One Place Many Nations: First Americans Museum By Kristin Gentry
FAMily, photo courtesy of First Americans Museum
It’s often said that the First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has been in the making for the last thirty years. On the public surface, the brick-and-mortar museum structure, that was true. On a cultural, ethnological, or historical level, the museum has been in the making since the original First Americans or Indigenous inhabitants began their lives in the geographical area of what is called Oklahoma today. All thirty-nine tribal nations that make up Oklahoma were represented in the opening processional that started on the very first day 12 f e a t u re
the First Americans Museum finally opened to the public. This long-awaited grand opening was filled with the visions and prayers of everyone that had been working for decades to bring this physical gathering space into existence. It was a powerful and thought-out gathering of all the tribal nations in Oklahoma into one location at one point in history. The phrase, One Place, Many Nations, led to the mission of the First Americans Museum that says, “In one place, visitors will experience the collective histories of thirty-nine distinctive First American Nations in Oklahoma today.
First Americans Museum will share the cultural diversity, history, and contributions of the First Americans.” Visitors were able to share in the core values of the Museum, Reciprocity, Relationships, and Responsibility, in every part of the campus whether it was on the Festival Plaza, inside the inaugural exhibitions, shopping from First American artists, or experiencing the First American impressed cuisine inside the restaurant or café. One of the highlights for the First Americans Museum’s grand opening ceremonies
