Its unique shape, with a geodesic dome roof "shell" and large porthole "eye" windows, invokes the Iroquois creation story of the earth forming on the back of a giant turtle.

[1][2] Their motivation was to promote the preservation of the visual and performing arts of Native American peoples and to encourage the development of new forms of creative expression.

[1] Wilson moved the center to a storefront in Niagara Falls in 1975 which included an art gallery, handicraft shop, and museum exhibit space.

[2] The shape of the building was envisioned by Wilson and his coworker, and reflects the Iroquois creation story of muskrat bringing a piece of the earth from below the water, creating the Western hemisphere on the back of a giant turtle.

[2] The use of the symbolic design is emblematic of twentieth-century Native American architecture, as The Turtle joined other zoomorphic buildings such as the Cornwall Island (Ahkwesahsne Mohawk) School in Ontario.

[3] The large porthole windows act as eyes which gaze toward the Upper Niagara River Rapids, while the geodesic dome roof includes a skylight in the shape of an eagle.

[2] The architect, Dennis Sun Rhodes of the Northern Arapaho, said in 1988 that "[t]he turtle is one of the highest symbols of the Eastern American Indians and represents an all-encompassing holding up of the earth.