About the Museum

 
 

OUR MISSION-

The Museum of Native American History provides a place where visitors can experience the diverse Indigenous cultures of the Americas through pre-historic and historic art.  

OUR VISION

To advance understanding of human experience within these cultures and provide a space of explorative imagination for all who visit. The galleries are set chronologically; the art and tools Indigenous peoples leave behind continue to speak their stories and history. To better understand their lifestyle, hardships, successes, and inspiration, MONAH invites visitors to open their minds to discover these diverse cultures’ creations. After the self-guided tour ends and the museum store begins, visitors continue to see how Native Americans express their stories through the modern-day arts.

OUR HISTORY

  • The Museum of Native American History was established downtown in 2006 as the Museum of Native American Artifacts.

  • The collection quickly outgrew the space, and MONAH opened its current doors in June 2008.

  • A registered member of the Cherokee Nation, David Bogle, born and raised in Bentonville, founded the museum that houses over 10,000 of the finest Native American artifacts.

  • The museum features Bogle's private collection and several collections donated and on loan to the museum for display.

Museum of Native American History, Bentonville, AR.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MONAH resides on land connected to centuries of Indigenous caretakers. We acknowledge that the boundaries of the land that is now called Arkansas were once home to Kadohadacho (Caddo), Wahzhazhe (Osage), Okáxpa (Quapaw), and countless other native groups. We recognize and show respect to the contemporary and vibrant cultures of the First Nations of all the Americas. As a cultural institution, we take our responsibility as educative storytellers of Native American history seriously through our exhibits, programming, publications, and community service. MONAH will always serve as a celebratory space for our First Nations' diversity in their culture, history, and rich craftsmanship. We encourage our visitors to aid Indigenous peoples by protecting their sacred lands and resources through the acknowledgment that our states, cities, neighborhoods, and communities reside on Native American ancestral grounds.

We are honored

to provide a place where visitors can experience the diverse Indigenous cultures of the Americas through pre-historic and historic art.