National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Founding Director Emeritus Richard West Jr. will give the 11th annual William R. Farrand Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The lecture, “National Museum of the American Indian: Reflections on American History and 21st-Century Museology,” is part of the free Wednesday Night Museums Lecture Series at the U-M Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium.

Established by Congress in 1989 and officially opened in 2004, NMAI is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history and arts of native peoples in the Western Hemisphere.

The inauguration of the national museum also transformed and expanded the definition of the term “museum” far beyond 20th century convention and practice — from a stop on the tour bus route to a gathering place and forum of national and international reach for representation, discussion and debate.

West will speak about what makes NMAI different from other museums, and about the new models for museum practice that they have developed.

The event is sponsored by UMMA, the Native American Studies Program and the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, sponsor of the annual endowed William R. Farrand Lecture.