Updated 9.4.2008

Buckskin Diplomacy

The objects Lewis and Clark acquired in negotiations with Indian nations have much to say.

by Christopher Reed

November-December 2003

Click here for the November-December 2003 issue table of contents

Read more articles by Christopher Reed

Most popular

Rebecca Henderson: Does Capitalism Need to be Reimagined?

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

Students writing at desks on wheels, racing ahead of a stationary student at a fixed desk

The New Gender Gaps

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Magna Carta on display in Houghton Library

An Original Magna Carta, Hidden in Plain Sight

A rare original surfaces at Harvard at an “almost providential” moment.

Explore More From Current Issue

Perspective view of a train on tracks lined by trees, surrounded by colorfully dressed onlookers.

Paper Peepshows at Harvard's Baker Library

How “paper peepshows” brought distant realms to life

Man selects food from pie compartments in Eighth Avenue Automat, 1936.

The Sum of Our Choices

On the limitations of a prevailing worldview

Minimalist dove flying above a lake with its reflection below and sun overhead

Biology's "Mirror Organisms"—And Their Dangers

Life forms built from left-handed DNA and RNA could threaten Earth’s plants, animals, and insects.