This Smithsonian museum highlights the life, culture and history of American Indians through exhibitions, film screenings, living cultural presentations and special programs. The museum is within the George Gustav Heye Center which is housed in the Beaux-Arts style Alexander Hamilton US Custom House in Lower Manhattan. The building itself is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City Landmark; it was designed by Cass Gilbert and completed in 1907. 

The NMAI has approximately 825,000 items which represent more than 12,000 years of Native American history and over 1,200 indigenous cultures. Almost all tribes in the US and Canada are represented as well as some from South American, Middle America and the Caribbean. In addition to the archaeological artifacts, ethnographic items and modern Native American art there is a collection of more than 320,000 images in the photographic archives. The museum is divided into Object, Photo Archive, Media Archive and Paper Archive collections.

The museum exhibits include both historic and contemporary artifacts and art related to Native Americans. You can see historic every-day items, household items, religious artifacts, ceremonial items and traditional art work. The highlights include the Diker Pavilion of Native Arts and Cultures. The core exhibition of the museum is the Infinity Nations which presents the 700 best items of the permanent collection. It is arranged into geographical regions and uses multimedia and interactive exhibits as well as audio commentaries on the artifacts. The space has murals which feature the history of the building. Other sections of the museum include the image gallery; special exhibition galleries, contemporary galleries, the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room, a research and resource center and library. There is a small theatre where the screenings are shown and a museum café.