Established by an act of Congress in 1989, the Smithsonian’s National Musuem of the American Indian (NMAI) is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and the arts of Native Americans. The museum’s collections span more than 10,000 years and — as this lavishly illustrated miniature volume demonstrates — include a multitlude of fascinating objects, from ancient clay figurines to contemporary Indian paintings, from all over the Americas.

Richard W. West, Jr. is the Director of the National Museum of the American Indian. His coauthors, Charlotte Heth, Richard W. Hill, Sr., and Clara Sue Kidwell, all played important roles in the development of the museum.