MONAH: Museum that Tells 24,000 Years Across the Americas

We sit down with MONAH Executive Director Jazlyn Sanderson to explore how a museum in Bentonville threads 24,000 years of Indigenous history into the present through art, archaeology, and living partnerships that honor descendant communities. The journey centers on the Spiro Mounds, a Mississippian cultural powerhouse in present-day Oklahoma. Jazlyn guides us through the material evidence: shell dippers etched with regalia, woodpecker effigy axes, and a sacred warrior pipe that arrived through a careful collaboration with the University of Arkansas and the Caddo Nation. Jazlyn describes the scale-- 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. 

We also share how MONAH meets learners of all ages with field trips, reimagined audio guides, family tours, and a monthly newsletter that spotlights artifacts and contemporary Indigenous creators. If you’re curious about Indigenous history, archaeology, and more, visit http://monah.org

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