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Acknowledgments
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The writing of The Land Has Memory has been a joyful collective effort. We owe a debt of gratitude to many friends, specifically to Donna House (Diné/Oneida), the notable ethnobotanist who originally envisioned the exterior plantings and worked with the landscape architecture firm EDAW of Alexandria, Virginia, to create four distinct environments that bring to life the plant and animal worlds of nearly 400 years ago. Today, visitors can learn about the indigenous plants of the Chesapeake Bay region, as well as how Native communities interacted with them, through an outdoor panel exhibition that highlights the building’s design features, a variety of plant uses, and community stories. Tours of the landscape led by Native staff and programs featuring traditional planting, cooking, and cosmology complement the exhibition throughout the year. The museum is grateful to all of the writers who shared their knowledge and passion for the environment with us for the benefit of this book. We particularly thank contributors Kathleen Ash-Milby (Navajo), Kristine Brumley, Roger Courtenay, Nephi Craig (Diné/ White Mountain Apache), James Pepper Henry (Kaw/Creek), Johnpaul Jones (Cherokee/ Choctaw), Marsha Lea, Nancy Strickland (Lumbee), Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway), and Amy Van Allen for generously sharing their insights. We also appreciate the expertise of Christine Price-Abelow of the Smithsonian’s Horticulture Services Division, whose intimate knowledge of the museum landscape greatly enhanced this book. Horticulture Services staff Paul Lindell, Tony Dove, and the late Dan Chiplis provided invaluable assistance in the project’s development. We owe thanks to Duane Blue Spruce (Laguna/San Juan Pueblo) and Tanya Thrasher (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), who served as dedicated co-editors and contributors for this volume. An original poem by Nora Naranjo-Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo), written on the occasion of her sculpture installation in the museum’s landscape, reminds us of the earth’s bounty. This book would not have been produced without the commitment of the NMAI Publications Office, especially head of publications Terence Winch and managing editor Ann Kawasaki. NMAI editors Sally Barrows and Amy Pickworth and freelance editor ChrisAcknowledgments 156 acknowledgments tine Gordon provided invaluable expertise in the research, copyediting, and proofreading stages. Photographers Ernest Amoroso, Katherine Fogden (Mohawk), Walter Larrimore, and Roger Whiteside of the museum’s Office of Photo Services, headed by Cynthia Frankenburg , and NMAI program specialist Hayes Lavis took the beautiful color photographs of the landscape that bring the book’s contents to life. Lou Stancari contributed photo research integral to the book’s archival photographs. For the outdoor exhibition, Associate Director for Museum Resources Tim Johnson, project manager Karen Fort, and exhibit manager Barbara Mogel ably guided a dedicated team, which included Shirley Cloud-Lane (Navajo/Southern Ute), Renée Gokey (Sac and Fox/Eastern Shawnee), José Montaño (Aymara), Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway), and Tanya Thrasher (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma). These staff members offered invaluable writing, research, and personal experiences that informed nearly every page of this book. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Founding Director W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), whose steadfast leadership throughout the planning, design, and construction of NMAI provided for a glorious building and landscape imbued with Native wisdom and understanding . Throughout this volume, we come face-to-face with Mother Earth and some of her many offerings—male and female relationships, powerful medicine, sustenance, and the balance of all things. Through the interpretation of nature, even in our small ecosystems at the museum , we understand the importance and see the beauty of living life in harmony and preserving valuable resources for future generations. We hope this book and the landscape that inspired it bring some additional measure of beauty and wisdom to your life. —kevin gover ...