Smithsonian

ProPublica reports that the Smithsonian Institution, specifically the National Museum of American History, has become a target in Donald Trump's broader campaign against cultural institutions. The article examines how pressure on museums over exhibits and historical narratives has extended to the Smithsonian, drawing attention to debates over how American history is presented in public institutions.

The Smithsonian is highlighting Indian Peace Medals, the engraved medallions given by European colonial powers and later the United States government to Native American leaders as tokens of alliance and diplomacy. The medals, struck with portraits of rulers and presidents, served as official emblems of negotiated relationships on the frontier. Today they are examined both as artifacts of early American diplomacy and as symbols of the complicated, often broken promises made to Indigenous nations.

A work by American architect Cass Gilbert depicting the Church of St. Francis in Assisi is drawing attention through the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. Gilbert, born in Zanesville, Ohio in 1858 and died in Brockenhurst, England in 1934, is best known as a major architect, and the piece offers a look at his lesser-seen artistic side and his engagement with Italian landmarks.