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Indigenous Peoples

Hunters, trappers and other land users in the North are using Siku, a mobile app named after the Inuktitut word for “sea ice,” to share environmental information, including ice conditions. Here, an Inuit hunter prepares to test the safety of sea ice near Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, with a harpoon.

This App Lets Inuit Combine Traditional Knowledge With Scientific Data

Indigenous communities from Alaska to Greenland are harnessing information to make their own decisions

Today, the rongorongo script survives on less than 30 objects.

New Research

Did the People of Easter Island Invent a Writing System From Scratch?

Radiocarbon dating has found that a tablet inscribed with the mysterious rongorongo script predates European contact

Artist and Shaman Between Two Worlds, Norval Morrisseau, 1980, shows the artist’s signature style: bold colors and a surreal sense of his subjects’ inner lives.

Inside the Biggest Art Fraud in History

A decades-long forgery scheme ensnared Canada’s most famous Indigenous artist, a rock musician turned sleuth and several top museums. Here’s how investigators unraveled the incredible scam

Iron Gate Dam in Hornbrook, California, on the Klamath River

The Largest Dam Removal Project in U.S. History Begins Final Stretch, Welcoming Salmon Home

After being impeded by dams for more than a century, the Klamath River will be restored to its historic channel this year

Chicago's Field Museum announced its decision to cover certain display cases several days before new federal regulations went into effect.

Field Museum Covers Native American Displays to Comply With New Regulations

The federal rules require museums to obtain consent from tribal leaders before displaying or researching cultural heritage items

To understand Elma's life, researchers cut her tusk lengthwise and took samples to study the elements present in the ivory.

Meet Elma, a Woolly Mammoth Who Roamed Far and Wide More Than 14,000 Years Ago

By analyzing a fossilized tusk, scientists have pieced together the animal’s movements

The 160-year-old pelt of the woolly dog Mutton in the Smithsonian’s collection

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it

The area was surveyed using lidar technology, which revealed a large-scale network of roads and platforms.

New Research

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Cities Hidden in the Ecuadorean Amazon

Laser imaging has revealed an extensive network of settlements and roads that challenge historical understandings of the area

Workers discovered this Indigenous ossuary while digging in Toronto.

Construction Workers Discover Indigenous Burial Ground in Toronto

Researchers who investigated the site estimate that it’s about 700 years old

Welcome Park is named after the ship that brought Penn across the Atlantic in 1682.

Officials Reverse Plans to Remove William Penn Statue From a Philadelphia Park

The National Park Service had proposed replacing the statue with public resources showcasing the city’s Native American history

An illustration of Lucayan divers spearfishing for parrotfish, turtles and conch

How Archaeologists Are Unearthing the Secrets of the Bahamas’ First Inhabitants

Spanish colonizers enslaved the Lucayans, putting an end to their lineage by 1530

Lily Gladstone became the Golden Globe's first Indigenous Best Actress for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon.  

Lily Gladstone Makes Golden Globes History as First Indigenous Best Actress Winner

The “Killers of the Flower Moon” star accepted the award by speaking in the Blackfeet language

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2023 ranged from a 12-sided object that may have been used for sorcery to a lost Rembrandt portrait.

Cool Finds

117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023

The year’s most exciting discoveries included a stolen Vincent van Gogh painting, a hidden medieval crypt and a gold-covered mummy

Aerial view of construction work on the Maya Train on August 31, 2023

First Section of Mexico’s Controversial Maya Train Opens

The rail system, built to connect tourist destinations, has been criticized for endangering archaeological and environmental sites

Smithsonian's picks for the best history books of 2023 include King: A Life, The Sisterhood and The Wager.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best History Books of 2023

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the United States ended up where it is today

In the village of Tautira, Tahiti, the community came together to impose their own set of fishing restrictions to ensure the availability of fish into the future.

How an Ancient Practice Aids Marine Conservation

In French Polynesia, the art of rahui puts everyone in charge of protecting the sea

An original copy of a 15th-century Christopher Columbus letter translated from Spanish into Latin

Christopher Columbus Letter Describing Journey to the Americas Sells for $3.9 Million

Copies of the letter have long been the target of thefts and forgeries, but Christie’s says this one is the real deal

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There's More to That

How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind

“Killers of the Flower Moon” sets a new standard in its nuanced portrait of Osage life. Decades of prior films about Native Americans didn’t even try

The new film places the relationship between Mollie Burkhart (played by Lily Gladstone) and her husband Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the center of the story.

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Martin Scorsese’s new film revisits the murders of wealthy Osages in Oklahoma in the 1920s

A sampling of Native representation in the films (clockwise from top left) Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), War Party (1988), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Revenant (2015), Soldier Blue (1970), Little Big Man (1970) and Dances With Wolves (1990)

From Wild West Shows to ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ Revisit the History of Native Americans on the Silver Screen

How American Indians in Hollywood have gone from stereotypes to starring roles

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