

Top to bottom: General Andrew Jackson carried this sword and scabbard during the War of 1812. Kevin Gover, director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and Suzan Harjo, guest curator at the museum, stand near the “Nation to Nation” treaty exhibit, which opened this week. This is a replica of the wampum belt George Washington received to ratify the Treaty of Canandaigua.(Special to the Times – Alysa Landry)





T

he corridors of the National Museum of the American Indian echo with the voices of the past.

On the fourth floor of the museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, some of the most pained and victorious words are preserved in a new exhibit honoring the treaties between the United States and American Indian nations.

The 8,000-square-foot exhibit, which opened in conjunction with the museum’s 10th anniversary at its location on the National Mall, illuminates what are perhaps the most important moments in tribes’ relationships with the federal government.

It also serves as a reminder to Natives and non-Natives alike that treaties matter and that they rest at the heart of American history, said Kevin Gover, director of the museum.

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