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American Indian History

The new app was created with the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community.

This New App Created in Collaboration With the Rainy Lake Ojibwe Community Aims to Preserve Indigenous Language and Knowledge

Users can browse traditional stories, learn more about notable landmarks and discover family connections

The site of the Bear River Massacre, which claimed the lives of an estimated 250 to 500 Shoshone on January 29, 1863

This 1863 Massacre Was the Deadliest Slaughter of Native Americans in U.S. History. Now, the Shoshone Are Restoring the Site of the Attack

Amid mounting tensions between white settlers and the Shoshone, Union soldiers killed an estimated 250 to 500 Shoshone. Today, the Indigenous nation is working to bring “nature back into balance”

The pot was unearthed by University of Florida students this spring.

Cool Finds

Students in Florida Discovered a 400-Year-Old Intact Pot That Reveals Conflict Among Indigenous, Spanish and English Powers

Archaeology students at the University of Florida discovered the rare vessel at the site of the former Mission San Francisco de Potano, established in 1606 when Florida was under Spanish rule

An early 20th-century depiction of the Battle of Little Bighorn

A Century and a Half After Custer’s Last Stand, the Battle of Little Bighorn Continues to Mystify

The June 1876 firefight resulted in the deaths of George Armstrong Custer and 267 of his men. Historians continue to debate exactly how the Lakota Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne secured their victory over the U.S. Army

This 1804 depiction of Jane McCrea's death cemented a dramatized version of her killing in the public imagination.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Native Soldier Allied With the British Killed a Young White Woman in 1777. Propaganda Transformed Her Into a Martyr of the American Revolution

The patriots weaponized Jane McCrea’s death to demonize their enemies and paint Indigenous people as uniquely violent

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A Chance for Healing, 170 Years After a Lakota Massacre

Dozens of personal belongings from the Rosebud Sioux tribe find their way home after spending decades in the Smithsonian collections

The Blue Water valley viewed from Ash Hollow State Historical Park, not far from the massacre site. The park’s visitor center will store the belongings while the Lakota decide on their final disposition. Smithsonian opted not to include photographs of the items out of respect for descendants of the victims. 

The Return of Plundered Belongings Offers a Chance for Healing to a Grieving Lakota Community 170 Years After a Long-Forgotten Massacre

In the conclusion of a long-awaited turn of events, the Great Plains tribe has now reclaimed cherished items stolen from their ancestors by the U.S. Army

On June 10, state and tribal officials recovered the vessel from the water.

Cool Finds

This Dugout Canoe Made From a 12-Foot-Long Log Was Found Bobbing in a North Carolina River

The newly discovered vessel is one of 79 known dugout canoes that have been unearthed throughout the state

Ancestral Menominee farmers grew corn, beans and squash in earthen mounds they built on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

New Research

Massive Fields Where Native American Farmers Grew Corn, Beans and Squash 1,000 Years Ago Discovered in Michigan

The ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin built earthen mounds to grow crops. The site could be the largest preserved archaeological field system in the eastern United States

Perched on the southern edge of the picturesque Monterey Bay, Pacific Grove, California, is home to the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, one of the largest overwintering sites of monarch butterflies in the region.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2025

From a barbecue capital in Texas to the site of the first offensive victory for American forces in the Revolutionary War in New York, these spots are worthy of a visit this year

Sarah Grandmother’s Knife, Apsáalooke (Crow), age 10, wearing an elk-tooth dress and sticking out her tongue playfully in Montana, 1910

See the Stunning Archival Photographs That Tell the Stories of Everyday Native Life and Communities

The Archive Center at the National Museum of the American Indian presents a new exhibition that can help “interrupt the romanticized, stereotypical images often shared of Native peoples throughout history”

Pueblo Bonito is one of the largest "great houses" constructed by the Chacoan people at Chaco Canyon.

New Research

DNA Links Modern Picuris Pueblo Tribe to Ancestors Who Lived in Chaco Canyon Hundreds of Years Ago

Tribal leaders partnered with scientists to confirm their connection to the archaeological site in New Mexico

Sophie Mousseau is identified simply as “Arapaho” on one version of the photo and “Dakota” on another.

When a Historian Saw This Haunting Photograph of a Nameless Native Girl, She Decided She Had to Identify Her

In 1868, Sophie Mousseau was photographed at Fort Laramie alongside six white Army officers. But her identity—and her life story—remained unknown for more than a century

The cache pit was discoverd on a hill overlooking the Knik Arm, a thin brach of the Gulf of Alaska.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Rare 1,000-Year-Old Food Storage Pit in Alaska

Initial findings suggest the cache was used to preserve moose and caribou meat in the harsh climate of southeastern Alaska

The new Chuckwalla National Monument protects more than 624,000 acres in southern California.

Biden Establishes Two New National Monuments in California

The Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument will protect more than 848,000 acres of public lands

A circa 1883 photograph of Lakota leader Sitting Bull

On This Day in History

Why Sitting Bull Was Killed by Indian Agency Police at His Cabin on the Standing Rock Reservation

Because of his alleged involvement with the Ghost Dance movement, the Lakota leader, who died on this day in 1890, was seen as a threat to the U.S. government’s efforts to subdue Indigenous Americans

Today’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. However, the very first Thanksgiving most likely included wildfowl, corn, porridge and venison.

What Food Was Served at the First Thanksgiving in 1621?

Turkey may have been part of the holiday meal, along with venison, shellfish and corn, but pies and potatoes were decidedly not on the menu

Phil Little Thunder, a great-great-grandchild of the Lakota chief whose village was attacked in 1855. An ancient cottonwood known as the Witness Tree, right, still stands.

How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain

When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation

Tsegi Spider Rock, DY Begay, 2007

How an Indigenous Weaver’s Mastery of Color Infuses Her Tapestries With a Life Force

The work of Diné artist DY Begay, now on view at the National Museum of the American Indian, blends tradition and modernity

A Grass Dance is a common sight during a powwow, part of many Native American traditions, usually performed by one of the Warrior dancers in the troupe.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day With 20 Beautiful Photos That Capture the Richness of Native Culture

The diversity of the Native American experience is honored by the newly christened federal holiday

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