Cultures of North America
North American Anthropology
In 2018, a large team of Indigenous advisors, scholars, leaders, artists, elders, educators, and knowledge keepers from communities across the U.S. and Canada joined the Field Museum in re-imagining its Native North America exhibitions. Four years later, the permanent exhibition Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories opened to the public, featuring hundreds of North American collections items chosen by Indigenous co-curators and described in their own words. The Field Museum looks forward to continued collaboration on collections research and display, and gratefully acknowledges the guidance of Indigenous community representatives in shaping our exhibitions and collections care practices.
Note: the North American Anthropology team cares for items from the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada. Looking for information on items from Hawai’i and U.S. Pacific territories? Those collections are cared for by our Pacific Anthropology team. Items from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are under the care of our Mesoamerican Anthropology team.
Use of Collection
Some items in the Field Museum collections are available to loan for exhibition, research, or education in support of our mission: fighting climate change, preserving biodiversity, celebrating cultures, and championing science.
Related Areas
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Land Acknowledgement
The Field Museum is built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other Native Nations, including the Ho-Chunk, Miami, and Sac and Fox, have also known this area as home. The Museum recognizes that the region we now call Chicago was and is an important hub of trade, worship, and community for many Indigenous Nations, and continues to be home to diverse Native peoples today. We acknowledge this ongoing relationship and the significant contributions of Native peoples to the development and endurance of this region. The Field Museum commits to honor and respect this history and heritage in the fulfillment of our Mission, Strategic Objectives, and Core Values. The land we walk was and remains Native land.
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Our Staff
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Repatriation
The Field Museum is working to reunite important cultural items and human remains with their descendants and descendant communities in North America and around the world.
