Apsáalooke Women and Warriors persist. This exhibit demonstrates that Apsáalooke (ahp-SAH-luh-guh) exist in the past, present, and have every intention of lasting well into the future. If this exhibit represents that ambition, the future is very bright indeed. Far from being stuck in a static past, this exhibit portrays a robust, lively, and innovative examination of an Indigenous people who reside on their ancestral lands in present-day Montana.
More commonly known as the “Crow,” the Apsáalooke are no strangers to having their stories told by others. This exhibit represents groundbreaking work—a Native curator telling the story of her People. Nina Sanders (Apsáalooke) and her eighteen tribal collaborators worked to tell their story in their own way and on their own terms.
The exhibit pairs familiar exhibition techniques with uncommon ones. Upon entering, it lures you in with the typical exhibit title, institutional supporters, and acknowledgments. Then an atypical statement about...
University of California Press