Museumsportal Berlin

The new room dedicated to the theme of cultural change wrought by European influence in the eastern woodlands is closely tied in with the first part of the permanent exhibition on the 'Native Americans of North America.'

The Ethnological Museum's collection of artefacts from North America's eastern woodlands ranks as one of the oldest and richest to stem from this region. Of particular note are articles of clothing made from European woollen fabrics, which were adorned by Native American women with elaborate silk ribbons and which were first brought to Berlin in the 1840s. A further example of cultural change is the production of souvenirs around 1850, designed for tourists to Niagara Falls and the surrounding areas, whereby traditional Native American Indian elements were fused with the European visitors' desire for local mementos.

At the heart of this exhibition is the synthesis of European materials, such as fabrics, glass beads and metal goods, with traditional Indian craft design that ultimately led to new cultural forms.