Experience Art of the Northwest Coast in Oklahoma City

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is helping highlight an area often overlooked when referring to the American West with their Art of the Northwest Coast exhibition. 

The exhibition began on Aug. 27 and will continue through May 1, 2023, incorporating a variety of artistic mediums like painted totem poles, bentwood boxes, wooden and stone sculptures, prints, glass and basketry. 

“We’re a national museum of the American West and it’s our job to tell the entirety of that story,” said Curator of Ethnology at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Eric D. Singleton, Ph.D. 

Bowl. By Glen Rabena, Haida, 1985, cedar. Gift from the Collection of Richard Walker. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 2022.01.007.

“So many times, people associate us with the Great Plains, and it’s really important for me to go well beyond that traditional narrative or assumption. The Northwest Coast has been an exhibit I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.” 

Singleton said the work is an outlier from fellow Oklahoma museum exhibitions, while still incorporating familiar elements like similar cultural beliefs and traits, connections to Native American stories, and depictions of daily life.  

“It’s a very underrepresented narrative of the American West here in Oklahoma… it just speaks to the absolute diversity of the American West, and the narrative that we’ve been given our whole life. The American West is about diversity of culture, people, beliefs; and we hope it’s represented here in the museum. We welcome everyone to come see.” 

Eagle and Sisiuti. By Mark Henderson, Kwakwaka’wakw, 1984, serigraph. Arthur and Shifra Silberman Collection. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 1996.27.0408.

The Art of the Northwest Coast exhibit is one of several on display at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students, $5 for children aged 6 to 12 and free for children aged five and under. 

The museum also offers a joint ticket option, in partnership with the First Americans Museum, for $25. This ticket allows guests to visit both museums, located 15 minutes apart, and must be purchased in person. 

You can find more information on the Art of the Northwest Coast exhibition and others on the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum website.