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Native American History

Patricia Marroquin Norby will serve as the museum's inaugural associate curator of Native American art.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Hires First Full-Time Curator of Native American Art

Patricia Marroquin Norby previously worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian–New York

The experiences of enslaved people at Fort Snelling (above: Fort Snelling by J.C. Wild) intersected with both the growing Euro-American population and the Native peoples who found themselves on the edges of their own lands.

How 19th-Century Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous Racism Reverberates Today

A case study for the nation, Minnesota has witnessed racial violence from its inception as a U.S. territory

A visitor at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the National Park Foundation Is Highlighting Women’s History

The organization will allocate $460,000 toward projects at 23 parks across the country

The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

Sipson Island in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, opened to the public on July 25.

Cape Cod Island Opens to the Public for the First Time in 300 Years

When Sipson Island went on the luxury real estate market in 2018, locals saw an opportunity for conservation

Theodore Roosevelt stands with naturalist John Muir on Glacier Point, above Yosemite Valley, California, USA.

Sierra Club Grapples With Founder John Muir’s Racism

The organization calls out Muir’s racist statements and pledges to diversify leadership and deepen environmental justice initiatives

Effective immediately, the franchise will be known as the "Washington Football Team."

After Retiring Its Racist Name, D.C. Football Team Announces Temporary Moniker

A new title will be announced once trademark issues are resolved

Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum that features a recreation of Plymouth's 17th-century English village and a Wampanoag homesite.

Massachusetts’ Plimoth Plantation Will Change Its Name

The new moniker will incorporate the Mashpee Wampanoag name for the region: Patuxet

The Supreme Court building in Washington, DC

What a New Supreme Court Decision Means for Native American Sovereignty

The landmark ruling upholds the sanctity of treaties between the United States and American Indians—to a certain point

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, I See Red: Target, 1992

National Gallery of Art Acquires Its First Painting by a Native American Artist

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s work addresses questions of identity and appropriation

Researchers used these five replica clay pipes to "smoke" tobacco and other native plants.

Early Residents of the Pacific Northwest Smoked Smooth Sumac

Researchers used a new technique to detect the chemical fingerprints of specific plant species in a 1,400-year-old pipe’s residue

A sign asks Navajo residents to stay safe and warns of a curfew near the Navajo Nation town of Casamero Lake in New Mexico on May 20, 2020.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Adds a New Snag to the 2020 Census Count of Native Americans

The nation’s indigenous population has long been undercounted, but the pandemic presents extra hurdles

Recommendations include Things That Make White People Uncomfortable, Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America and The Making of Black Revolutionaries: A Personal Account.

Race in America

Smithsonian Scholars and Researchers Share Works That Shed Light on the History of U.S. Racism

In this dynamic time, a list of film, podcasts and books is offered for a nation grappling with its fraught history

The Valley of the Gods offers one of the most solitary and serene experiences in the American West.

Why the Valley of the Gods Inspires Such Reverence

The haunting beauty of an ancient desertscape

Smithsonian curator Emil Her Many Horses, an artist trained both in traditional beadwork and in doll-making, created a commemorative tableau featuring miniature figures of Vietnam-era veterans and the tribal women who welcomed them home with ceremonies.

This Artwork Recognizes the Sacrifices Made by Native American Soldiers in Vietnam

Taking ‘Best in Show’ at the Northern Plains Tribal Art Show, the 2002 beadwork tableau is held in the collections of the American Indian Museum

Choctaw and Irish dancers at a 2017 dedication ceremony of a sculpture commemorating the 1847 donation

Covid-19

Irish Return Historic Favor by Donating to Native Americans During Pandemic

In 1847, the Choctaw Nation sent $170—more than $5,000 today—to victims of the Irish potato famine

A previous version of the Land O'Lakes logo, featuring Mia, an indigenous woman dubbed the "Butter Maiden"

Land O’Lakes Drops the Iconic Logo of an Indigenous Woman From Its Branding

The story behind the image, and its removal, led to mixed reactions from the public, including native communities

A distribution of essential supplies from the Navajo government to residents in the Jeddito, Arizona area.

Covid-19

How the Pandemic Is Affecting the Navajo Nation

A conversation about the challenges facing—and the resilience of—the largest reservation in the country, which has become a COVID-19 hotspot

The Wisdom of the Universe (detail) by Christi Belcourt (Michif), 2014

Women Who Shaped History

Native Women Artists Reclaim Their Narrative

The first major exhibition of its kind, “Hearts of Our People,” boasts 82 pieces from 115 Native women across North America

The list includes Artemisia Gentileschi, Wilma Mankiller, Frances Glessner Lee and other Oscar-worthy women.

Based on a True Story

Nine Women Whose Remarkable Lives Deserve the Biopic Treatment

From Renaissance artists to aviation pioneers, suffragists and scientists, these women led lives destined for the silver screen

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