The museum I attended was the “National Museum of the American Indian” (George Gustav Heye Center). This historic center offered an exceptional perspective of the social heritage of the indigenous Americas. Exhibitions featured famous objects chosen for their aesthetic quality and their power as emblems of indigenous beliefs. My experience at this museum was very quiet and lonely, but I made the most of it. Walking into the museum for the first time, I didn't know how to relate the information to this class. It took me a while to understand how the information I had collected might be relevant to this course. The concepts and theories I will use to analyze my visit to the museum are race and ethnicity, commodification, domination theory, and hegemony. The authors I will use are Stephen Steinberg, Vine Deloria, Jr., Charles Fruehling Springwood, C Richard King, Harry Kitano, Nathan Glazer, and Ronald Takaki. In his article “The Ignominous Origins of Ethnic Pluralism in America,” Stephen Steinberg explores the history of American immigrants from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. This article discusses the point of colonization, which is when a group of people first settle on land (Steinberg 6.) because of their race, ethnicity, and religion different. The Native Americans were driven out by the English, who were the first to settle. The early settlers had serious issues with power and control. Vine Deloria, Jr. also discusses the regulation in his article “Laws and Treaties”. He mentions that the idea of ​​taking Indian lands was uttered by Christian churches shortly after the Doctrine of Discovery was announced. Deloria states: "The discovery denied Indian tribes' rights to sovereignty and... middle of paper ... it may show how Native Americans were mistreated by English settlers. With the help of the National Museum of the American Indian, I was able to better understand how these specific concepts affected Native Americans. Although it was difficult to relate these concepts to the museum exhibits, I was able to understand how they could relate to what I read and learned this semester. By analyzing what I learned in class versus what I learned at the museum, this essay became less demanding. Native Americans have struggled throughout history and that struggle was brought on by settlers and their control. The settlers did everything possible to devalue Native Americans. By going to this museum, not only did I learn about the conflict between the settlers and the Native Americans, but I was able to fully understand what the Native Americans felt emotionally..