Smithsonian National Museum of American History

The names of hundreds of Indigenous writers are inscribed on every jingle in this dress by artist Maria Hupfield (Anishinaabe, Wasauksing First Nation). In the 1920s, the Ojibwe people in the Great Lakes region popularized the jingle dress dance as a way to spiritually heal the sick. Traditional jingle dresses feature rows of decorative metal cones that clink together as the performer moves. These musical garments are meant to be heard as well as seen. Through this artwork, Hupfield ensures that Indigenous writers are uplifted and visible. On merging oral tradition with visual art, she shared, “I have always loved the jingle dress as a fresh and contemporary form of Native dance that repurposes metal for the jingles—what could be more fitting as contemporary art?” Hupfield's 2002 sculpture is in the collection of our National Museum of the American Indian, on view at their New York City location. #IndigenousPeoplesDay

It’s week nine of our series leading up to the 10th annual Smithsonian Food History Gala and Weekend on October 17-19. Today, we’re recalling our trip to Minneapolis, where Chef Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) received the ninth Julia Child Award in 2023. Sherman is the co-founder of the innovative, award-winning restaurant, Owamni, which features a decolonized menu – highlighting Indigenous dishes and ingredients that sustained communities prior to the influences of colonization. He also created a non-profit organization, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), an educational and community center devoted to rebuilding and preserving traditional foodways. A passionate advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty, Sherman promotes it as a path toward health empowerment and has inspired Indigenous communities around the world to reengage with their ancestral foods and systems of knowledge. Although the 2023 Gala was held in Minneapolis, the Museum’s food history team organized the usual series of public programs at the Museum, this time focusing on “Climate, Food, and Community: How Women are Shaping the Future of Food.” With funding from the American Women’s History Initiative, the sessions included a cooking demonstration by Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee) who prepared a recipe for Three Sisters Soup made with corn, beans, and squash. She also discussed how tribes in North America are using ancestral foods and land management practices to sustain and strengthen their communities and surrounding environments. Her presentation can be viewed here: https://s.si.edu/4eT2EBs Sherman will attend this year’s Food History Gala on October 17 and will also participate in a free public program at the museum on October 18. Register to attend the conversation between Sherman and Alice Waters (the 2024 recipient of the Julia Child Award), moderated by Danielle Nierenberg (the 2020 awardee): https://s.si.edu/3BEiEZO ??: Toni Tipton-Martin (2021 Awardee) presented the Julia Child Award to Sean Sherman in Minneapolis in 2023. Photo by Jaclyn Nash ??: Tuxedo with traditional beading by Kayla Lookinghorse, worn by Chef Sherman as he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023. Sherman donated the tuxedo to the NMAH. Photo by Jaclyn Nash.

This iconic typewriter, used by Neil Simon, the influential American playwright and author, is now on display! Simon wrote more than 30 famous plays, including his first production, “Come Blow Your Horn” (1961) and the Tony award winning show, “The Odd Couple '' (1965). Growing up in New York City during the Great Depression, Simon found a refuge at the movie theater, watching early comedians. He drew on his own experiences, family dynamics, and adversities to create a new style of comedy that endures today. His work earned him numerous accolades, including three Tony Awards and a Golden Globe.

By the 1890s, voting had shifted from a public declaration to a secret ballot. The gear mechanism and curtain on this voting machine from 1898 were designed to ensure accuracy, security, and privacy. The machine's curtain served a dual purpose: by pulling the curtain, voters both ensured their privacy and "unlocked" the device's levers, priming the machine to accept their ballot. Learn more in our American Democracy online exhibition: https://s.si.edu/3U1394B Visit https://vote.gov/ to learn how you can vote in your home state or territory.

We're excited about the upcoming Food History Weekend programming, and if you are too, we have some great news for you! Museum Food History Curator Paula Johnson's new book, “Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space,” is available today! This book offers a deep dive into Julia Child’s life through her favorite room - her kitchen. With a foreword by chef, cookbook author, television star, and devoted friend of Julia, Jacques Pépin, it features hundreds of newly photographed objects alongside their stories, providing a fresh look at Julia’s kitchen and her monumental legacy. Check with your local bookseller for availability and be sure you’re registered for this program to learn more about the making of the book! Copies will also be available for purchase at this event.

“The only thing I want is to be a hero for my people.”—La Borinque?a Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, the superhero La Borinque?a wears a costume modeled after the Puerto Rican flag. The hero and the comic books about her derive their name from "Boriquen," the name given to the island by the Taíno people, who lived there prior to Spanish colonization. The character gets her powers from the Taíno gods of Puerto Rico’s ancestors, highlighting the importance of women in Puerto Rican culture. Created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the La Borinque?a comics address contemporary social and environmental issues and celebrate the diverse Puerto Rican diaspora. By doing so, Miranda-Rodriguez aims to keep Puerto Rico in the national discourse, reminding everyone that they are part of the United States. La Borinque?a was featured in the exhibition “Taíno: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean” (Taíno: herencia e identidad indígena en el Caribe), a collaboration between the National Museum of the American Indian and the former Smithsonian Latino Center, now the National Museum of the American Latino. The exhibition included a guide with information about the Taíno peoples, their living legacies, and activities for students in grades 4–12. The guide is also available in Spanish at the link in our bio. During #HispanicHeritageMonth, we highlight the Indigenous history, peoples, and communities of the Spanish-speaking Americas. Learn more about how Latino History is American History with the National Museum of the American Latino's inaugural exhibition, "?Presente! A Latino History of the United States" on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in the Molina Family Latino Gallery. Credit: La Borinque?a, #1, 2016. Collection of the National Museum of American History, 2017.0107.01 #SmithsonianHHM #Superheros #ComicBooks #LaBorinque?a

Born today in 1942, Bernice Johnson Reagon’s life offers lessons on navigating an unjust world and working toward change. As a Civil Rights activist and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, she showed how song and musical heritage can transform the world. Learn more about her life in our blog: https://s.si.edu/4dxEo6X

On week eight of our lead-in to the 10th annual Food History Gala and Weekend (October 17-19), we recall the excitement of the 2022 festivities, when we were able to safely gather again in person to celebrate the presentation of the Julia Child Award to Grace Young. As the eighth recipient of the annual award, presented by the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, Young exemplifies its purpose: to recognize an individual who has made a significant difference in the way Americans cook, eat, and drink. Her work as a culinary historian, cookbook author, and educator has inspired countless home cooks to try wok cooking, recipes, and ingredients traditionally used in regional Chinese cuisines. Her leadership in supporting Chinatowns, food workers, and restaurants during recent waves of anti-Asian rhetoric and violence has raised awareness of the ongoing need to protect such historically significant and vulnerable communities across the country. Young will participate in the Food History Gala on October 17 where Alice Waters--chef, cookbook author, food activist, and founder of the influential restaurant Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard educational project--will receive the 2024 Julia Child Award. For tickets and more information, please visit: https://s.si.edu/4cF7bqd As part of our Food History Weekend’s free public programming, Grace Young will present “Cooking and Community: Updates from Chinatowns” on October 19. She will prepare Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms, a classic Cantonese recipe that shows the techniques of stir-frying and represents a staple dish at many of the traditional Chinatown restaurants that are struggling to survive in the post-pandemic climate. She will also engage in a conversation with Yao Fen You, the acting director of the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center. Registration for the program: https://s.si.edu/3ZMq3Ag ??: Grace Young receiving the 2022 Julia Child Award at the National Museum of American History. Photograph by Jaclyn Nash ??: Grace Young’s family wok from around 1949, that she donated to the National Museum of American History. The Gala is made possible by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, Clark Construction, Al and Angela Diaz, Julie and Greg Flynn, Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Hanley | The Hanley Foundation, Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman, Nordic Ware, Potomac Construction, William Prentice | Signati Medical Inc., Enrique and Alejandra Segura, Daniel and Abby Weiss, Wegmans, Don H. Kollmorgen and Louise Woerner, and Becki Young

The shofar, one of the earliest known musical instruments, is typically made from a ram's horn. This particular shofar belonged to Leopold Sulzberger, a German immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1838. His grandson, Cyrus Adler, later became a museum curator and donated the instrument to the Smithsonian. The shofar is sounded multiple times during services for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Florencio Molina Campos (1891-1951) spent his life capturing the spirit of Argentina’s gauchos through his vibrant art. In Campos’ artistic world, the gaucho was the protagonist of the story. From the gaucho’s clothing to his horse’s gear, each detail serves to replicate and honor the gaucho’s place in Argentine history. So how did his passion culminate in a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration with the world’s most famous artist, Walt Disney? Find out in our blog: https://s.si.edu/3TTDhYf #HispanicHertiageMonth #SmithsonianHHM ??: “Gaucho Rider,” 1951 lithograph by Lyndon R. Mistletoe after Florencio Molina Campos. ??: “Gaucho bronco Buster,” 1951 lithograph by Lyndon R. Mistletoe after Florencio Molina Campos.