Museum of Natural and Cultural History

One end of the exhibit "Transgressors" installed in the museum's galleria, a tall space with exposed wooden a-frame beams. There's a projection screen showing Jeffrey Gibson's video "To Feel Myself Beloved on the Earth, 2020."  Underneath the screen is a banner by Steph Littlebird reading "Two Spirit Identities Predate Colonial Ideologies." The rest of the space is filled by four fabric pillars with artist headshots and biographies. 

Two colorful, glowing lightboxes showing "Shimkhin" and "White Cindy." by Steph Littlebird. Two University of Oregon students are looking at the panels.

Two students are silhouetted against a brilliant glowing light box showcasing Steph Littlebird's "White Cindy." The light box is an illustrated image of a woman riding a horse. She is surrounded by thunder and lightning, wearing a white dress with rainbow ribbons that stream out behind her dramatically.

"We are here today and we are in community with you, together. Ride with us, with Shimkhin and White Cindy, with past and future ancestors, and with your relatives today, and ask yourself: what does a future look like with us in it?" `-intro panel of exhibit "Transgressors".
#TransDayOfRemembrance

From shells to crypto, Indigenous currencies have always been more than a form of money. Join Dr. Ashley Cordes of the @uoregon.bsky.social this Thursday, November 13th for a talk on Indigenous currencies in the digital age. 🏛️#econsky

Field school blends archaeology, ecology and tribal sovereignty The UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History is helping shift the way archaeology happens

“This is the future of archaeology, moving away from colonial structures and doing work that supports tribal sovereignty, access to ancestral lands and serves the people the work represents,” says professor Gabe Sanchez 🏺🏛️🧪. tiny.cc/1zuu001

A group photo of 10 museum staff in front of the giant sloth skeleton in the museum. They are dressed as Lisa Frank, Ted Lasso, the Queen of Hearts, a coprolite, a cat, "generally spooky," work werewolf, the Louvre robbers, and a coloring page. 

A museum staff member is dressed as a minion from Despicable Me and points at the door. 

Three archaeologists pose. The one dressed as Wednesday is grimly looking at the camera, the other two (dressed as a skeleton and a stratigraphy section) grin at the camera. 

Zara, the most perfect golden retriever to ever live, poses adorably looking at the camera while her human holds two bighorn sheep horns to her head. She is a sheepdog. 

Happy Halloween from the MNCH staff! 🏛️🏺🧪

YouTube video by Indian Country Today Transborder Indigenous Nations

We unfortunately don't have capacity to record it, but I recommend this YouTube video with Dr. Martinez about the Transborder Indigenous Nations!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZbk...

Next week, we're hosting Dr. David Martínez, director of the Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations at @arizonastateuni.bsky.social! Check out this video for a preview of what he'll be speaking about. 🏛️

kitty

The Chinese Disapora in Oregon traveling trunk, which is a medium sized black Pelican case, in front of the museum's front desk. The case is open and visible inside it are colorful objects.  

A collection of objects from the Chinese Diaspora in Oregon traveling trunk. Visible are books with colorful covers, an abacus, a woven basket, and a can of salmon.

Hey, Oregon K12 folks! We're partnering with Oregon Historical Society to host the Chinese Diaspora in Oregon Traveling Trunk. This trunk is packed full of hands-on activities & lessons and can be rented from us for up to two weeks by schools and other institutions. tinyurl.com/2pu6379w

Mastodons Migrated, Evolved As Climate Changed Mastodons, the elephant-like Ice Age giants, migrated vast distances in response to shifting climates and were far more genetically diverse than

Have you ever seen the fossil mastodon skeleton at the library in Tualatin, OR? It inspired a team of researchers (including our own Andrew Boehm) to perform DNA analysis that resulted in an expanded understanding of the Pacific mastodon's range! #fossil🏺

Two 18 inch tall hats fully covered in beads. The one on the left is mostly green with vibrant red geometric shapes. One beaded bird tops the crown and six others, attached throughout the hat, is visible. The one on the right is mostly gray, with green and dark blue geometric shapes. This crown has more visible beaded birds with wings of many different colors. Also visible is a face, with blue eyes and nose and a multicolored mouth. 

A different angle of the two crowns. The two beaded birds that top the headwear are more visible in this photo, displaying that the beaks are two separate pieces and there are strings of beads draping elegantly down from the top of the crowns. 

New arrival to our lobby case!

Yoruba kings, known as "Obas," wear these intricate crowns as a symbol of their authority. These crowns can only be worn by those who trace their ancestry to Odùduwà, the legendary founder of the Yoruba kingdom. The beaded birds and faces are common features.

Archaeologist Marlene grins and holds a broken glass liquor bottle from a site in Portland. The brown black vessel is about 10" tall and is clearly pieced together, with glued seams and jagged edges.

Part of our comparative collection! These metal shelves of glassware parts help archaeologists learn more about pieces found in the field. The shelves are full of neat trays of broken but carefully labelled glass pieces, ranging from large necks of bottles to small shards of dishes.

Hands hold a broken piece of brown glass about 2 inches long. On the glass is visible an intact oval with text stamped in the middle. A stamped seal on a glass bottle can reveal all kinds of information, including manufacturer, date, and what the bottle might have been used for.

How do you move a bunch of dishes that are already broken? Very carefully, so they don't break more!

Our archaeologists just moved offices, and with that came moving our historic comparative collection of glass bottles and ceramic vessels, which help us identify broken pieces we find at sites.🏺🧪

A Museum Love Story: Patty Krier and Tom Connolly’s Enduring Legacy From meeting at the UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History to building its research and education programs, the couple’s philanthropy ensures a lasting impact.

A Friday love story for you: Patty and Tom met working at the museum and have now been married for 43 years. 🥹

Their leadership and care have touched every corner of the museum and helped make us what we are today. Thanks, Patty and Tom! 🏺🏛️

giving.uoregon.edu/article/focu...

This flyer encourages people to attend a walk and talk program at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at 2pm on October 16 at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

Today is the #ShakeOut earthquake drill! Join us at the @uoregon.bsky.social Museum of Natural and Cultural History for a special Walk & Talk about earthquakes and preparedness.

The program begins at 2pm at @uomnch.bsky.social. Learn more at mnch.uoregon.edu/index.php/learn/great-oregon-shakeout.

A brown-red slab of rock with four impressions of oblong leaves. The stems and veins are very clearly preserved.

A brown-red slab of rock with two impressions of oblong leaves. In one of them, small circles (mostly likely galls) are visible between the clear lines of the veins.

Happy National Fossil Day! How much cronch is in these leaves?

These fossil leaves are from the John Day Formation and are an early species of alder.

Learn more about upcoming #ShakeOut events at cascadiaquakes.org/2025/09/08/2025-great-oregon-shakeout!

A vertical banner hangs in the portico at the entrance to the museum courtyard. It has a gradient of blue sky to green rolling hills to sunset colors. A black, yellow, and orange sun looks down on the whimsical letters spelling out "You are on Native Land."

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day at @uoregon.bsky.social! The Native American Student Union will hold a flag-raising ceremony at noon, we're open and free, and the art museum is open and free with a James Lavadour exhibit. Banner by @stephlittlebird.bsky.social. #indigenousart

Oh boy I wish our counterpart, the @uoregon.bsky.social Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, was on Bluesky!

A 7.5" long woven cylindrical bag is tied via woven cord to a woven bag about half the size. The body of the larger bag is light beige, with a brown woven outline of a frog featured. On the smaller bag, the same outline of a frog is visible as well as the edges of another one.

Wasco weaver Pat Courtney Gold crafted this sally bag, named "Honor the Frog." Sally bags are a unique example of Columbia Plateau weaving, traditionally used to carry and store foods and medicines. See our online gallery for more sally bags! mnch.uoregon.edu/coll.../plat... #indigenousart

A piece of white paper is taped to a cabinet. It reads 'A collection of calcium carbonate casts or a posse of plastic paraphernalia or a frenzied fiberglass free-for-all or a vast vinyl volume or a roomful of rubberized relics or Simply a whole lotta casts that need to be put away."

Took a trip over to our fossil vaults today and thought you all might appreciate this label for our teaching collection cabinets...#paleosky #fossilfriday

How I spent my summer vacation: student educators bring science to towns across Oregon The annual outreach by the Museum of Natural and Cultural History means as much to the students who give the talks as to the communities that host them

10,000 miles. 105 presentations. 5 University of Oregon students. Our educators crisscross Oregon every summer, sharing museum programs with libraries throughout the state.🧪 #scicomm

Read more:
news.uoregon.edu/how-i-spent-...

Text reading "Ventura County Archaeological Society, September 9th 2025, 7pm Zoom meeting. Dr Todd Braje Understanding Imperiled Earth: How Archaeology and Human History inform a Sustainable Future." Email us at vcas.arch@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Join our executive director @tbraje.bsky.social for this virtual talk with Ventura County Archaeological Society! Email vcas.arch@gmail.com for the Zoom link. 🏺

Two students are silhouetted against a brilliant glowing light box in Transgressors, an exhibit at the University of Oregon that examines Indigenous Queer identity. The light box is an illustrated image of a woman riding a horse. She is surrounded by thunder and lightning, wearing a white dress with rainbow ribbons that stream out behind her dramatically.

"No matter who you are, this work is for you."

Transgressors presents now and future Indigiqueer ancestors who move beyond boundaries in life and art. The work of 10 artists. curated by Anthony Hudson and Felix Furby, is on view at the museum until January 4, 2026. #IndigenousArt

Museum archaeologist Marlene holds the artifact in her hands and smiles at it. The coffee pot is about 6" in diameter. The bottom is intact, showing blue speckled enamelware; about halfway up the coffee pot the metal is crushed and rusted beyond recognition.

A blue enamelware pot sitting in a white photography box. The coffee pot is about 6" in diameter at its widest. The bottom is intact, showing blue speckled enamelware; about halfway up the coffee pot the metal is crushed and rusted beyond recognition as a pot.

A blue enamelware pot laying horizontally in a white photography box. The coffee pot is about 6" in diameter at its widest. The bottom is intact, showing blue speckled enamelware; about halfway up the coffee pot the metal is crushed and rusted beyond recognition as a pot.

This enamelware coffee pot is from the historic site of the Corvallis, Oregon city dump (used 1910-1913). It's made from iron sheet metal and covered in a ceramic enamel layer; this method of manufacturing was at its peak popularity in the United States from 1880 to 1930.🏺 ☕

Decoding the summer archaeological field school Chris Ruiz joins Chelsea Rose, host of Underground History.

@therealchelsearose.bsky.social interviewed Chris Ruiz, director of this summer's Applegate House Field School, on Underground History. Listen here for a great overview of archaeological field schools and why we were so invested in running a commuter one this summer! 🏺🧪

A beige lab/pittie mix stands in a field in front of pop up tents at the University of Oregon archaeology field school. Her ears are perked all the way up and her tongue is sticking out.

A beige lab/pittie mix sits in front of archaeology equipment. She grins widely at the camera.

It's #nationaldogday and we're celebrating Ruthie, this summer's Applegate House Field School Site Supervisor. Ruthie oversaw team morale, secured the site from intruders (primarily deer and squirrels), and inspected the archaeology crew's work. Thanks for a great field school, Ruthie! 🏺

A person reads a panel in the museum at the University of Oregon. They are in front of a large panel decorated like rock and titled "Layers of Time"

Oregon—Where Past is Present shares 14,000 years of Oregon stories. Come visit the museum and delve into Oregon’s past, from the archaeology of the First Americans to the dynamic cultures of today’s Tribes.

Wow, thank you for sharing! It was something very different for us. Kenya created the stunning ofrenda in the space and we're so glad she did.

Scott Fisher (director of Pine Mountain Observatory) and Kenya Márquez (founder of Ballet Papalotl) are familiar names in the museum from their work on Capturing the Cosmos: Images from the James Webb Space Telescope and Hostile Terrain '94, respectively.

An exhibit case with a panel in the center reading "Our Oregon Stories." One half of the case is filled with stories and objects from Scott Fisher; the other half is filled with stories and objects from Kenya Márquez.

It's the peak of the Perseids and we're welcoming some new stars to our Oregon Stories case! This case features objects from contemporary Oregonians their own words telling their stories.

(me @ me: be cool be cool be cool be cool the cool teens are paying attention to me)

nice

(me: nailed it 💅)