Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West

10/07/2026

We're excited!

Riders of the Buffalo Nations Photography by Doug Hancock is back up in the John Bunker Sands gallery through January 3rd, 2027.

Have you seen Riders of the Buffalo Nations: Photography by Doug Hancock?

If not, don’t miss it. This powerful exhibition offers a rare, contemporary portrait of a story too often overlooked—the enduring role of Native people in rodeo, horsemanship, and cultural celebration. Leave inspired by the skill, dedication, and vibrant communities of the Buffalo Nations.

On view through January 3, 2027.

Oglala Lakota Wacipi. Doug Hancock, Pine Ridge Reservation, SD, Summer 2022. Kodak Tri-X 400, Digital Print, 2026.

10/03/2026

Fall colors are found throughout the Plains Indian Museum collection.

Beaded Knife Case
Nêhiyawak (Cree), Woodlands Region
Unknown date, smoked buckskin, glass beads, twill, thread
Simplot Collection, Gift of J.R. Simplot, NA.203.893
Plains Indian Museum

09/26/2026

Fall colors are found throughout the Plains Indian Museum collection.

Corn Husk Bag
Niimiipuu (Nez Perce), Plateau Region
c. 1890-1899, corn husk, fabric, thread
In Memory of Frank O. Horton and Henrietta S. Horton, NA.106.638
Plains Indian Museum

09/19/2026

09/19/2026

Fall colors are found throughout the Plains Indian Museum collection.

Blanket Strip
Nuxbaaga (Hidatsa), Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, North Dakota
c. 1890, leather, porcupine quills, glass beads, dye
Chandler Pohrt Collection, Gift of the Pilot Foundation, NA.203.396
Plains Indian Museum

09/18/2026

Curatorial Assistant Danielle Carpenter-Chatman joined Cowboy State Daily’s Morning Show with Jake this past Wednesday to discuss the Indian Peace Medals and their recent authentication.

Watch the conversation here:

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake. Live weekdays 6 a.m. to 10 a.m....

09/16/2026

Big news in Cody!

Our newly authenticated Peace Medals are revealing possible connections to the Lewis and Clark expedition—and our research into their history is still underway.

Read the story from the Cody Enterprise:

Following a thorough course of testing and analysis carried out earlier this year, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has definitively authenticated a trove of rare and historically significant

09/15/2026

Frances Two Birds Knows His Gun, Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne) looking at her reflection in mirror.

MS 165 Thomas B. Marquis Collection
McCraken Research Library PN.165.1.143

A rare book with a complicated story.

Published in 1907, "The Indians’ Book" by ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis preserves more than 200 songs and stories from 18 Native nations, along with artwork and photographs contributed by Native individuals. The book was created during a time when the U.S. government actively suppressed many forms of Native cultural expression. Curtis worked to document and share Indigenous music and traditions, but her work also reflects the complicated power dynamics of an era when white researchers often controlled how Native cultures were represented.

Today, The Indians’ Book offers more than a glimpse into the past—it invites us to consider who gets to preserve cultural knowledge, who gets to tell those stories, and how those stories are remembered.

Discover this fascinating piece of the McCracken Research Library’s collection in the latest Rare Book Highlights blog by the library's 2026 intern, Hannah Lomele.

-Read the full story: https://brnw.ch/21x5HHM

09/15/2026

Only two days left until the author talk and book signing for Yellowstone Bison: Return of the Last Wild Herd!

Join us on September 16 at 2:00 p.m. in the Coe Auditorium for an engaging conversation about bison, conservation, and the deep ties between these iconic animals and the landscapes they inhabit with contributors Chris Geremia and Tom Murphy.

After the talk, take the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of the special-edition catalogue—a meaningful keepsake for anyone interested in bison, Yellowstone, conservation, and the American West. Copies will be available at the Center’s Points West Market, both in-store and online.

09/15/2026

History, authenticated.

Four historic Indian Peace Medals have been authenticated as genuine, including Jefferson Peace Medals that may have traveled west with Lewis and Clark.

Read the story from Cowboy State Daily:

Modern technology has confirmed that two rare Jefferson peace medals in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West collection are authentic artifacts from the…