Missouri offers several museums, parks, and interpretive centers where visitors can engage deeply with the history and culture of the region’s Native American peoples, including the Osage, Delaware, Kickapoo, and the Missouria tribe.
Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center (Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park, Miami): Learn about nine historic tribes native to the state, with tribal artifacts, early maps, interpretive programs, and trails exploring the homeland of the Missouria.
Native Crossroads Gallery (History Museum on the Square, Springfield): An exhibit featuring tribal stories, life-size tipi, Osage/Kickapoo/Delaware history, interactive animal tracks, and the Trail of Tears mural by Andy Thomas.
Missouri Humanities Trail of Tears Mapping Project: Access an interactive map featuring historic sites and interpretive trails statewide connected to the Trail of Tears, with links to events and digital programs.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (Collinsville, Illinois, just over the Missouri border): A UNESCO World Heritage Site with remains of a massive Native city and 80+ earthen mounds, including an Interpretive Center and educational programs.
University of Missouri Museum of Anthropology (Columbia): Rotating exhibits, resources, and collections focused on Missouri’s indigenous peoples, with educational outreach for all ages.
Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies (Washington University, St. Louis): Offers events, scholarship, and research focused on Native American experience and current indigenous projects in Missouri.
Indigenous Tribes of Missouri LibGuide (Jefferson College Library, Hillsboro): Offers online and on-site resources for learning about Missouri’s tribal history, treaties, and current Native communities.
State Historical Society of Missouri (Columbia): Research archives with extensive documentation, oral histories, and Native American artifacts, available for historical inquiry and public education.
Missouri’s diverse cultural centers and interpretive trails offer a powerful way to connect with the land, stories, and living legacy of Native peoples in the region.
SOURCES
(https://historymuseumonthesquare.org/native-crossroads-at-the-spring/)
(https://mostateparks.com/location/55530/missouris-american-indian-cultural-center)(https://www.gousa.in/experience/where-experience-native-american-culture)(https://mostateparks.com/page/55158/nature-and-native-americans)
(https://mohumanities.org/native-american/)
