Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) draws upon its extraordinary collections to present A Song for the Horse Nation, an epic story of the horse’s influence on American Indian tribes from the 1600s to the current era.

Drawing upon a treasure-trove of stunning historical objects (including ledger drawings, hoof ornaments, beaded bags, hide robes, paintings, and other objects) and new pieces by contemporary Native artists, the exhibition reveals how horses shaped the social, economic, cultural, and spiritual foundations of American Indian life, particularly on the Great Plains.

The story of American Indians and horses is one of the great sagas of human contact with the animal kingdom. The foundation of this extraordinary relationship was laid in 1493, when Christopher Columbus brought the first horses to the Western Hemisphere. As Spaniards surged westward from the Caribbean and northwards from Mexico, American Indians caught their first glimpse of the horse, and soon adopted it into their world.

By the 1800s, Native American horsemanship was legendary in American culture at large, celebrated in paintings, photographs, Wild West shows, and later in movies and television programs. Today, the image of the mounted Native warrior remains fixed in the American imagination.

Siksika (Blackfoot) horse head covering, ca. 1845. National Museum of the American Indian, 18/8880. The exhibition text is drawn from historical events as well as traditional and contemporary stories, songs, and poetry. Archival photographs, lithographs, maps, books, magazines, newspapers, and advertisements for Wild West shows enrich the gallery experience. Audio-visual presentations of contemporary Native American horsemen, breeders, rodeos, powwows, horse races, and other events bring the story up to the present, reminding visitors that the horse, though no longer ubiquitous, is still venerated in Indian Country today.

The exhibition is an outgrowth of the NMAI publication A Song for the Horse Nation: Horses in Native American Cultures, edited by George P. Horse Capture and Emil Her Many Horses (2006).

Quote from Herman Viola

Contents	Approximately 100 historical and contemporary objects, 50 photographs and illustrations, cases and vitrines, A-V equipment and cabinetry, text and graphic panels, labels
Supplemental	Companion book, brochures, educational and promotional resources, speaker list, exhibition website
Participation Fee	$175,000, includes pro-rated shipping
Size	5,000 square feet, est.
Crates	To be determined
Weight	To be determined
Category	Art
Security	High
Shipping	Pro-rated, SITES-designated carrier
SITES Contacts	Katherine Krile, 202.633.3108 (Content) Minnie Russell, 202.633.3160 (Scheduling)
Tour Begins	March 2013

Opening	Closing	Host Institution	Status
03/09/2013-	06/02/2013	Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO	Booked
07/06/2013-	09/29/2013	Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin, TX	Booked
11/02/2013-	01/26/2014		Call for Availability
03/01/2014-	05/25/2014	Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, IN	Booked
06/28/2014-	09/21/2014		Call for Availability
10/25/2014-	01/18/2015	Autry National Center, Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA	Booked

A Song for the Horse Nation: Horses in Native American Cultures, edited by George P. Horse Capture and Emil Her Many Horses, 2006.

This informative volume gathers poems, photographs and brief contemporary essays alongside pieces from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian to memorialize the relationship between Native Americans and their horses.

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