In only the third week of my internship, the date September 24, 2004 has become ingrained in my memory. It isn’t only significant to the Smithsonian, but it has become a day that indigenous communities all over America are looking forward to, as the National Museum of the American Indian prepares to open up on the National Mall.

This museum is in fact long overdue. Native communities have been waiting for a facility like this for years. As a summer intern, I have been working behind the scenes, and I like the refreshing progressiveness at this facility. For the first time in a major, non-local museum, indigenous people will come alive.

Just think about some of the things that you’ve seen in museums: Paintings by dead people, paintings of dead people, extinct species of animals, long gone dinosaurs. Placing indigenous people in a museum setting has traditionally made these people and cultures seem like their museum counterparts: extinct. From this situation arises a problem known in indigenous circles as “the myth of the vanishing Indian.”

I can remember visiting a museum as a child, reading the labels and hearing the public programs saying who my own people, the native Hawaiians, were and what they did, and yet nothing of who we are and what we do now. In my young adolescence, confusion set in. Didn’t I still exist? Why am I being talked about in the past tense, when my people are still a living, thriving society?

While indigenous communities have maintained well-planned exhibits depicting their own culture as living and thriving, larger museums traditionally display indigenous cultures as history and only a thing of the past.

But the National Museum of the American Indian is amazingly progressive. The structure of the facilities, the collections and public programming were planned with help from indigenous communities. The Cultural Resource Center, which houses the NMAI’s collections, was built with the consultation of indigenous architects, who used aspects of various native cultures in building design. Architectural features, such as a circular reception area and alignment with the four directions of the Earth, are found in many indigenous cultures. The actual museum facility, when completed, will also feature a display of running water, which is often prevalent in symbolism and continuity of life, and boulders from various cultures that hold belief in the inner power of stones.

Various tribes and cultural groups are used in consultation on the care of artifacts. When objects are in need of conservational repair, communities often send their own artisans or elders to mend an object. Or they can opt to leave the object as is, as might have been done with the object in its traditional use. A museum professional is not always the best option here.

The storage spaces are also culturally appropriate. If a cultural group decides something should be removed from public eye, those artifacts are kept out of view, for the respect of the peoples’ traditions. Also, sacred objects can be stored in the highest shelf location within its own area. There are other cultural considerations in effect, such as gender-specific handling of objects. Even if non-native staff may have opposing beliefs, the lack of ethnocentrism is awesome. They acknowledge these artifacts are not merely things to some cultures. These are our ancestors, to be respected and cared for.

When the NMAI opens next year, its initial display will feature an exhibit called “Our Peoples.” The title alone signifies how different this museum is. This is not just any museum, but to indigenous communities, this is a museum that belongs to us. It’s not just a place, but a home that we have long been waiting for. The relationship between museums and indigenous people has moved to a new level. NMAI staff is working with various communities, including non-native ones, to help create an environment that utilizes community elders and resources. The museum will feature “living history” with a reception area that will always feature contemporary natives sharing their culture with visitors.

Under the Smithsonian name, this innovative programming and unorthodox museum operation should be an inspiration to any museum with an indigenous collection. While America’s indigenous communities do indeed have centuries of history, we are still a collection of many people who are yet alive — we’re not ready to be another museum label, not yet.