ART

American Indian Museum: The Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday authorizing the Smithsonian Institution to establish a National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. The bill transfers a priceless collection of Indian artifacts from New York’s Museum of the American Indian to the Smithsonian for display in a national museum on the Mall and in a satellite institution in New York City. Approval came on a voice vote, sending the bill to the White House for the President’s signature. The House passed it on Monday. The measure may make peace among diverse factions, first by resolving a 10-year-old dispute in New York over how to display and preserve the Heye Foundation collection of more than 1 million Indian artifacts. Secondly, it stipulates that the Smithsonian, where possible, return some 18,000 Indian remains to their original tribes for burial.