Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum

The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum is an art museum located in the historic Indian Dormitory building on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The museum's exhibits feature art inspired by Mackinac Island, including historic painting and maps, photographs from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, Native American art and beaded garments, and contemporary art and photography from area artists.The museum is one of many attractions in Mackinac Island State Park.HistoryThe Indian Dormitory is a Federal-style structure built at U.S. government expense on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1838. It was a pioneering idea in building housing for Native Americans visiting the Indian agency on the island. From 1867 until 1960, it was used as a public school, and from 1966 until 2003 as a museum of Native American culture. On July 2, 2010, it opened as the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, operated by Mackinac State Historic Parks. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Henry Schoolcraft, Indian AgentThe Indian Dormitory is a surviving fragment of the assimilationist vision of Henry Schoolcraft, the U.S. government official supervising Native American affairs and based at Mackinac Island. Schoolcraft noticed in the early 19th century that the culture of most Native Americans centered on the hunting and gathering of food, activities which were less productive in terms of food production than agriculture.