The National Museum of the American

Indian

Online searching for items at

©Neeta Lind, 10/4/04

© Yo Hibino 10/05/05

The National Museum

of the American Indian?

Smithsonian Institution

In Washington, DC

In New York, NY

“… committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the Native culture of the Western Hemisphere, past, present, and future, through partnerships with Native people and others.” - NMAI Mission Statement

Online at http://www.nmai.si.edu

What do they have?Ethnographic

itemsPhotographsArcheological

itemsArt (Modern and

Contemporary)

High Bear, Sioux portrait (P27309)

Another Feather from Moon’s Nest by Jim Schoppert (25/4629)

All images courtesy of The National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution

Culbreath point (7725)

Chippewa shoulder bag (1/1125)

•Dug up•Found •Given

•Taken•Bought

(590,000 records – the

largest collection in the world!)

Online Searching athttp://www.nmai.si.edu/searchcollections

Search items by

• Peoples/Cultures

• Artists/Individuals

• Places

• Object Specifics

• Advanced

Peoples/Culture Search

Step 1:choose collection category

Step 2: Select culture

• By map• By drop-down menu• Just type in the name

Step 3: click

Results lists (Chippewa/Ojibwa search)

Each short record shows:•Small image•Object description•Culture•Place of origin•Accession #

# of items

Next page

Items: Records

Items: Images

Click to enlarge

Different photographs of same object (and of its accession card)

Measuring tool (cm)

Saving URLs (& hyperlinking)

To get back to this page quickly, you can simply copy the URL {CTRL C}

… and paste it into a file or hyperlink {CTRL V}

Why do this instead of downloading the image?

•Both image and its record

•Doesn’t take up memory on your server

•Copyright ethics (when not using for educational setting)

Using item images in school reports

• Copyright/Fair Use: no charge “for a school paper or project where only a single copy will be produced”

• Citing/crediting: With the

image, you should include– Culture/People– Object name– “Courtesy, National Museum of theAmerican Indian, Smithsonian Institution”– the catalog number in brackets Tlingit Oystercatcher rattle. Courtesy,

National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution [2875]

example:

How to copy an imageOn a PC computer On a Mac computer

Copy & Paste

1. Right click on the image2. Select “Copy” from menu3. Open document4. Place your cursor where

you want the image5. Paste with CTRL+V

1. Hold down CONTROL while clicking on image

2. Select “Copy image” from menu3. Open document4. Place your cursor where you want

the image5. Paste with OPEN APPLE+V

Download for later upload

1. Right click on the image2. Select “Save As” from

menu3. Select a type (.jpg or .gif

are standard)4. Name the file something

unique

1. Hold down CONTROL while clicking on an image

2. Select “Save image as…” from menu

3. Name the file something unique

Searching… beyond Peoples/Cultures search

• Artists/Individuals - if you already know a specific artist or organization

• Places

– Type site name– Choose from

pull-down menus

More search options…

• Object Specifics– Doesn’t work for photographs– From pull-down menus:

• Type of item• Technique• Material

Limits your search. Use this when you already have an idea of what might be in the collection.

Advanced Search

• Combine ways to search• Additional searching

– Object specifics for photographs

– by Catalog Number

Questions?

More information can be found on the museum’s search site at

http://www.nmai.si.edu/searchcollections