Botany of Nations: Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Camas Root as depicted in Edwards's Botanical Register v.18, London, 1832. Image courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Illustration of Camas Root as depicted in Edwards's Botanical Register v.18 — Camas Root as depicted in Edwards's Botanical Register v.18, London, 1832. Image courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Camassia quamash (Camas Root) at Leavenworth Ski Hill, Leavenworth, Washington. — *Camassia quamash* (Camas Root) at Leavenworth Ski Hill, Leavenworth, Washington. Photo by Thayne Tuason.

Recipient

Grant Year 2023

Grant Amount $360,500

Status Forthcoming

Updated January 2, 2026

A new exhibition revisits the 200-plus carefully preserved North American plant specimens collected during the 1804–06 Lewis and Clark expedition. Designed in collaboration with Indigenous community advisors, the project counters narratives of colonial “discovery” and offers historical and contemporary perspectives on Indigenous culture and botanical scientific contributions. A film and interactive digital displays accompany the exhibition's exploration of heritage plant cultivation, biodiversity, and environmental justice. Using ethnobotanical storytelling to illustrate how Indigenous peoples cultivated and used plants, the exhibition prompts the oldest natural history museum in the Americas to re-interpret its collections and convene critical conversations around environmental justice, ethnography, agroecology, natural science, and history.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Primary EventsEvents & Exhibitions

Botany of Nations Exhibition

Mar 28, 2026–Feb 14, 2027
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103

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Recipient

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the oldest natural history museum in North America. Founded in 1812, the museum is known for both its collections of natural specimens and its active research faculty. It has been affiliated with Drexel University since 2011. The Academy’s collections contain more than 18 million specimens and archival materials, many of which predate the institution’s founding and reflect the work of famous naturalists and scientists, including Thomas Jefferson, John James Audubon, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark.

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