Against the Current
The Omaha, Francis La Flesche, and His Collection
This exhibition presents the legacy of Francis La Flesche—the first Indigenous ethnologist of North America—and the culture of the Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha) people. Developed in close collaboration with Umoⁿhoⁿ community members and La Flesche’s descendants, it highlights stories of cultural resilience, both past and present.
Instead of a linear path, the exhibition unfolds in a circle of stories, with no beginning or end. At its heart is a 7-channel film installation: 22 sequences are reassembled by an algorithm to form ever-changing constellations. Rather than focusing solely on historical artifacts, the exhibition centers living voices, giving insight into contemporary Native American life and identity.
A temporary exhibition by the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
in cooperation with the Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz
and the Nebraska Indian Community College.
Exhibition Concept and Design: TheGreenEyl
Design Team: Gunnar Green, Willy Sengewald, Valerie Daude, Stefan Helling, Jens Rudolph, Gregor Müller
Film Production:
TheGreenEyl (Concept and Production)
with Emma Rosa Simon (Direction & Camera),
Kathryn Rebecca Fischer (Sound),
Nelson Abiola Smith (Second Camera & Camera Assistant),
Elisa Gonzales-Romswinkel (Editing),
SCHWARM audio netzwerk (Sound Mixing),
Rodrigo Barreto (Color Grading)
Digital Catalogue Development: Studio Rocani
Client: Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
Jochen Krüger and Antje Brörmann (Project Management)
Curatorial Team:
Ilja Labischinski (Lead Curator, Ethnologisches Museum Dahlem)
Wynema Morris (Co-Curator, Nebraska Indian Community College)
Elisabeth Seyerl-Langkamp (Research Associate, Stiftung Humboldt Forum)
Photography: schnepp-renou