The National Library of Medicine’s Native Voices Traveling Exhibition on Display at Milken Institute School of Public Health


November 23, 2015

The National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Native Voices Traveling Exhibition is on display through the 2015-2016 holiday season at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. The exhibition, Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness, examines concepts of health and medicine among contemporary American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian people.

This is the final stop for the traveling exhibition, which started its journey at the Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, in Fort Totten, North Dakota. The exhibition continued on its way from Hawaii to Massachusetts, and from Alaska to Baltimore, Maryland. Overall, the Native Voices Exhibition has been on display in more than 30 venues including: university libraries, Native American art galleries, and other community centers.

“We hope to convey how Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Native Americans promote health and healing as well as the relationship between traditional healing and Western medicine,” said NLM’s   Robert Logan PhD, who has been a member of the exhibition team since Native Voices’ inception.

Towards this end, viewers are able to watch interviews and listen to the personal stories of tribal leaders, healers, physicians, clergy, educators, and students concerning health and wellness. Visitors also can learn about specific issues, such as the unique role played by the Navajo Code talkers during World War II.

Although Milken Institute SPH is the final stop of the exhibit under the National Library of Medicine’s sponsorship, the exhibit will be available at other sites in the future. The American Library Association (in partnership with NLM) will provide opportunities for organizations and institutions to host the Native Voices Traveling Exhibition for the next four years.

Learn more about Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness at the National Library of Medicine’s website.