Washington has a new memorial: The National Native American Veterans Memorial. It was still having the last finishing touches put on it when I went down with my camera the other day, but it is definitely worth the visit already. (RSP)
The memorial is located just east of the National Museum of the American Indian, a decision that I heartily support. Too often, these new memorials are put in a place that make it very difficult to visit. Here, it can easily – and logically – be added to a stop at the museum.
The central piece of the memorial is this round stainless steel ring, installed above a round stone that has water flowing over it. What you can’t see in this picture because of the trees is that the US Capitol is framed by the ring. (RSP)
The reverse angle shows the ring framing the museum. (RSP)
Around the outside of the memorial are a series of metal spears with feathers surrounding the spear tips. Lower down are rings, which have been used to tie ribbons to.
A closeup of a ring and added items. The meorial also has a soundsccape: speakers ranged around it play reminiscenses of Native American soldiers and songs – a further reason to see this for yourself, and not rely on just these pictures. (RSP)
These last finishing touches should be all done by now, so take the next sunny day as an opportunity to visit and see for yourself. We’d love to hear your thoughts! (RSP)
