"Small Spirits: Dolls from the National Museum of the American Indian"

In many Native American cultures, dolls were not only playthings but also teaching tools. With the assistance of older female relatives, girls learned important skills like sewing, weaving and tanning as they made miniature clothing for their figurines. More than 90 handmade playthings—including Iroquois cornhusk dolls, ivory and fur miniatures from the Arctic, and pieces dressed in the brightly colored patchwork style of the Seminole—that reflect the traditions of Native peoples from the 19th century to the present.