The Wall Street Journal: Building a Complex History at the First Americans Museum

Seen from above, the First Americans Museum is the union of two circles—a large one made of raised earth and a smaller, looser one described by two curved pavilions—the whole arrayed on a strict east-west axis. It makes a festive impression, but it would be perfectly understandable if it expressed bitterness and sorrow. For the majority of the 39 Native American tribes now living in Oklahoma were forcibly relocated there during the 19th century, and that trauma is the one thing they have in common. Yet while the building cannot help but acknowledge that tragic history, its overall character is surprisingly celebratory, even joyous.

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