Travels of the Crow: Journey of an Indian Nation, Field Museum with Photography by Diane Alexander White
The "Travels of the Crow: Journey of an Indian Nation" was organized by George and Edith Reed of the Crow Nation, the Field Museum Repatriation Director, Helen Robbins and photographer Diane Alexander White through the auspices of NAGPRA. Diane’s role as photographer was to photograph artifacts in the museum collection and document the spiritual home of the Crow. Diane traveled to Montana and Wyoming where she photographed the sacred mountains, battle fields and Yellowstone National Park. After being exhibited at the Field Museum, Travels of the Crow also was on display at the Little Big Horn College in 2008. Core Purpose of the Exhibition The exhibit presented the historic and cultural journey of the Crow Nation through photographs of artifacts, regalia, and cultural materials held in the Field Museum’s anthropology collections. White’s images served as a visual narrative of Crow identity, sovereignty, and artistic tradition, emphasizing:
Ancestral objects such as war shields, textiles, pipes, and regalia
Cultural continuity across generations
The spiritual and ceremonial significance of Crow material culture
The relationship between museum collections and living tribal communities
The exhibition title — Travels of the Crow: Journey of an Indian Nation — referenced both the physical displacement of Crow cultural objects into museum collections and the enduring cultural journey of the Apsáalooke people. What Visitors Saw White’s photographs documented Crow objects with the same precision she used for all Field Museum collections. The exhibit included:
Studio portraits of Crow artifacts photographed for conservation and research
Images of war shields, which the Field Museum holds in one of the largest collections in the world
Photographs of textiles and beadwork, highlighting the artistry of Crow women
Images of ceremonial items, contextualized with cultural information provided by Crow scholars
Portraits and onsite videos of Edith and George Reed and cultural sites on the Crow Agency to accompany the exhibit.
These themes align with the museum’s later Native American exhibitions, which emphasize community collaboration, cultural authority, and the return of Indigenous voices to museum storytelling. Cultural Significance The exhibit contributed to a broader movement within museums to:
Acknowledge the histories of acquisition of Native American objects
Center Indigenous perspectives in interpretation
Highlight living cultures, not just historical ones
Support repatriation and NAGPRA‑related collaboration
White’s work was foundational in this shift. Her photographs of Crow collections were later used in traveling exhibitions funded by NAGPRA, strengthening relationships between the Field Museum and tribal communities.
