Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

EARLY #GIVINGTUESDAY MATCH: Right now, your gift will be matched — up to $50,000 — to have twice the impact in our shared mission to expand the story of America. You can help amplify the stories of women who changed the course of American history, but whose stories were often untold. Give today! https://s.si.edu/4fMOwup ??: Employees in the Telephone and Telegraph Office in the North Tower of the United States National Museum, now known as the Arts and Industries Building. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-006, Box 009, Image No. MAH-3677

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker became the first woman to be granted the U.S. Medal of Honor in 1865 for her service as a surgeon during the Civil War. Walker was born #OnThisDay in 1832. On April 10, 1864, Walker’s life forever changed. While working as a field surgeon in Confederate-controlled territory, she was captured and spent four months as a prisoner of war. Walker went on to devote much of her life to advocating for women's rights, including dress reform. In 1917, Walker's medal was one of more than nine hundred that the U.S. Army rescinded, but she refused to return it. President Jimmy Carter reinstated the medal in 1977. Nearly 160 years later, she remains the only woman to receive the prestigious award. She was also featured on a postage stamp in 1982. This year, she was honored with her own U.S. quarter as part of our American Women Quarters? Program in partnership with United States Mint with an event at the National Postal Museum. https://s.si.edu/41nIMmL ??: Copyright United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

Planning to be in Washington, DC, this Thanksgiving weekend? Join us for a program honoring Zitkala-?a! A member of the Yankton Dakota Sioux on South Dakota’s Yankton Indian Reservation, writer, composer, educator, and activist for Native American rights Zitkala-?a is the 15th woman honored as part of the United States Mint's American Women Quarters? Program. ??? On November 29, celebrate Native American Heritage Day and the release of the Zitkala-?a quarter with hoop dancer Starr Chief Eagle. Performances begin at the National Museum of the American Indian at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. ET. https://s.si.edu/3OkaFEd Learn more about Zitkala-?a: https://s.si.edu/3V1vVlY #SmithsonianNAHM

Rosario Dawson, a member of our advisory council, got a behind-the-scenes look at the proclamation scroll written by Maya Angelou in 1977. The scroll, now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History collection, was relayed from the historic site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York to the International Women’s Year National Conference in Houston, Texas, in 1977. The National Women's Conference was a four-day event held November 18-21, 1977, organized by the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. Read more about Angelou, who was honored with her own U.S. quarter in 2022 as part of our American Women Quarters? Program in partnership with United States Mint. https://s.si.edu/3UYYekS

Sara Sunshine was a Cuban refugee and one of the few voices representing Latina women in 1960s New York advertising offices. Sunshine co-founded the Spanish Marketing and Advertising Services, the first advertising agency in the U.S. that catered to a Latino audience, where she was the head copywriter and art executive. Until this point, marketing agencies had not targeted Latino audiences in a meaningful way, preferring instead to simply translate English ads into Spanish. Sunshine argued that Latino Americans were a unique and viable audience to tap in to and created ads that were designed for Latino audiences. A testament to her creative work, Sunshine went on to win the first Clio Award given for work in the new category of the “Hispanic Market” in 1987. Learn about more women in business this #WomensEntrepreneurshipDay: https://s.si.edu/4eBnvZD ??: Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History #EntrepreneursDay

Want to be the first to find out about upcoming events, exhibitions, and what's happening at our museum? Sign up to get our newsletter straight to your inbox: https://s.si.edu/3Oa8hA4 ??: Ebony Magazine Gold Star Wives, by Scurlock Studio, Archives Center, National Museum of American History #Smithsonian178

Food, family, and community are at the heart of Chef Elena Terry's work. “How can you be a good ancestor?” Terry asked the audience at the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which received funding from our museum. Terry, a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, prepared succotash and told the story of how the ancestral bean seeds sitting in a small jar on the table returned to Ho-Chunk land. The tribe has been displaced at least sixteen times since the Indian Removal Act of 1830. These displacements have had profound impacts on the tribe’s access to traditional food. With each forced relocation, tribal members sought to save their ancestral seeds by sewing them into their moccasins, clothes, and even hair. “These seeds have traveled with the tribe and provided for them…They bring us hope when they come back to tribal lands.” Read more: https://s.si.edu/4hPYFYA #SmithsonianNAHM

The latest coin in the American Women Quarters? Program features author, activist, and composer Zitkala- ?a, who worked throughout her lifetime to give voice and rights to Native Americans, including Indigenous citizenship and women’s suffrage. Zitkala-?a, which translates in English to “Red Bird,” was a Yankton Sioux woman born in 1876 in South Dakota. Educated at many schools, by 1896, she was a strong-minded student, scholar, and celebrated orator. In addition to writing, Zitkala-?a trained and performed as a concert violinist and composer, including co-writing the first Native American opera in 1913. She lived an independent, motivated, and accomplished life, but her story is almost forgotten today. Read more from Michelle Delaney, PhD, acting associate director for museum research and scholarship, National Museum of the American Indian. https://s.si.edu/4fEVBNd #SmithsonianNAHM ?? Through 2025, the American Women Quarters? Program celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States with new quarters released by the United States Mint in partnership with our museum. ?? Zitkala-?a in 1898. Photograph by Gertrude Kasebier. Public domain. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Zitkala-?a in 1899. Photograph by Gertrude Kasebier. Public domain. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Thirty years ago this month, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Kimberly “Face” Dyson became the first American woman to officially fly a combat mission for the United States. “We were ready to do anything,” Dyson recalled. “It was a little nerve-racking. But in the end, it turned out to be a normal flight, very much the same as we had done in practice.” Dyson was not alone. She served with fellow F/A-18 pilots Lieutenant Sharon “Pinto” Deegan (Cummins at the time) and Lieutenant Junior Grade Joy “Trigger” Dean (Adams at the time), E-2C Hawkeye pilot Lieutenant Lisa “KP” Kirkpatrick, and Sikorsky SH-3 helicopter pilot Lieutenant Lynne Fowler. They all flew combat missions on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first U.S. aircraft carrier to deploy with a gender-integrated crew, in 1994 and 1995. Read more from National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution curator Michael W. Hankins: https://s.si.edu/3AwgUBM 1?? Three of the first American women to fly combat missions—including Joy Dean—were Hornet drivers. Image courtesy of Joy Dean. 2?? Kim Dyson prepares to fly a functional check flight in an aircraft that has just had its center section replaced. Image courtesy of Kim Dyson. 3?? What motivated Sharon Deegan to join the Navy was her desire to fly jet aircraft. Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. 4?? When the USS Eisenhower set sail on a six-month deployment in 1994, it had a gender-integrated crew. Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. 5?? Sharon Deegan (right, in sunglasses) also worked as a landing signal officer. Image courtesy of Sharon Deegan. 6?? Pilot Joy Dean conducts a preflight inspection of her F/A-18C prior to launching on her first strike mission in support of Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Image courtesy of Charles Beaudin.

Come join the team at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum! We’re working to expand the story of America through the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women individually and collectively—to better understand our past and inspire our future. We’re looking for dedicated individuals to help us create space for women’s history on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., deepen our nation’s stories, and inspire conversation, connection, and change. The museum’s ultimate vision is a more representative history, a more collective future. We are seeking a temporary Research Assistant who will be responsible for supporting curatorial, collections, digital engagement, and educating staff with their initiatives to gather, organize, and make information on the history of women as they contributed to shaping the United States of America accessible to the public. In this position, the Research Assistant will conduct archival, material culture, oral history, image, and desk research in support of digital experience, including but not limited to digital exhibitions; support museum staff in developing storylines and content for web-based/online script and produce development, ensuring accessibility; deliver regular project updates, coordinate meetings with project teams, and assist in planning travel itineraries for curatorial project teams; and track research tasks in electronic file systems and enter metadata for assets into the Digital Assets Management System (DAMS). Please note this is a term position – not to exceed two years. Applications for consideration will be accepted through November 21, 2024. How to Apply: You can read the full description of this position and submit your application via USAJobs. U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals may apply to: https://bit.ly/4hAXigt Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to: https://bit.ly/4hS7i5h