Plains bison calf descended from CSKT herd on display in new Smithsonian exhibit

A new exhibit that opened June 18 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History includes a Plains bison calf descended from the six bison that began the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ herd in the 1870s.

“From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage” is a groundbreaking new exhibition commemorating America’s 250th anniversary through more than 600 rare objects and specimens representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories. Drawn from the museum’s collection of more than 148 million artifacts and specimens, the 5,000-square-foot exhibition explores the people, landscapes, discoveries, traditions, and defining moments that have shaped the United States across millions of years of natural and cultural history.

Many of the objects on display have rarely or never before been exhibited publicly.

Representing Montana in the exhibition is a plains bison calf, one of nine objects from the state featured in the From These Lands exhibition.

The official mammal of the United States, bison once roamed North America in the millions, shaping grassland ecosystems and sustaining Indigenous communities. By the 1880s, overhunting reduced their numbers to just a few hundred.

Seeing that bison were disappearing due to slaughter, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) established a free-ranging herd in the 1870s. The Plains bison calf (Bos bison bison) on display at the Smithsonian is a descendant of the six bison that began the CSKT herd.

Restoration initiatives led by Indigenous communities and conservationists throughout the 20th century have helped reestablish bison populations. Today, wild herds thrive, shaping ecosystems, dispersing seeds and preserving cultural traditions.

The exhibition highlights the unique natural, cultural, scientific, and historical contributions connected to Montana and is expected to be viewed by millions of visitors from around the world during its multi-year engagement in Washington, D.C.

“This exhibition brings the entire country into one gallery,” said Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “As the country marks its 250th anniversary, ‘From These Lands’ presents an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our landscapes, the depth of our history and the connections that link people and the natural world across borders.”