OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – As Mother’s Day approaches and we honor the special women in our lives, The Cowboy Museum invites families to enjoy two female-focused exhibitions, Blazing a Trail and Find Her West, on exhibit through Mother’s Day, May 9, 2021.
“The American West might conjure images of rough and tumble cowboys, but women have always played a vital and often unsung role in the West,” said Natalie Shirley, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum President and CEO. “These exhibitions are a way to honor the contributions of women, both known and unknown, to the advancement of women’s rights and the development of the American West.”
The women of the West were at the forefront of fighting for equal rights, like the right to vote, serve on juries and own property. The exhibitions celebrate the perseverance of the women that played a role in advancing women’s rights, developing business or agriculture and in raising families through a collection of artifacts, articles and images of women from diverse backgrounds.
Find Her West displays dozens of photographs and other archival items from the Dickinson Research Center highlighting the mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, grandmothers and friends whose experiences shaped the American West. Diverse in ethnicity, background, and age, they share a commonality that is far more complex than some Western stereotypes suggest. With strength and resolve, these Women built homes, families, businesses, careers and powerful legacies. They found their West.
Blazing a Trail showcases the ability women had to adapt to circumstances beyond their control. Women of Western states and territories showed great innovation in a male-dominated society and achieved the right to vote, blazing the trail for women across the United States to achieve suffrage.
The Museum has a history of celebrating outstanding women of the West, including our Annie Oakley Society’s efforts to build and sustain world-class educational experiences and celebrate women who are trailblazers in their field. For more information about Annie Oakley Society, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/annie-oakley-society.
For more information about Blazing a Trail and Find Her West, visit nationalcowboymueum.org/exhibits.