The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has released "Curator's Notes," a new publication complementing the collections of the Plains Indian Museum and supporting the stories of Plains Native peoples, past and present. Illustrated with full color photographs of collection objects from the Plains Indian Museum, details and interpretations are offered for topics such as origins of tribal designs and manufacturing techniques, as well as cultural and historical contexts for objects. Historical and contemporary photographs provide additional background information.

The publication is a response to scores of requests the museum has gathered from libraries, educators, museum volunteers, and visitors to assemble the popular, individual curator's notes that have been featured in the Plains Indian Museum since 2000.

This spiral bound book is intended to resemble a field notebook in which a researcher makes succinct notes about collection objects and associated information. There is space for making notes as individuals explore the Plains Indian Museum.

Curator of the Plains Indian Museum Emma I. Hansen is the editor and a writer of the recent publication and says, "Over the years, visitors have often asked specific questions about the objects exhibited in our museum. By placing 'Curator's Notes' in front of cases in the newly installed galleries, we now have a means to highlight those details and address commonly asked questions about Plains Indian art and cultures."

In addition to Hansen, other writers include Rebecca T. Menlove, former Curatorial Assistant for the Plains Indian Museum and currently Exhibitions Manager at the Utah Museum of Natural History, Rebecca S. West, Curatorial Assistant for the Plains Indian Museum, and Anne Marie Shriver, Web Contact Developer for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Hansen points out that the Plains Indian Museum actively represents the lives of contemporary tribes of the region including Arapaho, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Lakota, Shoshone, Pawnee, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Pawnee, Hidatsa, Arikara, Kiowa, and Comanche, among others.

"Curator's Notes" is available through Museum Selections at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center or online at www.bbhcstore.com.

The Plains Indian Museum officially became a separate wing of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in 1979. It was entirely reinstalled and reinterpreted in 2000. Through exhibitions, publications, and educational programs, the Plains Indian Museum tells the stories of Plains Native people as they have moved from their buffalo hunting past to the living traditions of the present.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. through the winter season and daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. through April. Five museums are devoted to Western cultural and natural history: the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Museum of Natural History in addition to the McCracken Research Library. For general information, call (307) 587-4771 or visit www.bbhc.org.

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Media Contact: Thom Huge +1 307- 578-4034 thomh@bbhc.org