We recently had the opportunity to attend the Grand Opening of the American Indian Museum in Washington, DC. These are some of the photos taken on opening day. Tribes from all over the country, as well as tribes from South America marched the length of the Mall in all their regalia. Quite the spectacle, it was well worth the trip. The museum is a work of art itself and I will look forward to returning when the crowds have died down some.

*Photographic notes - Pictures were taken with a Casio 3.3mp Digital camera. - it is particularly difficult with a small digicam to shoot at high enough film speeds and still avoid "noise" (grain) to appear in one's pictures. Shooting at those high speeds is required when shooting inside a museum where no flash or tripod is allowed, so I have done the best I can, shooting mostly at ISO 200 to minimize noise.(the camera will go as high as ISO 400 but with noticeably more noise). This required handholding as low at 1/10th and was challenging to say the least. I've tried to include those shots that "worked". It was also important to pay careful attention to the different types of lighting in the museums and adjust ones white balance settings accordingly. Some locations employed tungsten lighting, other fluorescent. (If you like these photos, click the link at the bottom left of the page that says "Vote for this gallery")