The Natural Face of North America: A Public Portal to the Maximilian-Bodmer Collection at Joslyn Art Museum

FAIN: PW-285099-22

Creighton University (Omaha, NE 68178-0133)
Simon Appleford (Project Director: July 2021 to present)

The development of a digital portal for access to journals, watercolors, and drawings of Indigenous peoples encountered on Maximilian von Wied and Karl Bodmer's expedition across North America in 1832-1834. The digital portal would offer multiple points of entry to the journals, artwork, a geocoded map, interpretive essays, and K-12 curriculum tools. 

Creighton University, the Joslyn Art Museum, and the Nebraska Indian Community College will implement a digital portal to increase public access and interpretation of materials related to Maximilian von Wied and Karl Bodmer's 1832-1834 expedition across North America. Staff will digitize, geocode, and markup Maximilian's Journal and Bodmer's artworks. Users will be able to browse and search the collection or follow the expedition using georeferenced maps, creating an integrated digital experience that allows multiple entry points into text and image. The project will enrich these resources with scholarly essays and ensure its broad impact through public outreach and a K-12 curriculum developed in coordination with Native American communities. The Natural Face of North America will be the most comprehensive public resource for the Maximilian-Bodmer expedition, provoking new and Indigenous-centered understandings of nineteenth-century America on the cusp of immense cultural change.