Speeches

Opening of “Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the
North American Indian” Exhibition
Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold

Jurong Regional Library
October 16, 2007

Ambassador Patricia Herbold and Dr. Amy Khor, Mayor of South West Community Development Council in Singapore

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for coming this afternoon to the opening of this special exhibit: “Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian.”

Thank you to our guest-of-honor, Dr. Amy Khor, for being here with us today.  We would also like to thank Dr. N. Varaprasad, Chief Executive of the National Library Board, and the Ambassadors and High Commissioners here with us for taking time out of their busy schedules to join us this afternoon.

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue, the embassy has worked with the National Library Board to present this striking photographic exhibition.

Edward S. Curtis was a famed photographer and ethnographer who captured in his work the extraordinary diversity of Native American Indians at the turn of the last century.  In a time when traveling across the United States took weeks instead of hours, Curtis traveled widely, spending thirty years documenting the lives and traditions of Native American tribes from the Great Plains to the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest.

To give you an idea of the scale of this project, Curtis’ magnum opus, entitled The North American Indian, was twenty volumes long.  Curtis once said of his work, “It’s such a big dream, I can’t see it all.”  His statement resonates in this age of globalization, but his efforts are a marvelous example of how one person can make a difference in creating bridges across cultures.

The U.S. Embassy is proud to work with our partners at the National Library Board to provide American materials and resources to the people of Singapore.  Our American Corners at the Central Lending Library, the library@esplanade, and here at the Jurong Regional Library, have given thousands of Singaporeans access to American books, music, movies, and other media.  Our cultural programs build bridges between Singaporean and American culture in the same way Curtis and his photographs did over a hundred years ago.  Cultural diversity is a quality that the United States and Southeast Asia both share and value, which is what makes Curtis’ photographs such a fitting tribute to the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue anniversary.

Thank you again for coming this afternoon.  We sincerely hope you enjoy the exhibition.