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Native American History

Lillian as Princess Wenona, with beloved horse “Rabbit.” This was probably taken around 1915, while she was contracted with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West.

The Faux “Sioux” Sharpshooter Who Became Annie Oakley’s Rival

By reinventing herself as Indian, Lillian Smith became a wild west sensation—and escaped an unhappy past

DNA of Ancient Skeleton Linked to Modern Indigenous Peoples

A new study has established a genetic link between a 10,300-year-old man and native groups living in the Pacific Northwest today

Massasoit statue in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Trending Today

Massasoit, Chief Who Signed Treaty With the Pilgrims, To Be Reburied

After a 20-year search, members of the Wampanoag Nation have collected his remains from museums

Linguist and cultural preservationist Daryl Baldwin was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

How to Resurrect a Lost Language

Piecing together the language of the Miami tribe, linguists Daryl Baldwin and David Costa are creating a new generation of speakers

This elaborate dance mask (ca. 1900) with representations of a spirit, seal, fish, and bird held in a human hand, was made by a Yup’ik artist from Alaska and is part of a group of Native American artworks that will soon be integrated into the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing.

Trending Today

The Met Will Finally Integrate Some Native American Art Into Its American Wing

Until now, indigenous art has lived in its own section

The lost colony of Roanoke

The Mystery of Roanoke Endures Yet Another Cruel Twist

An artifact found 20 years ago turns out to not be what archaeologists thought

What Do Native American Carvings in French WWI Quarries Mean?

Why is there a Native American canoe carved in an abandoned quarry inhabited by U.S. soldiers during WWI?

Spiral Jetty is on its way to becoming Utah's official work of land art.

Trending Today

Utah Chooses New State Works of Art

Ancient rock art and Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” are poised to become state symbols

Postmodern Boa by David Gaussoin and Wayne Nez Gaussoin (Diné [Navajo]) and Picuris Pueblo, 2009, stainless steel, sterling silver, enamel paint and feathers

These Designs Showcase the Provocative World of Native Fashion

These contemporary designs by prominent or up-and-coming Native American designers are edgy and pulsing with relevance

Susan, far left, with her husband (seated with puppy) at their Bancroft, Nebraska, home.

The Incredible Legacy of Susan La Flesche, the First Native American to Earn a Medical Degree

With few rights as a woman and as an Indian, the pioneering doctor provided valuable health care and resources to her Omaha community

Aleutian people stand on the deck of a ship forcibly evacuating them to southeastern Alaska.

Trending Today

The U.S. Forcibly Detained Native Alaskans During World War II

In the name of safety, Aleuts were held against their will under intolerable conditions in internment camps

This illustration by Helen Sewell graced one of the original editions of Little House on the Prairie, published in the 1930s. That book tells of the period in the Ingalls family's lives in which they settled in Kansas on land that still belonged to Native Americans.

The Little House on the Prairie Was Built on Native American Land

Yesterday was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 150th birthday. It’s time to take a critical look at her work

"Container Trade Object"

Cool Finds

New Exhibition Highlights Art Inspired by Standing Rock

Art as a lens to understand the protest

Cool Finds

This Map Shows Over a Century of Documented Lynchings in the United States

Mapping the history of racial terror

When it comes to representation, this coin is more than worth its weight in 24-karat gold.

Cool Finds

New $100 Coin Features First-Ever African-American Lady Liberty

She’ll put a new face on a familiar allegory

An audio tape from the oral history collection at the Navajo Nation Library

Cool Finds

Navajo Nation Library Wants to Digitally Preserve Thousands of Hours of Oral Histories

The library is looking for help protecting its tapes

Native Americans Saw Buffalo as More Than Just Food

The relationship between some Native American tribes and the American buffalo was a sacred one

A wapato bulb

Canada

The Northwest’s Earliest “Garden” Discovered in British Columbia

The 3,800-year-old stone platform was used to cultivate wapato—wild water potatoes—a staple crop for many North American peoples

Trending Today

Goodbye, Barrow, Alaska. Hello, Utqiagvik

The most northerly city has officially reverted back to the Inupiaq name for the settlement on the Arctic sea

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