The National Museum of the American Indian is an Institution in the United States launched by an act of the US congress in 1989, with the mandate to preserve, study, and exhibit on the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.
Operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute, NMAI has locations in New York, Maryland, and Washington, DC. The collection of the former Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in New York are consolidated under the Smithsonian Institute, and form the foundation of the collection.
The Washington location of the NMAI is housed in a building designed by Douglas J. Cardinal.
