Autry Museum of the American West

The Autry Museum of the American West has two sites, about apart: • Griffith Park – 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, California, 90027 • Mt. Washington – 234 Museum Drive, Los Angeles, California, 90065 (Southwest Museum of the American Indian building and ethnobotanical garden, now closed) • Resources Center – 210 South Victory Blvd, Burbank, California 91502 (Storage facility with a ritual space for indigenous people to use items in the collection in ceremonies) ==History==

The Autry was established in 1988 by actor and businessman Gene Autry as "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum," dedicated to exploring and sharing the comprehensive story of the American West and its multiple cultures, as well as further interpreting the West's significance. Its Griffith Park collection includes 21,000 paintings, sculptures, costumes, textiles, firearms, tools, toys, musical instruments, and other objects. The museum contains contemporary and historical exhibitions, year-round programs for children, intellectual forums, and the Native Voices at the Autry performing arts series. In 2003, the Autry acquired the Southwest Museum of the American Indian. The museum is located in Griffith Park directly across from the Los Angeles Zoo. The 4,000-square foot Parks Gallery was renovated in 2013 and has been organized into three theme areas: Religion and Ritual, Land and Landscape, Migration and Movement. The main location also contains two mini galleries with revolving exhibits. Since 2019, the Autry Museum has hosted several of Indigenous Pride LA LGBT+ Pride events. == Collection ==

The Autry's Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection of Native American art is one of the most significant collections dedicated to Native culture in the United States, second only to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian. The 238,000-piece collection includes 14,000 baskets, 10,000 ceramic items, 6,300 textiles and weavings, and more than 1,100 pieces of jewelry. It represents work by indigenous peoples from Alaska to South America, with an emphasis on cultures of California and the Southwestern United States. == Programs ==

Since 1995, Native Voices at the Autry has been the only existing equity theater solely focused on producing new works by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nation playwrights. Randy Reinholz, a member of Oklahoma's Choctaw Nation, and his wife Jean Bruce Scott have run the program for 20 years. Native Voices has produced over 34 full productions, gone on over 20 tours, with 23 new play festivals and 13 Native playwrights. This program is a crucial part of the Autry's mission to promote art history and cultures of the American West. ==References==