Kentucky Humanities to bring Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Americans to the Commonwealth

The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS), in cooperation with Kentucky Humanities, will bring Americans, an exhibit that explores stories that highlight how deeply intertwined American Indians are in the culture of the United States and examines the complexity of those stories to Kentucky communities in 2025 and 2026.

Kentucky Humanities has selected seven sites to host Americans as part of the Museum on Main Street program — a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The Smithsonian exhibit will make stops in Paducah, Greenville, Clinton, Henderson, Carrollton, Versailles, and Ashland from August 23, 2025, through July 5, 2026. A tour schedule is below.

American Indian images, names, and stories infuse American history and contemporary life. 

The images are everywhere, from the Land O’Lakes butter maiden to the Cleveland Indians’ mascot, from classic Westerns and cartoons, to episodes of Seinfeld and South Park. American Indian names are everywhere too, from state, city, and street names to the Tomahawk missile. Americans highlights the ways in which American Indians have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began. Familiar historical events of Pocahontas’s life, the Trail of Tears, and the Battle of Little Bighorn continue to speak to the imagination of many.   

How is it that American Indians can be so present and so absent in American life? Pervasive, powerful, at times demeaning, the images, names, and stories reveal the deep connection between Americans and American Indians, as well as how American Indians have been embedded in unexpected ways in the history, pop culture, and identity of the United States.

Americans surrounds visitors with images and objects from popular culture and delves into these three historical events. It invites visitors to explore this complicated history and to share local stories about Native American history and culture.  

“We are always eager to bring Smithsonian traveling exhibits to Kentucky,” said Bill Goodman, Executive Director of Kentucky Humanities. “Americans is an extraordinary exhibit that will bring community members of all ages together to discover and discuss the American Indian stories of their community and those of communities throughout the Commonwealth.”

Designed for small-town museums, libraries, and cultural organizations, Americans will provide a great opportunity for host organizations to explore how the history of American Indians in their areas are incorporated into local stories. With the support and guidance of Kentucky Humanities, each site will develop complementary exhibits, host public programs, and facilitate educational initiatives designed to raise people’s understanding about their own history, and the places they call home. 

The exhibition is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about Americans and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the U.S. Congress, Kentucky Humanities, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

 

Tour Schedule: