History

The U.S. is turning 250: Looking back, looking forward
Next week marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about what the milestone really means for America.
As Native American boarding schools project ends, survivors describe feeling honored and restored
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is wrapping up an oral history project in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The project has gathered video testimonies from over 360 Indigenous survivors across 19 states.
Red, white and blue: A strategy for survival as Native Americans navigate 250 years of history
America's 250th birthday marks a milestone of resilience for Native Americans. It's a complex history of displacement and forced assimilation as well as one of self-determination and, strangely enough, patriotism.
In 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order that mandated a shift in how American history is portrayed in federal institutions. The goal was to move away from “divisive or anti-American” ideology and promote a more “patriotic” narrative. How are Minnesota historians and museum directors responding to that pressure?
Postal Service releases special edition bald eagle stamps for America's 250th
The U.S. Postal Service is releasing special edition stamps featuring the bald eagle for America's 250th birthday. The stamps issued Thursday depict the eagle across five life stages, from hatchling to adult.
After 87 years, a hereditary chief's pipe returns to Grand Portage
The St. Louis County Historical Society will return sacred items to Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The repatriation, guided by the organization's American Indian Advisory Committee, reflects a growing shift in museum practice from ownership toward stewardship.
85 years after he left home, WWII Medal of Honor recipient will be buried in New Ulm
Exactly 85 years since Captain Willibald C. Bianchi left his hometown of New Ulm in 1941, the World War II Medal of Honor recipient's remains have finally returned home to his family. On Saturday, he’ll be buried with full military honors with his family by his side.
Thoroughly Modern Lisl: A new book tells the story of the woman who was Minnesota's first Modern architect
Architectural historian Jane King Hession has been studying the work of Minnesota’s first Modernist architect Elizabeth “Lisl” Scheu Close for decades, even conducting an oral history with the architect in 2000 for the Minnesota Historical Society.