Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

The quilted work Tears of Our Children, Tears for Our Children created by Susan Hudson (Diné/Navajo) depicts the effects of assimilation and boarding schools on the lives of Diné/Navajo children and adults.

Healing Soul Wounds: Grappling with the Indian Boarding School Era

During history major Maddie Henderson's internship at the National Museum of the American Indian, she sought to learn more about the Indian boarding school era and how forced assimilation has affected the dissemination of cultural practices generations later, including within her own family.

Cheyenne and Arapaho leadership examine their treaty

What the 1865 Cheyenne Arapaho Treaty Represents About the United States' Broken Promises to Native Americans

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How Shared Stewardship Is Bringing to Light One of the World’s Most Significant Holdings of Mi’kmaw Cultural Items

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Five Ideas for Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2022

Bison on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana

The Return of a National Icon

Hawaiian wa'a (canoe)

Ka Mo‘olelo o Au Hou ma Wakinekona, D.C. | The Story Behind the Hawaiian Canoe in Washington, D.C.

Cynthia and her husband Walter

Museum's New Director Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar Says Her Goal Is 'Listening, Being Respectful and Asking for Help'

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A Retro Look in the Archives Reveals Past Views on Language Derogatory to Native Americans

The National Native American Veterans Memorial at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. to Reopen May 21

Volunteers with the Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund distribute food and other essential supplies to isolated communities and farmsteads on the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation. As part of the Smithsonian's virtual program 24 Hours in a Time of Change, Shandiin Herrera (Diné)—seated on the left, wearing a Duke University sweatshirt—describes how this grassroots response to the COVID-19 pandemic came together last spring and shares her experiences as the fund's volunteer coordinator in Monument Valley, Utah. (Photo by Karney Hatch)

Smithsonian Wants Your 2020 Stories

Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), with the inscription “To my little girl Grace From Dad Jim Thorpe 1951.” The photo, in the original folder frame, shows Thorpe during his career with the Canton Bulldogs football team, ca. 1915 to 1920. Grace Thorpe Collection, NMAI.AC.085 (pht_092_002). (National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian)

Happy Birthday, Jim Thorpe! We're Celebrating by Making His Daughter's Archives More Accessible Online

Ceramic olla purchased from Soledad Lala (Soboba Luiseño), Riverside, California, for the collections of the Museum of the American Indian, with a sketch by the collector, E. H. Davis. Olla: NMAI 7/1952. Drawing: Expedition Sketch Book, No. 2, November 1917. Edward H. Davis Papers, Huntington Free Library Collection 9166, Cornell University Library (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian; sketch courtesy of the Cornell University Library)

Spotlight on Collections: Reuniting Objects and Expedition Field Notes

From a Dance Performance on the Residential School Experience to a Symposium Celebrating Native Women's Art, Women’s History Month Matters at the National Museum of the American Indian

Coiled basket jar, ca. 1900, made by Mary Burkhead (Western Mono). Madera County, California. 16/5503. Through archival research, the museum now knows that a Western Mono woman named Mary Burkhead made this coiled basketry jar, information not listed on the catalog card. The research is part of a multiyear, multi-institutional project to recover information that was separated from, or perhaps never a part of, the museum's catalog records. (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian. Note: Objects and catalog cards in these photo composites are not to scale.)

Spotlight on Collections: Expanding Both What We Know and What's Available Online

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Healing Soul Wounds: Grappling with the Indian Boarding School Era

Robert Houle: Red Is Beautiful

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