Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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The Indigenous Effect: Native People in Film

Over the past few years, Indigenous film and television have finally started to break through on mainstream platforms, and the National Museum of the American Indian's annual Native Cinema Showcase has been part of that change. Native comedian, filmmaker, and the producer of Netflix show "Spirit Rangers" Joey Clift (Cowlitz) looks back on how things have changed since his childhood and what he hopes the future holds for Indigenous film and television.

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

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

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

Gabrielle Lee (Kanaka Maoli), the first Native Hawaiian cultural interpreter on the staff of the National Museum of the American Indian, in a small section of the New York Botanical Garden that features plants native to Hawai‘i. (Courtesy of Gabbi Lee)

Aloha Opens the Door to Learning

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

Maria Marable-Bunch, associate director for museum learning and programs of the National Museum of the American Indian, in the exhibition

"All the Fun Action Happens in the Galleries and Learning Centers of a Museum"—Maria Marable-Bunch

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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Women’s History Month featuring Native Rights Champion Suzan Shown Harjo

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