On 29 July 2026, a delegation from the Comanche Nation, an indigenous Native American Tribe, visited the American Museum & Gardens in Bath as part of its first official visit to the UK since WWII.
During the landmark visit, the delegation met with the Museum’s curatorial team, led a traditional Comanche smudging ceremony and viewed culturally significant Comanche objects held within the Museum’s permanent collection. Funded by the US Department of the Interior, the visit forms part of the Comanche Nation’s wider work to raise awareness of contemporary Native American cultures and explore future collaboration around collections, heritage and cross-cultural exchange.
With the US marking 250 years of independence, the visit offers a timely opportunity to explore American history through the perspective of a contemporary Indigenous Nation.
About the Comanche Nation
The Comanche nation is a sovereign federally recognized Native American tribe whose ancestral homelands span the Southern Plains of North America, including Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Comanche people have maintained a continuous relationship with their cultural heritage across generations, and are actively engaged in the protection and stewardship of their sacred objects, ancestral remains, and objects of cultural patrimony.
About the American Museum & Gardens
The American Museum & Gardens in Bath is the only museum outside the US dedicated to American art, history, and culture. Founded in 1961 by an Anglo-American couple, Dallas Pratt and John Judkyn, and situated within a Grade II listed estate of 125 acres of historic parkland, it opened with the ambition to showcase American decorative arts and dispel stereotypes.
The Exhibition Gallery offers two special exhibitions a year, covering a diverse range of subjects from photography, art, American culture and family friendly shows. The museum is currently displaying a rare signed and annotated 1776 original Dunlap printing of the Declaration of Independence in a new exhibition marking 250 years since the founding of the United States.
Summer at the Museum
This summer head to the American Museum and Gardens and enjoy their latest exhibition: Forest of Imagination. Running from 11 JULY – 1 SEPTEMBER families can explore giant artworks, immersive installations and creative experiences for all ages.
