“Americans” Begins Simultaneous Tours in Kansas, Kentucky and Colorado
A traveling version of the thought-provoking Smithsonian exhibition “Americans” will begin a six-year national tour in August. Based on the major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, “Americans” explores how deeply intertwined American Indians are in the history, popular culture and identity of the United States.
Through a collaboration between the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) and state humanities councils and cultural organizations, “Americans” will launch simultaneous yearlong tours of Kansas, Kentucky and Colorado. The exhibition opens Aug. 23 at the River Discovery Center in Paducah, Kentucky, and the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence, Kansas, in partnership with Haskell Cultural Center and Museum. It will open Sept. 13 at Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, in Fort Garland, Colorado. “Americans” will travel to small towns across approximately 20 states throughout the next six years. The full tour itinerary can be viewed online.
Based on a major exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., “Americans” highlights the ways in which American Indians have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began. Images of American Indians are everywhere, from imagery on commercial products and professional and high school sports mascots, to classic Westerns and episodes of Seinfeld and South Park. Indian names are everywhere too, from state, city and street names to the Tomahawk missile. Beyond these images and names are familiar historical events and stories—Thanksgiving, Pocahontas, the Trail of Tears and Battle of Little Bighorn—that have become part of everyday conversation. These images, words and stories offer insight into how the country’s history and identity have been influenced by its relationship with American Indians.
Through photographs, hands-on interactives, objects and videos, the exhibition offers a new way of understanding a country forever fascinated, conflicted, and shaped by its relationship with American Indians.
A short, animated film, The Invention of Thanksgiving, provides a whimsical take on how a simple meal shared between Native Americans and early English settlers evolved into a central part of America’s traditional origin story and a national holiday.
The exhibition examines three stories that are part of American national consciousness and popular culture. The first is devoted to Pocahontas, the young Powhatan woman who played a key role in saving the colony of Jamestown. Another story explores the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Signed by President Andrew Jackson, the act envisioned a United States without Indians. One of the boldest and most far-reaching laws in American history, removal transformed the country—generating great wealth for the nation and catastrophe for Native Americans. The third looks at the complicated story of the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand. “Americans” explores how these events have been remembered and represented throughout the years.
Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, “Americans” will serve as a community meeting place for conversations. With the support and guidance of state humanities councils, these towns will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs and facilitate educational initiatives to further explore this complicated history and to share local stories about Native American identity and representation in American culture.
“Americans” was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The exhibition was adapted for travel by MoMS, a collaboration between the Smithsonian and state humanities councils and other organizations across the country. Support is provided by the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250, a Smithsonian-wide initiative commemorating the nation’s 250th. Signature support for Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 has been provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.
About Museum on Main Street (MoMS)
MoMS is a collaboration of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service | Smithsonian Affiliations and state partner organizations. It serves museums, libraries and historical societies in rural areas, where about one-fifth of all Americans live. The partnership brings exhibitions, educational resources and programming to small towns across America. MoMS has visited all 50 U.S. states as well as Guam and inspired over 1,900 towns to rediscover their local histories while finding a renewed sense of community pride. Visit online at museumonmainstreet.org.