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RAMP IT UP YOUR ASS

I've been hesitant to write up a review of the new skateboarding exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian partially because I have had the pleasure of knowing a few Native American skateboarders and am well-versed in the complexities that automatically accompanies their involvement in this most American of sports, but also because I don't want to get called a racist when I say it was the biggest heaping mound of bullshit I've ever laid eyes upon.

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I should have known from the title (Ramp It Up) that this thing was going to be bad, but I made the journey to the financial district yesterday with high hopes. The museum itself is in the Alexander Hamilton Custom House. In addition to the museum, the building houses the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. The first thing a visitor to the museum notices is the massive, towering statues of people like Henry Hudson, Christopher Columbus, and a bunch of other honkies who aren't in great standing with the Native American community.

After walking underneath the stoney gazes of the old explorers, I found myself in the modest hallway (that's all it is, a hallway) that is currently home to the Ramp It Up exhibit.

The whole thing looks suspiciously like it might have been put together by some kid whose mom works at the museum. All of the write-ups for the photos and boards on display were in the infamous Thrasher script. People seem to think that using this font grants them immediate and unquestioned credibility in the skateboard world.

It was almost impressive in its laziness. I am however, fully aware that no matter how terrible this exhibit may be, there is nothing more amateurish than my photos of the show. They are blurry, I know.

This thing'll probably be up for a while. I guess if you're really, really into Native American skateboarding you might want to check it out. Otherwise, if you break your board in the Financial District you can run over to the museum gift shop and pay 85 bucks for a Wounded Knee deck.

JONATHAN SMITH