One day before the official opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, a group of more than 200 New Yorkers assembled in Washington for a private tour and dinner to celebrate the occasion. They started out in the circular Lelawi Theater with video images of the Arctic Coast and the high plateaus of Bolivia projected on a 40-foot domed ceiling. Next were walk-throughs of exhibitions, including one on cosmology and another that recounts the history of eight tribes and Native communities. “I’m awestruck,” said one guest in front of a display of swords and other gold objects. At a reception, visitors tasted traditional foods served at the museum’s cafe such as pumpkin cookies and Peruvian potato causa, and checked out jewelry, pottery, and blankets for sale at the museum shop. Nancy O’Connor, Carroll O’Connor’s widow, picked up a turquoise necklace for herself and an antique belt for her brother. “I’ll do anything to make him lose weight,” she quipped.

Guests then headed back to the Willard Hotel to change into formal dress for a gala dinner at the Smithsonian Castle hosted by Governor Pataki, Senator Clinton, and Senator Schumer. Among those attending the dinner were the chairman emeritus of the American Museum of Natural History, William Golden, David Rockefeller, and Navajo ethnobotanist Donna House.

It was only fitting that the massive celebrations – some 200,000 indigenous people from around the world will gather on the Mall this morning – include a New York contingent. After all, New York is home to the George Gustav Heye Center, which, for the past 10 years, has been the museum’s only exhibition space, named after America’s original and most prolific collector of Native American art.

When the Smithsonian founded the National Museum of the American Indian in 1989, it acquired Heye’s collection from the museum he’d established on 155th Street and Broadway (which subsequently closed). Honoring Heye and the collection’s New York roots, Mr. Rockefeller, Senator Moynihan, and others established the New York outpost at the U.S. Customs House at the tip of Manhattan.

Since then, New Yorkers have had a hand in fund-raising for the building on the Mall and for the Heye Center. These include Valerie and Charles Diker, co-chairmen of the Heye Center’s board and prominent collectors of Native art.

“I’ve worked 14 years on this; it’s a transforming event for the Native community … I’m ecstatic,” said Mr. Diker.

Board member Jane Safer said the opening in Washington could only be good for the Heye Center: “The amount of publicity alone will raise our profile in New York,” Ms. Safer, the wife of Morley Safer, said. “We’re still better known outside the states than on the Upper East Side,” she added.

Plans for the Heye Center include a new Pavilion, adding exhibition and teaching space. The Heye Center raised $525,000 from the trip (tickets, which include a gala dinner at the National Building Museum tonight, were $5,000 each).

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Redbook magazine hosted a women’s luncheon yesterday at Avery Fisher Hall. Guest of honor and keynote speaker Senator Kerry addressed attendees, including Uma Thurman, Daisy Fuentes, and Dylan McDermott.