Buffalo Bill Center of the West

  • Visit
    • Current HoursMarch 1 – April 30: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
    • Hours and RatesPlan your visit to the Center of the West.
    • Group SalesBook a commercial or non-commercial tour with us.
    • Dan Miller's Cowboy Music RevueEnjoy authentic cowboy music and a western buffet
    • Facility RentalsHost your event in one of our indoor or outdoor spaces.
    • Visiting YellowstonePlan your visit to Yellowstone National Park.
    • LodgingSelect from a variety of local accommodations.
    • ItinerariesDiscover some quick day trips in and around Cody.
    • DirectionsFind driving directions and check road conditions.
    • StoriesFind your story among ours.
    • Calendar of EventsSee what events are happening during your visit here.
  • Explore
    • Buffalo Bill Museummuseum icon
    • Draper Natural History Museummuseum icon
    • Whitney Western Art Museummuseum icon
    • Plains Indian Museummuseum icon
    • Cody Firearms Museummuseum icon
    • McCracken Research Librarymuseum icon
    • Online Collectionsmuseum icon
    • Blogs, articles, and featuresmuseum icon
    • ExhibitionsFind out what’s on view in our Center.
    • Beyond Our WallsSee how we bring the West to the World.
    • EventsEnjoy learning more about the American West.
    • NewsroomStay up-to-date with all Center happenings.
  • Learn
    • School Programs & ResourcesEssential info and resources for teachers and students.
    • Family ProgramsFamily-friendly programs, activities, and craft ideas.
    • InternshipsCollege students may apply to gain museum experience.
    • Skype in the ClassroomLive, interactive K–12 field trips.
    • WorkshopsExplore hands-on programs for kids, families, and adults.
    • Conservation InternshipsTraining for conservators from all over the world.
    • Pre-K ProgramsSet up a guided tour for your preschool class.
    • Field TripsInvestigate outdoor adventures for adults and children.
    • Highlights MapsDiscover collection highlights in each of our museum.
    • Games and InteractivesLearn about the collection through online interactives.
    • Lectures & FilmsPlan for future talks and view past program videos.
    • Western EssaysDelve into historical information on western topics.
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Clothing and Accessories
    • Gifts
    • Native American Replicas
    • Fine Art
    • Quality Leather
    • Native American Jewelry
    • Navajo Rugs
    • Pottery
    • Prints
    • Media
    • Baskets
  • Research
    • McCracken Research LibraryFind books, photos, archives, media, and more.
    • Digital CollectionsExplore our extensive photo and manuscript collections.
    • Archival Collection List and Finding GuidesBrowse inventories of archival collections.
    • The Papers of William F. CodyDiscover scholarship on the man and the myth.
    • Fellowship ProgramContribute to new scholarship using Center collections.
    • Buffalo BillUncover in-depth information about William F. Cody.
    • Greater Yellowstone Natural HistoryLearn more about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
    • Western ArtDelve into the lives and works of western artists.
    • Plains IndianDiscover more about Plains Indian tribes and collections.
    • FirearmsFind a firearms bibliography, glossary, and more.
    • ConservationFind out how we preserve Center collections.
    • Rights and ReproductionsLicense or reproduce images from our collections.
  • Support
    • Planned GivingLeave your legacy with a bequest or estate gift.
    • Patrons BallAttend our annual gala fundraiser.
    • MembershipBecome a supporter and receive great benefits.
    • VolunteerSupport the Center with your time and talent.
    • Raffle prize: 1966 Pontiac GTOWin a beautiful “nightwatch blue” GTO
    • Give TodayMake a donation to programs and operations.
    • Videos: Why I SupportSee what motivates donors to give to the Center.
    • Raffle Prize: A.P. Proctor bronzeWin a “Sleeping Lion” bronze sculpture
    • Raptor ExperienceHelp provide care for our avian friends.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Become a Member Sign up for our Newsletter
  • Visit
    • Current HoursMarch 1 – April 30: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
    • Hours and RatesPlan your visit to the Center of the West.
    • Group SalesBook a commercial or non-commercial tour with us.
    • Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music RevueEnjoy authentic cowboy music and a western buffet
    • Facility RentalsHost your event in one of our indoor or outdoor spaces.
    • Visiting YellowstonePlan your visit to Yellowstone National Park.
    • LodgingSelect from a variety of local accommodations.
    • ItinerariesDiscover some quick day trips in and around Cody.
    • DirectionsFind driving directions and check road conditions.
    • StoriesFind your story among ours.
    • Calendar of EventsSee what events are happening during your visit here.
  • Explore
    • Our Museums
      • Buffalo Bill Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Draper Natural History Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Whitney Western Art Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Plains Indian Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Cody Firearms Museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • McCracken Research Library Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Online Collections Buffalo Bill Center of the West
      • Blogs, articles, and features Buffalo Bill Center of the West
    • Museum Details
      • ExhibitionsFind out what’s on view in our Center.
      • Beyond Our WallsSee how we bring the West to the World.
      • EventsEnjoy learning more about the American West.
      • NewsroomStay up-to-date with all Center happenings.
  • Learn
    • School Programs & ResourcesEssential info and resources for teachers and students.
    • Family ProgramsFamily-friendly programs, activities, and craft ideas.
    • InternshipsCollege students may apply to gain museum experience.
    • Skype in the ClassroomLive, interactive K–12 field trips.
    • WorkshopsExplore hands-on programs for kids, families, and adults.
    • Conservation InternshipsTraining for conservators from all over the world.
    • Pre-K ProgramsSet up a guided tour for your preschool class.
    • Field TripsInvestigate outdoor adventures for adults and children.
    • Highlights MapsDiscover collection highlights in each of our museum.
    • Games and InteractivesLearn about the collection through online interactives.
    • Lectures & FilmsPlan for future talks and view past program videos.
    • Western EssaysDelve into historical information on western topics.
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Clothing and Accessories
    • Gifts
    • Native American Replicas
    • Fine Art
    • Quality Leather
    • Native American Jewelry
    • Navajo Rugs
    • Pottery
    • Prints
    • Media
    • Baskets
  • Research
    • McCracken Research LibraryFind books, photos, archives, media, and more.Buffalo Bill Center of the West
    • Digital CollectionsExplore our extensive photo and manuscript collections.
    • Archival Collection List and Finding GuidesBrowse inventories of archival collections.
    • The Papers of William F. CodyDiscover scholarship on the man and the myth.
    • Fellowship ProgramContribute to new scholarship using Center collections.
    • Buffalo BillUncover in-depth information about William F. Cody.
    • Greater Yellowstone Natural HistoryLearn more about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
    • Western ArtDelve into the lives and works of western artists.
    • Plains IndianDiscover more about Plains Indian tribes and collections.
    • FirearmsFind a firearms bibliography, glossary, and more.
    • ConservationFind out how we preserve Center collections.
    • Rights and ReproductionsLicense or reproduce images from our collections.
  • Support
    • Planned GivingLeave your legacy with a bequest or estate gift.
    • Patrons BallAttend our annual gala fundraiser.
    • MembershipBecome a supporter and receive great benefits.
    • VolunteerSupport the Center with your time and talent.
    • Raffle prize: 1966 Pontiac GTOWin a beautiful “nightwatch blue” GTO
    • Give TodayMake a donation to programs and operations.
    • Videos: Why I SupportSee what motivates donors to give to the Center.
    • Raffle Prize: A.P. Proctor bronzeWin a “Sleeping Lion” bronze sculpture
    • Raptor ExperienceHelp provide care for our avian friends.
  • Kevin Red Star's 'Crow Winter Camp in Teepees,' 1999. 15.99.4
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Home > Explore > Plains Indian Museum > About

About

About the Plains Indian Museum

The Plains Indian Museum educates and advances knowledge about living American Indian cultures, their histories, art, spirituality, and traditions for current and future generations. To achieve this goal, the Plains Indian Museum diligently seeks to acquire, preserve, conserve, exhibit, and interpret cultural materials from the prehistoric past to the present. It is the museum’s belief that the past is best used when it serves the present and future.

Lakota dress. Gift of Mrs. William Henry Harrison. NA.202.70

Dress, Lakota (Sioux), South Dakota, ca. 1900. Tanned deer hide, glass beads, tin cones. Gift of Hon. and Mrs. William Henry Harrison. NA.202.70

The Plains Indian Museum collection is remarkable, comprised of culturally significant and often spectacularly beautiful examples of Plains Indian artistry dating from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. Unlike the ethnographic assemblages of large North American and European natural history museums of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Plains Indian Museum’s collection originated with the Northern Plains clothing and accouterments of Native American performers in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows that toured from 1883 to 1913. Over the years, it has developed through the acquisitions of major private collections and, more recently, works representing the creative output of contemporary Plains Native artists.

Taken as a whole, the collection manifests the artistic abilities and vibrant creativity of Native people of the Great Plains over almost two hundred years. Beyond their exceptional artistic excellence, works of the collection also are powerful expressions of the cultures, values, historical experiences, and contemporary lives of the people who created them.

During the period represented by the collection, Plains Native people adapted to the Plains environment and created diverse cultural traditions, thrived as free buffalo hunters of the region, and, finally, struggled with and eventually survived the difficult reservation experiences of the late 1800s and early 1900s to build new lives for their families. Memory—both collective and individual—and vision have played powerful roles throughout these experiences, assisting people in maintaining cultural identities, in understanding the spiritual underpinnings of tribal traditions, and in shaping the future. Among Plains Indian and other Native people, art, memory, and vision are essentially interwoven, each reinforcing and providing the foundation for the other.

What’s up next?

Calendar of Events

Join us for special events, programs, and lectures that celebrate the real story of the American West.

View the Calendar

See our collection

Digital museum

The Center of the West is known for the amazing artifacts that help us tell the authentic story of the American West.

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If you’ve visited the Center anytime in the past two years, we’d like to hear from you! Our brief survey helps us improve for the future.

Take our survey

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location

Buffalo Bill Center of the West  
720 Sheridan Avenue Cody, Wyoming 82414
+1 307-587-4771

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© 2018 Buffalo Bill Center of the West. All rights reserved. Smithonian Affiliations AAM