May 16, 2025 • 20 mins
Bentonville is home to the Museum of Native American History (MONAH), known for its collection of thousands of artifacts from indigenous cultures across the Americas, and always free admission.
Join us as we talk to MONAH about what makes the museum so special, what you can't miss, and why it needs to be apart of your Bentonville itinerary.
Find out more about MONAH here: monah.org
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie with VisitBentonville.
In this episode, we're takingyou inside one of Bentonville's
most meaningful culturaldestinations the Museum of
Native American History, or MONA.
Whether you're planning a tripto Northwest Arkansas or a local
looking for something new, thisis a place that offers deep
history, immersive storytellingand unforgettable experiences.
(00:33):
We're joined by leaders fromthe museum, jaslyn Sanderson and
Elena Littlefeather, to talkabout what makes the museum
special from must-see artifactsand interactive exhibits to the
curated collection of art, booksand handmade pieces that you'll
find in the shop.
It's a conversation abouthonoring Indigenous stories,
making meaningful connectionsand discovering something
(00:56):
powerful right here inBentonville.
Plus, it's always free.
Folks enjoy this conversationfrom a remote location after
having some technicaldifficulties with our audio.
Thanks so much for joining us.
In this episode, we're takingyou inside one of Bentonville's
most meaningful culturaldestinations the Museum of
Native American History, or MONA.
(01:18):
Whether you're planning a tripto Northwest Arkansas or you're
a local looking for somethingnew, this is a place that offers
deep history, immersivestorytelling and unforgettable
experiences.
We're joined by leaders fromthe museum, jaslyn Sanderson and
Elena Littlefeather, to talkabout what makes the museum
special from must-see artifactsand interactive exhibits to the
(01:40):
curated selection of art, booksand handmade pieces you'll find
in the shop.
It's a conversation abouthonoring Indigenous stories,
making meaningful connectionsand discovering something
powerful right here inBentonville.
Plus, it's always free.
Thanks for joining us.
Yeah, thanks for having us.
I'm so excited to kick thisconversation off.
We are going to be focusinghighly on your spring visit and
(02:02):
looking for a place to learnabout history and celebrating
Native culture right here inBentonville.
So my first question is ifsomeone's never been to Mona
before, what is a couple wordsthat you would use to describe
it?
We'll start with you Jaslyn.
Oh gosh, I would say, how manywords are we talking?
(02:23):
That's a good elevator, likeelevator pitch, elevator pitch,
I don't know.
I mean, since we're a museumhere in Bentonville that tells
like no other story, like anyother museum in Bentonville, but
also almost across the country.
I mean, there's not really manymuseums out there that cover
Indigenous history from all theAmericas and covering like
(02:46):
basically all time zones, right?
So from 24,000 years all theway up until present, we tell a
very unique story, so it'spretty precious to us.
Yeah, elena, do you haveanything to add?
Oh man, that was a really goodanswer.
It wasn't a few words, though Ithink that you know a good word
(03:08):
to describe it is just home Meas an Indigenous woman.
I really struggle finding areasthat I find myself in as an
indigenous woman, and when I'mat the museum I feel like I'm
with my people.
So that's my answer.
That's so sweet.
I love that you hit onindigenous culture across the
(03:29):
Americas.
Can you dive a little bit moreinto that?
Yeah, so our story quiteliterally covers all the
Americas.
One of my favorite things to askkids as they come in on a field
trip is how many Nativecultures do you think there are
today in the United States?
And they always answer thingslike five, 10, maybe somebody
(03:51):
says 100.
But their minds are literallyblown whenever I say there are
575.
And that's only includingfederally recognized.
It's not including tribes ofthe past or tribes that are like
unfettered, so like staterecognized.
They're still fighting forrecognition.
And then in Canada there areover 630.
(04:15):
And in Latin America there areover 800.
So that's a big story we haveto tell, and of course we can't
tell all of those, but we giveit our best shot.
Wow, yeah, my mind is alsoblown.
I am one of those kids thatwould have said five or 10.
That's amazing.
Do you guys constantly look fornew artifacts?
(04:36):
How do you get new artifacts?
Yeah, I mean, we're always kindof on the search for something
that's going to add to our story.
So recently we just exchangedsome beautiful artifacts out
with the University of Arkansas.
They have an amazing collection, but they don't really have a
public gallery, so we're prettyfortunate in having a great
partnership with them.
So we put some new artifacts ondisplay and we will continue to
(04:58):
do so over the next couple ofweeks.
So it's a great time to justkind of refresh and come see the
museum again.
If you haven't been before,you'd just see absolutely new
things all the way around.
You wouldn't even know, butwe've got some amazing artifacts
from the Pacific Northwest,like Alaska, canada area, that
(05:19):
are now on display, that were inthe university's archives.
Oh, that's so special.
Yeah, elena, I have a questionfor you as an Indigenous woman.
How is your experience at MONAdifferent than other Native
American history museums?
Different than other NativeAmerican history museums, aside
from the fact that we do coverall the Americas, because I
think that's a huge topic that alot of us gloss over.
(05:41):
We like to think thatIndigenous people belong in just
the United States.
But that's not true at all, butit's also just.
We are so focused on theartistic reflection of it.
You know, we start in the Paleoperiod where we start to see a
lot of points and arrowheads andthe hat rattles, and then we
kind of go and develop into theMississippi and where we see
(06:02):
wonderful pottery.
Arkansas is severely overlookedwith pottery and I didn't know
it until I moved here.
But we have such a rich historywith that so it's really fun to
see that.
And then when we get furtheralong into the galleries, see
that.
And then when we get furtheralong into the galleries we see
a lot of textiles and clothing,and so it's really fun to just
take a second to reallyappreciate the basics of art.
You know, especially like howmuch we have.
(06:22):
It's so nice to see alltogether.
Yeah, and you've done abeautiful job incorporating that
in the gift shop.
You've had other conversationsbefore and I'm always blown away
with how intentional you havebeen with gathering all of the
pieces and a majority of theartwork and books and things are
from Native people, correct?
(06:43):
Yes, that's true.
Yeah, reminding what yourfavorite gift shop item is, oh,
my goodness, it used to bejewelry, because I love jewelry.
But right now I'm a little bithyper fixated on um, a rug.
That's not on display but it isfor sale and it is a 1940s
painting, um Navajo textile.
(07:04):
So that one has a special placein my heart because I come from
a family of weavers.
So I just I look at it and Ithink, oh, you're just cute.
Yeah, that's so cool.
Yeah, I love the textiles thatare on display at Mona as well.
It's not just pottery andarrowheads.
That was probably one of mymost surprising things to see
was all of the beautifultapestries on display and rugs.
(07:24):
They're really, really special.
What kind of experiences canfirst-time visitors expect from
hands-on experiences?
Immersive?
Do you guys do guided tours oris it more self-paced?
Well, I mean we do have likethe audio guide, you know, which
is a great guided tour forsomebody who's a nice introvert
like me.
You know we um, but you get topick and choose what you want to
(07:48):
learn about Um.
And then also, one thing thatfirst timers don't always know,
but it is an exciting thing tocome across, is you get to go on
an arrowhead hunt at the end ofyour visit.
So everybody gets an arrowheadand it's super, super fun.
So it's always great to seekids do that for the first time,
(08:09):
because they get so excited andthey come show like the whole
staff Look at what I found andwe always, you know, applaud
them on.
Yeah, it is so cute.
I've been inside when familiesare like just wait, we have an
Arrowhead tour.
Or like no, we can't like leaveyet.
Or the kids are like let's justgo do it now.
It really does create so muchexcitement and I love that.
It gets kids involved too, withfamilies and not only kids I
(08:37):
shouldn't say kids, but I lovebig kids too.
Yeah, exactly.
Um, why do you think mona issuch a hidden gem in bentonville
?
Oh, my goodness, I think it'sjust because we're so niche.
We tell us very specific storyfor um, for a lot of tribes, and
so not many people really thinkabout it when it comes to, like
, so many bigger museums,because, of course, they deserve
(08:59):
the recognition that they have.
But you know, we're veryspecific about how we tell the
stories and we always say thatyeah, we're a hidden gem, but we
don't want to be hidden anymore.
So every time people visit,it's really appreciated if you
leave a review because we needthat.
Yeah, well, and it's soexpansive, it's not small at all
and I feel like when people gothey're like, wow, I didn't know
(09:22):
about this place and it is sospecial.
There's a specific specialityabout the land that you're on.
Do either of you want to talkmore about that?
Yeah, so right, whenever youwalk in and you can see it on
our website too.
But we have a formal landacknowledgement, basically
recognizing the land that wereside on and call home is once
(09:44):
home to many Indigenous people,primarily the Caddo, Osage and
Quapaw.
We're actually on Osage huntinggrounds right here, but
Arkansas more broadly is home tothose three tribes, as well as
many tribes of the past that youknow.
It's kind of difficult to nametoday because in history they
were constantly evolving andchanging groups and we don't
(10:07):
know the names that they calledthemselves, and so we still
recognize, of course, all ofthose amazing you know tribes
and nations and even just littlevillages that you know called
themselves a community.
So I mean, like we're pretty,you know, respectful of that,
and we want to honor them witheverything that we're doing here
at the museum.
Yeah, you do a great job.
(10:28):
The murals outside areabsolutely stunning.
And if you don't know Mona'sthere, and then you pass it and
you see the beautiful colorfulartwork, you're like, oh my gosh
, wow, yeah, was that done by alocal artist?
Well, she's not necessarilylocal, I think.
Shoot, does she live inOklahoma?
Yes, so semi-local, I guess youknow kind of, but her name is
(10:50):
Jane Nicole Hatfield and she isan amazing artist that we
brought in several years ago now.
That mural has been there awhile, but she did a portrait of
Chief Joseph, of IndigenousGoddess Number Nine and Maria
Tallchief, and so her art styleis just so vibrant, right?
(11:11):
Um, and hold on, I don't wantto mess up her, her tribal
affiliation, because I feel likeso, oh, I don't, I believe, I
believe I'm gonna put my neckout there.
I believe she's kaiwa andcomanche.
I think you're gonna doublecheck that.
We're gonna double check that.
Um, you're right, we're goingto double check that.
(11:31):
We're going to double checkthat.
You were right.
Oh, yeah, danico Hatfield isfirewood for Angie.
That's awesome.
Well, how did Mona get startedand why is it here in northwest
Arkansas?
Well, we are founded by oneindividual.
His name is David Vogel.
He's a member of the CherokeeNation and local here to
(11:56):
Bentonville, which is why it'shere, so we're very fortunate in
working with him Even today.
He started this collecting 20,25 years ago.
He opened the museum in 2006,and it was across from his house
.
Then, in 2008, we came to thelocation that we're at right now
and we've expanded on basicallyall sides of the building since
then, and he is still addingartifacts today.
(12:18):
How many artifacts you have?
Do you know?
Over 10 000 at this point?
Is it all on display or do youhave archives?
We do have archives, but themajority of it is on display.
There's very little in thearchives.
Primarily, most of them arerugs.
We have almost like 60 or 70rugs in our collection, but we
(12:39):
can only have eight on displayat a time because of space.
Yeah, so, yeah, are there anyspecific exhibits that visitors
tend to gravitate towards?
Yeah, we have several.
I love that.
I would say the winter countsare probably the most talked
(12:59):
about, though.
We have two winter counts inour collection and there are
less than 100 winter counts inexistence today.
So there's Lone Dog's WinterCamp, which is basically a
record of 70 years of historyfrom like an eyewitness account,
where they would draw apictograph to represent the most
important event to happen inthat tribe per year.
(13:20):
So it's a pretty powerful youknow piece that's in her
collection and the other one Irepresents like 120, 150 years.
It starts before Lone Dogs andgoes after, but they're both
like so powerful because you cansee, you know, like the thought
(13:43):
process and you can almostenvision the community coming
together and talking about likethe most important event to
happen to them and then thenchoose that event recorded in
history, um, and you can seetheir exact you know recordings,
um, today, which is superspecial.
Yeah, that is really special.
Make sure that we continue toknow the story and tell the
story of the indigenous people.
(14:03):
It's awesome.
Similarly, with the gift shop,the trading should I call it the
trading post?
Yeah, is there a specific itemthat a lot of people gravitate
towards?
I think that the gift shop'smain purpose is to make sure
that we connect history topresent day, because there is a
(14:24):
misconception that indigenouspeople are no longer here.
So the gift shop serves as one,a celebratory place of, you
know, admiring all of the artthat is being made, but also a
safe space for people to cometogether and ask us questions
about what's going on, what aresome current events that are
happening?
And so, to answer your question, I think that the bookshop is
(14:45):
really really the main focus.
When people want to go out andwant to learn more about
Indigenous perspectives on, youknow, ecology or you know, like,
water rights and things likethat.
It's really important to goover there to just kind of
browse through.
And even if you just want to goin there for fun, we have tons
of folklore stories and you knowjust, there's so much in there.
What is your favorite overlookeditem?
(15:07):
My favorite overlooked item ohmy goodness.
Oh my goodness.
Not necessarily overlooked,because people will see it and
they're always intimidated by it, but my favorite thing is we
offer crickets as a snack to eat, and everyone's always freaked
out about it, but I think it'sso fun and they're quite
delicious, but those are myfavorite, and every time I see
(15:27):
little kids I'm like do you wantsome?
Oh my gosh, jasmine.
Do you have a favorite itemthat's maybe overlooked?
Or in the shop?
Or in the shop?
In the shop, oh god.
Maybe in the gallery?
Now I'm curious, I don't know.
(15:49):
I mean, there's a ton offantastic things that I think
people see on multiple visits.
You know, they may not noticetheir first time, but the second
time they're like has thisalways been here?
Like in the galleries, myfavorite items are the Peruvian
textiles.
They're so cool and they arealmost 2,000 years old, and so I
(16:11):
mean, that alone ismind-blowing to me, and I think
people don't realize orappreciate that, but maybe I'm
just a textile person.
But in the shop, I mean, likePerkitts is a really great
option.
I would say we have some reallygreat T-shirts in there that I
don't like.
Um, that are are done bynatives, which is a brand owned
(16:36):
and operated by Stephen Pulchard.
He is, um Iowa Chalk Talk, Ibelieve.
So, yes, um, and I don't know,he is just a creative mind and
we've got some fun designs inthere.
Um, yeah, also, I have tohighlight and when we were
talking about the books, therecipes are super good, yes, and
(17:00):
we also just got a new boardgame then, which is really cool.
We did get a new board game.
Yeah, I love the way you guyspartner with communities, not
only by bringing artifacts tolight and telling the history of
that, but also how you continueto bring them to the gift shop
and and sell things that arestill being made by incredibly
(17:20):
talented indigenous people.
It's, it's so special, um can,how can visitors take what they
learned here and carry it withthem home in a meaningful way,
aside from the gift shop?
Do you want to go first?
Sure, I mean like I think wecould all use a little bit more
(17:44):
history and knowledge into ourlives.
I mean there's somethingspecial about learning something
you had no idea even existed inthe world.
Learning something you had noidea even existed in the world,
and then like taking that homeand taking that knowledge and,
you know, putting it forward inyour life.
Whether it's just a fun fact,you can tell at a party, or
maybe it is something a littlebit more emotional and deeper
connecting, and maybe you knowthat's part of your own family's
(18:05):
history or something youdiscover down the line and it's
you know we have a sharedhistory and we have to.
You know, collectively, it'sour responsibility to keep that
passed on.
So I think you know what wetell in the galleries is you
know our shared history and youknow we respect that and it's
(18:26):
our responsibility.
Well, that was a really cuteanswer.
I think that you know just noteven just's our responsibility.
Well, that was a really cuteanswer.
Do you have anything to add?
I think that you know just, noteven just with our museum in
general and with our, like,indigenous background and
history, but like to alwayschallenge yourself.
Every time you visit or youvisit someplace else that talks
about history in general, comeinside, take a moment to reflect
(18:46):
and think about what more can Ilearn from this and what can I
do about it, if there's anythingto be done.
Yeah, that's good.
Well, before we wrap up, Iusually love to ask our guests
what's on their Bentonvillebucket list.
So if you haven't done it yet,tell me.
Or if there's something thatneeds to be on a visitor's
bucket list, tell me.
Oh, my goodness, I have toadmit something I'm a really bad
(19:12):
tourist in our own home.
Yeah, so there's probably a loton that list.
Like I need to try every singlerestaurant that we've got.
Um, but I absolutely lovesending our visitors over to
eighth street market becausethey have no idea they exist.
Yeah, um, because I knoweverybody knows like downtown is
great.
There's a ton of things to dodowntown, but 8th Street has
(19:33):
some cool stuff too, so that'swhere I always send people.
But I myself need to be a betterfriend we can get together.
Oh yeah, I'm like Jasmine, Idon't like to leave my house.
I need to go and get out more.
But something that's on mypersonal bucket list is there's
a coffee shop I think it'sAirship where you walk on a
(19:54):
trail and then eventually you'llfind it.
Yeah, that's what I think.
Yeah, you have to do that.
Wow, that's like huge Cool.
Well, I have so many morequestions I wish I could ask,
but unfortunately we're out oftime.
Thank you guys so much forjoining us.
If you guys want to learn moreinformation, don't forget.
(20:17):
Visit Bentonville is here tohelp you navigate things where
to eat, where to stay and what'sgoing on in our new American
town.
Check out the show notes.
To follow us on social media,follow our newsletter and check
out our website atvisitbentonvillecom.
Thanks so much for listening.
Welcome to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie with VisitBentonville.
In this episode, we're takingyou inside one of Bentonville's
most meaningful culturaldestinations the Museum of
Native American History, or MONA.
Whether you're planning a tripto Northwest Arkansas or a local
looking for something new, thisis a place that offers deep
history, immersive storytellingand unforgettable experiences.
(00:33):
We're joined by leaders fromthe museum, jaslyn Sanderson and
Elena Littlefeather, to talkabout what makes the museum
special from must-see artifactsand interactive exhibits to the
curated collection of art, booksand handmade pieces that you'll
find in the shop.
It's a conversation abouthonoring Indigenous stories,
making meaningful connectionsand discovering something
(00:56):
powerful right here inBentonville.
Plus, it's always free.
Folks enjoy this conversationfrom a remote location after
having some technicaldifficulties with our audio.
Thanks so much for joining us.
In this episode, we're takingyou inside one of Bentonville's
most meaningful culturaldestinations the Museum of
Native American History, or MONA.
(01:18):
Whether you're planning a tripto Northwest Arkansas or you're
a local looking for somethingnew, this is a place that offers
deep history, immersivestorytelling and unforgettable
experiences.
We're joined by leaders fromthe museum, jaslyn Sanderson and
Elena Littlefeather, to talkabout what makes the museum
special from must-see artifactsand interactive exhibits to the
(01:40):
curated selection of art, booksand handmade pieces you'll find
in the shop.
It's a conversation abouthonoring Indigenous stories,
making meaningful connectionsand discovering something
powerful right here inBentonville.
Plus, it's always free.
Thanks for joining us.
Yeah, thanks for having us.
I'm so excited to kick thisconversation off.
We are going to be focusinghighly on your spring visit and
(02:02):
looking for a place to learnabout history and celebrating
Native culture right here inBentonville.
So my first question is ifsomeone's never been to Mona
before, what is a couple wordsthat you would use to describe
it?
We'll start with you Jaslyn.
Oh gosh, I would say, how manywords are we talking?
(02:23):
That's a good elevator, likeelevator pitch, elevator pitch,
I don't know.
I mean, since we're a museumhere in Bentonville that tells
like no other story, like anyother museum in Bentonville, but
also almost across the country.
I mean, there's not really manymuseums out there that cover
Indigenous history from all theAmericas and covering like
(02:46):
basically all time zones, right?
So from 24,000 years all theway up until present, we tell a
very unique story, so it'spretty precious to us.
Yeah, elena, do you haveanything to add?
Oh man, that was a really goodanswer.
It wasn't a few words, though Ithink that you know a good word
(03:08):
to describe it is just home Meas an Indigenous woman.
I really struggle finding areasthat I find myself in as an
indigenous woman, and when I'mat the museum I feel like I'm
with my people.
So that's my answer.
That's so sweet.
I love that you hit onindigenous culture across the
(03:29):
Americas.
Can you dive a little bit moreinto that?
Yeah, so our story quiteliterally covers all the
Americas.
One of my favorite things to askkids as they come in on a field
trip is how many Nativecultures do you think there are
today in the United States?
And they always answer thingslike five, 10, maybe somebody
(03:51):
says 100.
But their minds are literallyblown whenever I say there are
575.
And that's only includingfederally recognized.
It's not including tribes ofthe past or tribes that are like
unfettered, so like staterecognized.
They're still fighting forrecognition.
And then in Canada there areover 630.
(04:15):
And in Latin America there areover 800.
So that's a big story we haveto tell, and of course we can't
tell all of those, but we giveit our best shot.
Wow, yeah, my mind is alsoblown.
I am one of those kids thatwould have said five or 10.
That's amazing.
Do you guys constantly look fornew artifacts?
(04:36):
How do you get new artifacts?
Yeah, I mean, we're always kindof on the search for something
that's going to add to our story.
So recently we just exchangedsome beautiful artifacts out
with the University of Arkansas.
They have an amazing collection, but they don't really have a
public gallery, so we're prettyfortunate in having a great
partnership with them.
So we put some new artifacts ondisplay and we will continue to
(04:58):
do so over the next couple ofweeks.
So it's a great time to justkind of refresh and come see the
museum again.
If you haven't been before,you'd just see absolutely new
things all the way around.
You wouldn't even know, butwe've got some amazing artifacts
from the Pacific Northwest,like Alaska, canada area, that
(05:19):
are now on display, that were inthe university's archives.
Oh, that's so special.
Yeah, elena, I have a questionfor you as an Indigenous woman.
How is your experience at MONAdifferent than other Native
American history museums?
Different than other NativeAmerican history museums, aside
from the fact that we do coverall the Americas, because I
think that's a huge topic that alot of us gloss over.
(05:41):
We like to think thatIndigenous people belong in just
the United States.
But that's not true at all, butit's also just.
We are so focused on theartistic reflection of it.
You know, we start in the Paleoperiod where we start to see a
lot of points and arrowheads andthe hat rattles, and then we
kind of go and develop into theMississippi and where we see
(06:02):
wonderful pottery.
Arkansas is severely overlookedwith pottery and I didn't know
it until I moved here.
But we have such a rich historywith that so it's really fun to
see that.
And then when we get furtheralong into the galleries, see
that.
And then when we get furtheralong into the galleries we see
a lot of textiles and clothing,and so it's really fun to just
take a second to reallyappreciate the basics of art.
You know, especially like howmuch we have.
(06:22):
It's so nice to see alltogether.
Yeah, and you've done abeautiful job incorporating that
in the gift shop.
You've had other conversationsbefore and I'm always blown away
with how intentional you havebeen with gathering all of the
pieces and a majority of theartwork and books and things are
from Native people, correct?
(06:43):
Yes, that's true.
Yeah, reminding what yourfavorite gift shop item is, oh,
my goodness, it used to bejewelry, because I love jewelry.
But right now I'm a little bithyper fixated on um, a rug.
That's not on display but it isfor sale and it is a 1940s
painting, um Navajo textile.
(07:04):
So that one has a special placein my heart because I come from
a family of weavers.
So I just I look at it and Ithink, oh, you're just cute.
Yeah, that's so cool.
Yeah, I love the textiles thatare on display at Mona as well.
It's not just pottery andarrowheads.
That was probably one of mymost surprising things to see
was all of the beautifultapestries on display and rugs.
(07:24):
They're really, really special.
What kind of experiences canfirst-time visitors expect from
hands-on experiences?
Immersive?
Do you guys do guided tours oris it more self-paced?
Well, I mean we do have likethe audio guide, you know, which
is a great guided tour forsomebody who's a nice introvert
like me.
You know we um, but you get topick and choose what you want to
(07:48):
learn about Um.
And then also, one thing thatfirst timers don't always know,
but it is an exciting thing tocome across, is you get to go on
an arrowhead hunt at the end ofyour visit.
So everybody gets an arrowheadand it's super, super fun.
So it's always great to seekids do that for the first time,
(08:09):
because they get so excited andthey come show like the whole
staff Look at what I found andwe always, you know, applaud
them on.
Yeah, it is so cute.
I've been inside when familiesare like just wait, we have an
Arrowhead tour.
Or like no, we can't like leaveyet.
Or the kids are like let's justgo do it now.
It really does create so muchexcitement and I love that.
It gets kids involved too, withfamilies and not only kids I
(08:37):
shouldn't say kids, but I lovebig kids too.
Yeah, exactly.
Um, why do you think mona issuch a hidden gem in bentonville
?
Oh, my goodness, I think it'sjust because we're so niche.
We tell us very specific storyfor um, for a lot of tribes, and
so not many people really thinkabout it when it comes to, like
, so many bigger museums,because, of course, they deserve
(08:59):
the recognition that they have.
But you know, we're veryspecific about how we tell the
stories and we always say thatyeah, we're a hidden gem, but we
don't want to be hidden anymore.
So every time people visit,it's really appreciated if you
leave a review because we needthat.
Yeah, well, and it's soexpansive, it's not small at all
and I feel like when people gothey're like, wow, I didn't know
(09:22):
about this place and it is sospecial.
There's a specific specialityabout the land that you're on.
Do either of you want to talkmore about that?
Yeah, so right, whenever youwalk in and you can see it on
our website too.
But we have a formal landacknowledgement, basically
recognizing the land that wereside on and call home is once
(09:44):
home to many Indigenous people,primarily the Caddo, Osage and
Quapaw.
We're actually on Osage huntinggrounds right here, but
Arkansas more broadly is home tothose three tribes, as well as
many tribes of the past that youknow.
It's kind of difficult to nametoday because in history they
were constantly evolving andchanging groups and we don't
(10:07):
know the names that they calledthemselves, and so we still
recognize, of course, all ofthose amazing you know tribes
and nations and even just littlevillages that you know called
themselves a community.
So I mean, like we're pretty,you know, respectful of that,
and we want to honor them witheverything that we're doing here
at the museum.
Yeah, you do a great job.
(10:28):
The murals outside areabsolutely stunning.
And if you don't know Mona'sthere, and then you pass it and
you see the beautiful colorfulartwork, you're like, oh my gosh
, wow, yeah, was that done by alocal artist?
Well, she's not necessarilylocal, I think.
Shoot, does she live inOklahoma?
Yes, so semi-local, I guess youknow kind of, but her name is
(10:50):
Jane Nicole Hatfield and she isan amazing artist that we
brought in several years ago now.
That mural has been there awhile, but she did a portrait of
Chief Joseph, of IndigenousGoddess Number Nine and Maria
Tallchief, and so her art styleis just so vibrant, right?
(11:11):
Um, and hold on, I don't wantto mess up her, her tribal
affiliation, because I feel likeso, oh, I don't, I believe, I
believe I'm gonna put my neckout there.
I believe she's kaiwa andcomanche.
I think you're gonna doublecheck that.
We're gonna double check that.
Um, you're right, we're goingto double check that.
(11:31):
We're going to double checkthat.
You were right.
Oh, yeah, danico Hatfield isfirewood for Angie.
That's awesome.
Well, how did Mona get startedand why is it here in northwest
Arkansas?
Well, we are founded by oneindividual.
His name is David Vogel.
He's a member of the CherokeeNation and local here to
(11:56):
Bentonville, which is why it'shere, so we're very fortunate in
working with him Even today.
He started this collecting 20,25 years ago.
He opened the museum in 2006,and it was across from his house
.
Then, in 2008, we came to thelocation that we're at right now
and we've expanded on basicallyall sides of the building since
then, and he is still addingartifacts today.
(12:18):
How many artifacts you have?
Do you know?
Over 10 000 at this point?
Is it all on display or do youhave archives?
We do have archives, but themajority of it is on display.
There's very little in thearchives.
Primarily, most of them arerugs.
We have almost like 60 or 70rugs in our collection, but we
(12:39):
can only have eight on displayat a time because of space.
Yeah, so, yeah, are there anyspecific exhibits that visitors
tend to gravitate towards?
Yeah, we have several.
I love that.
I would say the winter countsare probably the most talked
(12:59):
about, though.
We have two winter counts inour collection and there are
less than 100 winter counts inexistence today.
So there's Lone Dog's WinterCamp, which is basically a
record of 70 years of historyfrom like an eyewitness account,
where they would draw apictograph to represent the most
important event to happen inthat tribe per year.
(13:20):
So it's a pretty powerful youknow piece that's in her
collection and the other one Irepresents like 120, 150 years.
It starts before Lone Dogs andgoes after, but they're both
like so powerful because you cansee, you know, like the thought
(13:43):
process and you can almostenvision the community coming
together and talking about likethe most important event to
happen to them and then thenchoose that event recorded in
history, um, and you can seetheir exact you know recordings,
um, today, which is superspecial.
Yeah, that is really special.
Make sure that we continue toknow the story and tell the
story of the indigenous people.
(14:03):
It's awesome.
Similarly, with the gift shop,the trading should I call it the
trading post?
Yeah, is there a specific itemthat a lot of people gravitate
towards?
I think that the gift shop'smain purpose is to make sure
that we connect history topresent day, because there is a
(14:24):
misconception that indigenouspeople are no longer here.
So the gift shop serves as one,a celebratory place of, you
know, admiring all of the artthat is being made, but also a
safe space for people to cometogether and ask us questions
about what's going on, what aresome current events that are
happening?
And so, to answer your question, I think that the bookshop is
(14:45):
really really the main focus.
When people want to go out andwant to learn more about
Indigenous perspectives on, youknow, ecology or you know, like,
water rights and things likethat.
It's really important to goover there to just kind of
browse through.
And even if you just want to goin there for fun, we have tons
of folklore stories and you knowjust, there's so much in there.
What is your favorite overlookeditem?
(15:07):
My favorite overlooked item ohmy goodness.
Oh my goodness.
Not necessarily overlooked,because people will see it and
they're always intimidated by it, but my favorite thing is we
offer crickets as a snack to eat, and everyone's always freaked
out about it, but I think it'sso fun and they're quite
delicious, but those are myfavorite, and every time I see
(15:27):
little kids I'm like do you wantsome?
Oh my gosh, jasmine.
Do you have a favorite itemthat's maybe overlooked?
Or in the shop?
Or in the shop?
In the shop, oh god.
Maybe in the gallery?
Now I'm curious, I don't know.
(15:49):
I mean, there's a ton offantastic things that I think
people see on multiple visits.
You know, they may not noticetheir first time, but the second
time they're like has thisalways been here?
Like in the galleries, myfavorite items are the Peruvian
textiles.
They're so cool and they arealmost 2,000 years old, and so I
(16:11):
mean, that alone ismind-blowing to me, and I think
people don't realize orappreciate that, but maybe I'm
just a textile person.
But in the shop, I mean, likePerkitts is a really great
option.
I would say we have some reallygreat T-shirts in there that I
don't like.
Um, that are are done bynatives, which is a brand owned
(16:36):
and operated by Stephen Pulchard.
He is, um Iowa Chalk Talk, Ibelieve.
So, yes, um, and I don't know,he is just a creative mind and
we've got some fun designs inthere.
Um, yeah, also, I have tohighlight and when we were
talking about the books, therecipes are super good, yes, and
(17:00):
we also just got a new boardgame then, which is really cool.
We did get a new board game.
Yeah, I love the way you guyspartner with communities, not
only by bringing artifacts tolight and telling the history of
that, but also how you continueto bring them to the gift shop
and and sell things that arestill being made by incredibly
(17:20):
talented indigenous people.
It's, it's so special, um can,how can visitors take what they
learned here and carry it withthem home in a meaningful way,
aside from the gift shop?
Do you want to go first?
Sure, I mean like I think wecould all use a little bit more
(17:44):
history and knowledge into ourlives.
I mean there's somethingspecial about learning something
you had no idea even existed inthe world.
Learning something you had noidea even existed in the world,
and then like taking that homeand taking that knowledge and,
you know, putting it forward inyour life.
Whether it's just a fun fact,you can tell at a party, or
maybe it is something a littlebit more emotional and deeper
connecting, and maybe you knowthat's part of your own family's
(18:05):
history or something youdiscover down the line and it's
you know we have a sharedhistory and we have to.
You know, collectively, it'sour responsibility to keep that
passed on.
So I think you know what wetell in the galleries is you
know our shared history and youknow we respect that and it's
(18:26):
our responsibility.
Well, that was a really cuteanswer.
I think that you know just noteven just's our responsibility.
Well, that was a really cuteanswer.
Do you have anything to add?
I think that you know just, noteven just with our museum in
general and with our, like,indigenous background and
history, but like to alwayschallenge yourself.
Every time you visit or youvisit someplace else that talks
about history in general, comeinside, take a moment to reflect
(18:46):
and think about what more can Ilearn from this and what can I
do about it, if there's anythingto be done.
Yeah, that's good.
Well, before we wrap up, Iusually love to ask our guests
what's on their Bentonvillebucket list.
So if you haven't done it yet,tell me.
Or if there's something thatneeds to be on a visitor's
bucket list, tell me.
Oh, my goodness, I have toadmit something I'm a really bad
(19:12):
tourist in our own home.
Yeah, so there's probably a loton that list.
Like I need to try every singlerestaurant that we've got.
Um, but I absolutely lovesending our visitors over to
eighth street market becausethey have no idea they exist.
Yeah, um, because I knoweverybody knows like downtown is
great.
There's a ton of things to dodowntown, but 8th Street has
(19:33):
some cool stuff too, so that'swhere I always send people.
But I myself need to be a betterfriend we can get together.
Oh yeah, I'm like Jasmine, Idon't like to leave my house.
I need to go and get out more.
But something that's on mypersonal bucket list is there's
a coffee shop I think it'sAirship where you walk on a
(19:54):
trail and then eventually you'llfind it.
Yeah, that's what I think.
Yeah, you have to do that.
Wow, that's like huge Cool.
Well, I have so many morequestions I wish I could ask,
but unfortunately we're out oftime.
Thank you guys so much forjoining us.
If you guys want to learn moreinformation, don't forget.
(20:17):
Visit Bentonville is here tohelp you navigate things where
to eat, where to stay and what'sgoing on in our new American
town.
Check out the show notes.
To follow us on social media,follow our newsletter and check
out our website atvisitbentonvillecom.
Thanks so much for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.