Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Detailed photo of a bronze sculpture depicting George Washington, Polly Cooper, and Skenandoah from the waist up.

She Walked Over 200 Miles in the Snow to Feed a Starving Army. The Oneida Nation Has Remembered Polly Cooper for 250 Years

As one of America's first allies, the Oneida Nation sent 47 warriors to Valley Forge in 1778. Among them was a woman named Polly Cooper, whose skill, generosity and knowledge of white corn kept Washington's soldiers alive

Black and white photograph of an Indigenous woman with short, dark hair wearing a long-sleeve floral patterned blouse with a darker piece of floral fabric draped over her shoulder and tied at her waist.

Fragments of Ancient Pottery Inspired Maria Martinez

Discover how Maria Martinez revolutionized Pueblo pottery with her innovative black-on-black ceramics, inspired by ancient fragments and created through experimental firing techniques at San Ildefonso Pueblo.

Black and white portrait of Susan La Flesche Picotte on a photo card from the shoulders up.

How Susan and Rosalie La Flesche Made Omaha History

Better known as becoming the first Native American woman to receive a medical degree, Susan La Flesche, along with her sister Rosalie, made significant contributions to the anthropological study and preservation of Omaha tribal history.

Black and white portrait of Dat So La Lee seated in a chair and surrounded by six decorative baskets on the floor by her feet.

Basket Maker Dat So La Lee’s Artistry Was a Means of Survival

Meet Dat So La Lee, a Washoe basket weaver whose signature degikup style preserved her cultural heritage and offered a means of survival as she adapted to the American economy.

Candid photo of Elena Terry smiling holding a white dish full of colorful beans, peppers, and corn tilted away from her.

How Chef Elena Terry Revisited Heritage Seeds to Cultivate Hope

Ho-Chunk Chef Elena Terry cultivates and cooks with ancestral seeds that were preserved despite forced tribal relocations. She focuses on providing opportunities to community members to eat and prepare traditional tribal foods as a method of healing.

Design of the quarter with Zitkala-Ša from the waist up holding a book. The words “author, activist, composer” are beside her.

Zitkala-Ša, Native American Rights Activist, Honored on New Quarter

Zitkala-Ša, “Red Bird,” Gertrude Simmons Bonnin: an activist, author, and composer who fought for citizenship and sovereignty for Native Americans is honored on a quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program.

Categories
Archive