An American Indian chief conducted an ancient tribal ceremony Friday to bless the first building to be completed at the site of the American Indian Museum and Cultural Center.
Representatives from several Oklahoma-based tribes joined state officials in dedicating a 4,000-square-foot visitor center, part of a complex of buildings, courtyards and earthen mounds that eventually will include a 125,000-square-foot museum at the intersection of Interstates 35 and 40 in Oklahoma City.
"It's special — very, very special," said Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anaotubby. "It really raises up the history and the culture of the tribes."
Officials said the museum will be a cultural tourism destination that will draw visitors from throughout the nation and the world to Oklahoma City to learn about the history of the state's 39 Indian tribes.
"Our vision is that this is to be much more than a museum," said Dan Batchelor of Oklahoma City, a member of the cultural center's board. It will also be a center for tribal peoples to gather to enhance their languages, art and music, Batchelor said.
"The native culture of our state is of great interest," said Lt. Gov. Jari Askins.
During dedication ceremonies, Wyandotte Chief Leaford Bearskin used a smoking cauldron of charcoal, tobacco, cedar and sweet grass to bless the new building.
The dedication ceremony concluded with a prayer by the Rev. Eddie Lindsey in his native Muscogee (Creek) language.
The architecture of the new building is made up of the same basic materials the museum will be made of: timber, zinc, glass and steel.
Architect Johnson Fain said the roofline of the visitor center forms a cantilevered curve that is one of a series of circular spirals recurring throughout the project and speaks to native ideals of harmony and progress in living with the earth.
Scheduled for completion in 2012, work on the $150 million complex has slowed in recent weeks as builders await the sale of $25 million in state bonds that will help complete the museum structure. The bond issue was authorized by the state Legislature last spring and is being prepared for sale, state Treasurer Scott Meacham said.
Meacham said the bond issue has not been slowed by the continuing turmoil in the nation's financial markets and that he hopes to sell them in 30 to 60 days.
"We're waiting on the lawyers to prepare the bonds," Meacham said, adding that he hopes to sell the bonds locally instead of on the institutional bond market.
"Generally, we've done very well selling issues of this size locally," he said.
Batchelor and others said state assistance in financing construction of the cultural center is "vital to the continuation of the project."
"We're thankful to them," Anaotubby said of state lawmakers. "Next month the funding should be in hand."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
