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Smithsonian Voices

Gray headstones and green grass and trees in a cemetery.

Cemeteries That Save the American Landscape

Covering two million acres of U.S. soil, cemeteries are lush with potential for the living and the land.

Devinne Melecki | April 27, 2023

A beautiful rust colored hill against a blue, cloudy sky.

The Power of “Bears Ears” and Indigenous Place Names

What’s in a name? It’s an important part of our identity, our existence, connecting us to our cultural and social realms.

Angelo Baca | August 9, 2022

Various cobs of multicolored corn.

How Seeds Tell Stories

In the past century, there has been a seventy-five percent decline in agricultural biodiversity. When we fail to prioritize biodiversity, we risk erasing cultural diversity as well.

Gabrielle Puglisi | April 22, 2022

Stunning views inside the Arpa Protected Landscape. (Photo by My Armenia Program)

Adventuring the Armenian Way

Armenia is a museum under an open sky with hundreds of opportunities to actively explore outside.

My Armenia Program | June 17, 2021
The Indianola dock stretches out into the Puget Sound. Since time immemorial, the Suquamish Tribe has sourced their sustenance, folklore, and community from the salt waters and pebbly beaches of the sound.

Photo by Julian White-Davis

The Struggle for Native Lands in Indianola, Washington

Indianola’s beaches were once the home of the Suquamish Tribe, or in their language, Southern Lushootseed, suq̀wabš—People of Clear Salt Water.

Julian White-Davis | June 8, 2021
From Insects, their way and means of living. Artwork by R. E. Snodgrass

Cicada Folklore, or Why We Don’t Mind Billions of Burrowing Bugs at Once

The earliest documented examples of cicada folklore come from China.

James Deutsch | May 25, 2021
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