The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will open “Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations” Sunday, Sept. 21—the 10th anniversary of the opening of the museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
“Nation to Nation” is the museum’s most ambitious effort yet; it will present the history of the relationship between the United States and American Indian Nations through their treaties in the largest historical collection ever offered to an audience.
Muscogee (Creek) bandolier bag, ca. 1814, Alabama
Wool fabric and tassels, silk fabric, dye, glass beads, cotton thread
(Photo by Ernest Amoroso)
Treaties: President Kennedy and NCAI
President John F. Kennedy meeting with National Congress of American Indians president Walter Wetzel, Sen. Lee Metcalf and Sen. Mike Mansfield, 1963. (Photo probably by Robert L. Knudsen / National Museum of the American Indian)
Treaties: Sid Hill and Oren Lyons
Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Oren Lyons, Ph.D., (right), and The Tadodaho of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chief Sidney Hill, examine the signature of Ki-On-Twog-Ky, also known as Cornplanter (Seneca), on the Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794
Treaties: Treaty Basket
Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band of Cherokee, b. 1957), Pieced Treaty: Spider’s Web Treaty Basket, 2007, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Paper, paint
(Photo by Ernest Amoroso)
Treaties: Treaty of Canandaigua
The Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794
Parchment, ink, resin and wafer seals, ribbon.
“The Great Smoke” case features a series of pipes and pipe bags as part of The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian’s latest exhibition, "Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations." Smoking played an important role at the Horse Cr
Treaties: Delegation and President Andrew Johnson
Delegation posing with President Andrew Johnson on the steps of the White House, 1867. Representatives of the Yankton, Santee, and Upper Missouri Sioux, Sac and Fox, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Kickapoo and Miami Nations. (Photo by Alexander Gardner)
Treaties: Inunaina pipe bag
Northern Inunaina (Arapaho) pipe bag, ca. 1885, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
Hide, glass beads, porcupine quills, dye, ferrous metal cones, copper alloy disks, feathers, sinew, pigment
(Photo by Ernest Amoroso)
Treaties: Jefferson Peace medal
Thomas Jefferson peace medal, 1801, owned by Powder Face (Northern Inunaina / Arapaho), Oklahoma
Bronze Copper alloy, hide, porcupine quills, feathers, dye, metal cones