.
If you’re by The Battery, drop in and take a look at the culture of a displaced nation. It’s a Smithsonian so the exhibits are stellar as per usual.

Wow. What a great museum. Not only a great museum, but the U.S. Customs building is miraculous in itself. Be sure to take the building tours! You can check the calendar on their website (
) to find when they are. Everything is free and incredibly incredibly interesting.

Great museum! Very well kept and super interesting. Unique unit own way. The building is beautiful and the art is very well displayed.

This is a fantastic museum with an exquisite collection. My friends and I visit every Columbus Day (at least) and it is always full of people who respect and understand what this marvelous culture has sacrificed and contributed to all our lives.

My favorite museum! It’s free admission too! The displays are beautiful. They have great exhibits. The current exhibit has so much wonderful history of Indian jewelry. There were many pieces I wish I could own!
The museum has the subway right at the front door. It’s located close to food spots and Battery Park. A lot of history in the neighborhood.
The building is a great piece of work. The ceilings and rooms are great for taking pictures. There are Federal Offices located in the building and the New York branch of the National Archives. Lots of computers if you want to do some research. They also have a nice display of historical documents.
All of the employees and security guards are very nice. On the July 4^th holiday the place was practically empty. The security guard offered to take a picture of me and my daughter in front of the TeePee. We were so happy they were open that day.
I love Native American Indians. I love to go visit the museum as often as I am able. Everyone should go at least once. Very educational experience.

Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me about this museum?!
It’s FREE everyday and beautiful.
Nope no one told me so I stumbled upon it while waiting for someone and now I’m glad they were late. Got to explore this place that was focusing the search for Turquoise and jewelry making by Native Americans in Arizona and New Mexico.
GO if you haven’t! Especially New Yorkers!

This museum is indeed a national treasure. I visited the gorgeous building on Thursday after class. One of the awesome advantage is the free admission. The great collection of artifacts is simply breath-​taking. It has a great layout between the first and second floor. The Hall of Dance is my favorite exhibit. Very kid-​friendly and interactive at the same time. The only downside is the horrible condition that the restroom was in. It needs constant cleaning. Other than that, I would have given it five stars.

Excellent location to see artifacts and history of past Indian civilizations. Funny how the past always becomes the present. Indians were here before the white people and they were demoralized and treated like they were the problem.
Sad that America is not for the people, but for the people who have the money. Lobbyist and special interests groups get more attention then an average American citizen. The musuem has a nice lay out of artifacts, and love the history of Inca, Mayan, South American Tribes. The American Indians are the true ancestors of this country.
Besides being free admission crowds were very small. A gem of musuem in Lower Manhattan glad I know my history. Cause history has a way of repeating itself and its only a matter of time.

What a great find and it is free. This museum is part of the Smithsonian and the collections rotate. The collection on display were the silversmith work of Yazzie family. Absolutely stunning work of the craftsmanship and craftswomanship this talented family produced. My appreciation for Navajo silver jewelry increased tremendously after seeing the beauty the family created. The collections are housed in the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. The building is beautiful, there are murals of the the great sea explorers and boats that once traveled into NY harbor on the main hall ceiling and the hallways have some of the most stunning green marble columns with contrasting white veins.

such an excellent museum that is so often overlooked by visitors to NYC.
The exhibits are so beautifully curated with very informative descriptions. The quality is at the level of the Metropolitan Museum.
The building is also a treasure in its own right.
This museum is so, so much better than the one in Washington, D.C.

Such a gorgeous facility! This place is pristine. As many other reviewers, my and my bf stopped by here while trying to kill some time before a show. And I definitely did not expect all that I saw.
They had a couple exhibits filled with photography, art, and various artifacts. I was really blown away by how well kept it was.
It is true, the place didn’t really have too many staff members other than security guards. It would have been nice to meet someone who knew more about the place. But reagrdless, stepped here on a whim and was very impressed.

This place was great! Ok so first and foremost it’s Free so that’s an immediate bonus. Secondly it’s in this beautiful building that use to be the U.S. Custom House so the architecture is amazing. Now the entire building isn’t a museum so even though it looks gigantic from the outside it’s actually quite cozy and easy going. They have some amazing pieces of American culture, if you are a teacher and need any examples of jewelry, fabrics, pottery and weaponry this place will do it for you. I also recommend fashion kids to swing by because the clothes have such amazing designs and patterns. If you enjoy Native American gifts you can swing by their gift shop. Inside you will find jewelry, a huge selection of books, pots, scarves, foods, and NATIVE AMERICAN TEA! I bought some and it was delicious lol
Now that I pretty much described the bulk of the stuff lets talk about some things to take note of. 1. Metal detector in the front so don’t bring anything stupid. 2 Security guards everywhere but also super friendly 3. Sometimes you can’t take pictures but it’s understandable and finally 4. This place is FREE so imagine how packed this place can get with school tours lol
Have fun!

Massive museum located at the south tip of Manhattan in Battery Park, it focuses on the history of Native Americans living in America through the years. They have lots of replicas, paintings, and stories that tell their views and perspectives. Eye opening and very in depth look into their culture. AND IT’S FREE!

Really enjoyed touring museum. They have a great mix of artifacts, fashion and jewelry of the many American Indians from all parts of US in addition to their ancestors from the Caribbean, Mexico, Peru and many others countries. Also there was a jewelry exhibit of a family from New Mexico and the story of their heritage. Good gift shop too. I would have given the museum five stars, but two of the staff members shushed us when we were discussing the exhibits. I found this inappropriate as it’s not a library, it’s a museum. A place to learn. One member of our party had extensively studied the subject matter and was explaining things to us in her inside voice. It was rude of them to shush us. The museum is free to enter so I will certainly go back, now that I know there is a lot more to see and its steps away from the subway entrance. Maybe the staff will read this and lighten up as we were not disturbing anyone.

This place was awesome. I was museum hopping in NY and stopped here on a whim. I’m so glad I did. There was an awesome and beautiful exhibit dedicated to early Native American photographers. The photos were absolutely breathtaking.
Some of the other exhibits that I saw included ancient artifacts — spears, hunting tools, and really ornate clay pots/​bowls.
The museum is pretty small. I got through the whole floor in under an hour.
Did I mention this place is free!

My girlfriend and I randomly saw this place while walking around fidi and chinatown. We had a couple of hours to burn while waiting for a reservation so we decided to take a look inside.
It’s a free museum and the architectural structure on the outside looks super impressive. When you get inside, the actual exhibits are significantly smaller unfortunately. They do have some really interesting stuff but no real tours or detailed explanations on a lot of the artifacts.
There’s literally no staff throughout the exhibit except for security guards so I was disappointed we wouldn’t have someone we could really speak with and learn from. However, still great place to burn a couple of hours and learn more about Native American history and culture!

In Lower Manhattan am Anfang des Bowling Green Parks befindet sich das Museum of the American Indian. Es war nicht unsere erste Wahl, aber da es direkt auf unserer Laufroute lag und der Eintritt kostenlos war, haben wir es in die Besuchsliste aufgenommen.
Das Museum befindet sich im Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House und ist von außen und innen ein sehr beeindruckendes Gebäude. Man kann die Vielfalt der Ureinwohner Amerikas anhand von Dauer– und Wechselausstellungen, Musik und Tanzvorführungen und Filmen entdecken.
Anhand von unzähligen Kunstwerken und Artefakten kann man einen Blick auf die mehr als 12.000 Jahre alte Geschichte und Kulter der Indianer Nord und Südamerikas werfen. Auch die umfangreiche Fotosammlung ist sehr sehenswert.
Das Museum ist von 10.00 bis 17.00 Uhr täglich geöffnet, donnerstags sogar bis 20.00 Uhr. Am 25. Dezember ist das Museum geschlossen und der Eintritt ist wie gesagt frei.
Bei einem Besuch über den Teich, sollte der Besuch eines solchen Museums nicht fehlen. In New York empfand ich dieses als sehr beeindruckend, da dort sehr anschaulich die Geschichte der Indianer näher gebracht wurde. Eine klare Empfehlung von mir.

It’s a FREE museum in NYC… that’s something good. This museum is very specific to native americans obviously so it might not interest everyone. There are a lot of artifacts but nothing very engaging that I saw. It is a bit older than other nyc museums and dusty. There’s also metal detectors and an X-​ray machine to check your belongings.

The National Museum of the American Indian is located right across from the Bowling Green subway stop in FiDi. There are artifacts of Native Americans; it is like a section of the Met.
I didn’t get the best impression of this museum because the person was unable to explain why the term American Indian was considered acceptable. I was taught in grade school that it was not. All the museum staff could tell me was that either Native American or American Indian was acceptable.
There is also something incoherent about the way the museum is laid out. It has a miscellaneous feeling when you walk in and when you’re transitioning from one area to this other area that has a big dome room. The exterior of the building looks promising and is a century old Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. However the whole building is not the museum, so there isn’t as much as you might expect from looking at it on the outside.
It is a good enough museum so I would recommend it if you are in the area.

FREE so decided to check it out on a Monday in NYC. It’s near Wall Street.
Had to go thru security, they check your purse, make you take off your jacket.
No photos allowed in some exhibits, some we could with No flash.
It was just something to do in NYC and was warm inside on a cold Winter’s Day.

Reason we decided to come here: it was FREE admission!
BF and I were killing time before lunch in downtown Manhattan. We were actually taking pictures of this building and then I saw a sign that said admission was free. So we figured ‘why not’ and walked in.
Went through security and didn’t even make it past the lobby when my bf started taking pictures of this place because of the architecture. The spiral staircases in front are aesthetically amazing. Then you walk into the rotunda in the middle of the museum with a large dome. There are a couple of small exhibits in this place, nothing too big, nothing too flashy. But you definitely do learn about early native American Indian culture as they displayed clothing, tools, weapons, baskets, etc. There is an art exhibit that doesn’t allow you to take pictures. We probably spent almost an hour in this place as we took a lot of pictures.
Apparently there’s a second floor that we didn’t get to check out. So, check out upstairs if you can.

J’ai visité par hasard ce musée. Il pleuvait, je cherchait des toilettes, et magie, cet excellent musée m’ouvre ses portes. Gratuit en plus.
Très belles œuvres, musique jazz and soul etc. Surprenant.

Mon premier musée visité en arrivant à New York (un peu normal quand on connais l’histoire de ce pays).
Déjà première bonne surprise ce musée est gratuit, deuxième bonne surprise les photos sont autorisées (mais pas le flash).
On y découvre l’histoire des indiens d’Amérique a travers les âges et leur contribution a l’histoire de ce pays.
Des Américains d’origine indienne viennent naturellement vers vous pour vous donner des explications, et recueillir vos impressions et sentiments.
Le musée est très beau et bien agencé on y découvre les peuples, coutumes les événements marquants, des photos d’époques, etc etc.
La fin de la visite ce termine par une expo sur l’art moderne d’origine indienne.
Impressionnant.
A faire pour ceux qui s’intéresse a l’histoire de ce pays.
Situé a coté de Wall Street (marrant non? Tout un symbole)

Pour ceux qui s’intéressent à l’histoire des Etats-​Unis, toute l’histoire des Etats-​Unis, ce musée du légendaire Smithsonian est un must.
Cette annexe récente présente une très belle collection d’objets indiens, illustrant aussi bien le quotidien que les facettes spirituelles et religieuses de ces cultures.
A quelques rares exceptions près, la muséographie est moderne. Et surtout, les objets sont remis en perspective dans leur contexte technique, utilitaire et/​ou symbolique, et les expositions sont accompagnées d’enregistrements multimédias et de témoignages de personnalités au confluent des deux cultures, comme ce médecin diplômé d’une grande université et membre du conseil tribal de son clan.
Présentations très enrichissantes.
A né pas manquer, à mon avis.