Experience stories told by Native people of self-determination, resilience, continuity, and the future.
Hear from Native American and Indigenous people as they tell their own stories—through words, music, dance, and art.
Understand the historical significance of items in the Field’s collection, like traditional regalia and pottery. Immerse yourself in works by contemporary Native artists, including Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) raised beadwork from Karen Ann Hoffman of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and flute music from Frank Waln of the Sicangu Lakota.
In Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, we invite you to connect with diverse Native stories and the individuals who share them. Dive deeply into current issues, like threats to Native land and the rights of tribal nations to govern themselves. Celebrate the thriving, modern cultures of today’s Native communities.
Explore timely stories featured in rotating galleries.
Exhibition highlights:
- Hear stories of resilience from the Chicago Native community
- Experience music-making through the eyes of a young Lakota hip hop artist
- Follow the process of Meskwaki efforts to revitalize heirloom and ancestral plants
- Delve into the history and importance of Chaco Canyon
- Visit the Pawnee Earth Lodge in a new context
The Creator's Game
Opening May 10, 2024
Discover the indigenous history of Lacrosse, the Creator’s game. Stickball, or lacrosse, as you might know it, is much more than a game. It’s part of identity, spirit, and culture. And most importantly, it’s Native: a gift from the Creator.
The sport has a rich, diverse history. The exhibition shows an array of contemporary and traditional lacrosse sticks to reveal how lacrosse serves Native communities in a variety of ways. Learn more about its remarkable history and how the sport has survived for centuries.
Image slideshow
An ancestor from one of Michigan’s Odawa communities made this quillwork box, ca. 1890-1910, for sale to tourists. Such baskets were, and still are, created for utilitarian use.
Karen Ann Hoffman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, created the Great Bear Hunt Mat (he/him). Made with velvet, glass beads, Czechoslovakian crystals, cotton thread, and calico, the mat tells the tale of the Great Bear Hunt as the artist knows it. Great Bear Hunt Mat was adopted from the artist and is living with the Field Museum.
This olla, or pot, was made by Max Early (Laguna Pueblo) to be a companion for a 125-year-old pot in the Field Museum’s collection, which was made by a 19th century potter known as Arroh-ah-och. Arroh-ah-och lived in the village where Max lives. Both vessels share a design element of approaching clouds and circular beaks.
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A new approach to telling—and listening to—Native stories
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories is a new permanent exhibition at the Field. It replaces and re-examines the previous Native North America Hall that existed in this space for many years, which was created without the input of Native people themselves.
For Native visitors, I also hope there is an instant connection. I hope they see themselves, see their relatives, their grandparents, and aunties and uncles. For non-Native visitors, we've been working to make this an immersive experience that allows them to come into our home—learning from us, not just about us.
Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo/Korean), Community Engagement Coordinator for the project
The Field acknowledges that it’s built on Native land. We recognize that the region we now call Chicago was the traditional homelands of many Indigenous nations, and remains home to diverse Native people today. For this reason, one section of Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories will always focus on Chicago’s Native community. Meanwhile, other galleries will rotate over the years to share new stories, experiences, and perspectives from across the United States and Canada.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories was created with the guidance of an advisory council of 11 Native American scholars and museum professionals, and in partnership with 130 collaborators representing over 105 Tribes. We seek to create a space for Native people from Chicago and across the United States and Canada to share their experiences in their own voices.
Acknowledgments
The Field Museum gratefully acknowledges the Sarowitz Family for lead support of Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories. Major support is offered by Robert R. McCormick Foundation, the Efroymson-Hamid Family, Roger and Peter McCormick/Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Foundation, and Mellon Foundation.
Additional support is provided by Carolyn S. Bucksbaum, Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust, Julie and Matthew K. Simon, and Cia and Tom Souleles.