JBM-HH group tours American Indian Museum in DC

Photo By Delonte Harrod | To honor Native American Heritage month, about 40 federal employees and service members from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall toured the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, Nov. 19. November is Native American Heritage Month. (Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall PAO photo by Delonte Harrod)  

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES

11.19.2015

Story by Delonte Harrod 

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

WASHINGTON - To honor Native American Heritage month, about 40 federal employees and service members from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall toured the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, Nov. 19.

Master Sgt. Kenny H. Kang, senior equal opportunity adviser for the joint base, said a trip like this is important because it helps people to learn about American Indian culture and customs.

“This kind of education is great for the [Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hal] community,” said Kang. “This museum is like the Newseum near the National Mall. It is not the kind of museum you visit every day. We take people there to educate them.”

The Newseum and the American Indian Museum are similar in that they both invite visitors into a multifaceted experience. The main attraction is the multimedia production about American Indian diaspora. Throughout the museum, visitors can stop and watch multiple short films about American Indian religion and myths, and observe replicas of ancient architecture, paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Text on walls and boards tell of the resilience of a people, their triumphs and a history of displacement.

“This is my first Smithsonian museum; I’ve visited all the monuments,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charlotte Ramos.

Ramos came because she wanted to tour the nation’s capital. But this wasn’t the only reason. Ramos said she grew up in a very diverse neighborhood in San Diego, so coming on this trip was an opportunity for her to “familiarize [herself] with the American Indian culture and customs.”

Though Kang has toured this museum multiple times, he said learning more about the Native American culture allows him and the JBM-HH community to be more culturally sensitive.

“I take my whole family to educate them [about the American Indians],” he said. “We want to promote a learning understanding environment. We don’t want people to walk out and forget about what they have seen.”

But for Lt. Col. Edgar F. Russell III, the trip was not only a source of cultural competence, but also a place he can spark his creative thinking and be inspired by the American Indian’s culture, art, their religious stories and architecture, he said.

“I am a writer and a playwright,” he said. “Sometimes, I will get an idea from seeing a picture or from hearing a piece of music. You never know what’s going to influence you.”

Russell said he enjoyed the “Our Narratives” section, which displayed videos of Native American people telling their creation stories, which detailed their way of living. Russell also mentioned that he was very intrigued by the Inca’s ability to build huge pyramids and expressed a desire to learn more about their culture.

Kang and his office have planned another trip for Holocaust Remembrance Day to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum trip for April 16, 2016. For more information, contact Kang at 703-696-8729.

For more information about Native American Heritage Month, visit www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov.

• Date Taken: 11.19.2015
• Date Posted: 11.25.2015 12:15
• Story ID: 182871
• Location: WASHINGTON, DC, US