Frank and I visited the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City today. Located in the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House, the museum opens to a grand, oval-shaped rotunda. Murals of milestones from the US appear, alongside representations of the explorers famously associated with the US. Ironic, considering how their expeditions impacted the very people the museum commemorates.
clear sky
white-washing
history
We walk into the permanent south gallery exhibit, the “Infinity of Nations.” The exhibit features background and artifacts from all Native American people living in the entirety of the Americas, from the article circle to Patagonia. As I passed display after display, I recall how harmoniously the indigenous nations of the Americas lived with nature. Nothing wasted; everything used: so unlike the aspirational avarice so many in modern societies demonstrate daily. Another irony observed: would we even need an Earth Day had we adopted the indigenous people’s perspective on living with nature?
climate change
not knowing when enough
is enough
I’m hosting Haibun Monday over at dVerse, where we write about Earth Day.
The Pub is still open! Come join us!
Frank J. Tassone 
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