The display includes Makah and Tlingit baskets, a Haida totem pole, models of Haida dugout canoes, a Makah bird whistle and a Nootka bench. The exhibit ends Aug. 16.
Visitors can see these artifacts, as well as fishing implements, woodworking tools, masks, wooden boxes and tourist art objects.
The exhibit, which features more than 100 artifacts with accompanying photographs and text, explores the rich artistic traditions and ways of life of the American Indians who inhabit the north Pacific coast.
In 1926, KU received from George W. Reed a gift of several hundred artifacts representative of the Indian groups of the Northwest coast of North America at the turn of the century.
These people made use of abundant natural resources, especially from rivers and the sea, to develop elaborate systems of status.
They also are well-known for their intricate, sometimes monumental woodcarvings, such as totem poles, which often incorporate symbols of status.
A KU class in museum techniques studied the collection during the fall 1996 semester, leading to this exhibit.
Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. More information is available from the museum at (785) 864-4245 or at the museum's World Wide Web site, http://www.cc.ukans.edu/~kuma.