Standing nearly 20 feet high in the prestigious National Museum of the American Indian, the “Allies in War, Partners in Peace” statue commemorates the bond between two nations – the Oneida and the United States.
Full of Oneida allegory, the 2,200 pound bronze sculpture depicts Oneida Chief Shenendoah and Oneida woman, Polly Cooper, along with Gen. George Washington. The statute symbolizes the friendship that was forged between the two nations during the Revolutionary War.
The statue can be found on the fourth floor of the Smithsonian Institution’s museum, the first in the country dedicated exclusively to American Indians.
With the Oneida Indian Nation’s continued support, the National Museum of the American Indian recently installed a new, interpretive surround experience to the extraordinary “Allies in War, Partners in Peace” bronze sculpture. The new surround experience enhances the storytelling of the historic alliance with light, sound and projected imagery in an imaginative display that will provide greater context of the two nations’ relationship for museum visitors.
See one of the earliest treaties still in effect, the Treaty of Canandaigua, in the exhibition “Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations,” also at the NMAI. The treaty confirms peace between the Haudenosaunee and America. President George Washington signed at the bottom and Big Sky, Handsome Lake and Cornplanter were among the Native delegates to leave their mark, by writing an X beside their name.
This exhibition is the largest such historical collection available to the public and will be on display through spring 2020.