"This book is the result of a symposium organized by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). It brings together six prominent museum professionals - Native and non-Native - to examine the ways in which Indians and their cultures have been represented by museums in North America and to present new directions museums are already taking.".

"Traditional museum exhibitions of Native American art and culture often represented only the past, ignoring the living Native voice. Today, museums have begun to incorporate the Native perspective in their displays. Even more dramatic is the increasing number of Indian-run museums, such as the Mille Lacs Indian Museum in Minnesota and the Museum at Warm Springs in Oregon.

These essays explore the relationships being forged between museums and Native communities to create new techniques for presenting Native American culture."--BOOK JACKET.