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Nebraska's Indian population exploded in the summer of 1898, but it was not due to natural increase. More than 500 Indians representing twenty-three tribes came to Omaha as part of the United States Indian Bureau's exhibit at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. During their three-month stay at the world's fair, Indians engaged in dancing, feasting, visiting, and earned money performing sham battles. In doing so they demonstrated not only the vibrancy and resilience of Native American cultures, but also the ineffectiveness of the government's assimilation policy. The Indian Bureau had $40,000 to spend to show the public how education was \"civilizing\" Native Americans. Instead, the Bureau sponsored an enormous intertribal powwow and Wild West show that directly contradicted its own policies. This essay demonstrates that Indians not only negotiated the terms on which they came to Omaha but also played a major role in determining what activities they would participate in once they arrived.

\"In the past [western museums] were thought of as sleepy repositories of dusty artifacts, but today these institutions house major collections that define and interpret the American experience... These museums reflect the dynamic qualities that define the Western spirit itself.\" (COWBOYS & INDIANS) Learn about noteworthy museums of the west and their collections of fine art and artifacts.