In 1893 a group of indigenous Aymara Bolivian men traveled to
the United States so that they could be put on display at the
1893 Chicago World’s Fair Columbian Exposition, which celebrated
the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas.
While researching their story, Nancy Egan, a doctoral student in
Latin American history at the University of California, San
Diego, delved into the history of indigenous people brought to
the United States and Europe and put on display in what she
calls “human zoos.” Buffalo Bill standing with one of the big
draws for his traveling show: Sitting Bull, circa 1890. ICTMN:
Indigenous people from all over the world were brought to the
United States and Europe and displayed at fairs and circuses
during the 1800s and 1900s. Why were these displays so popular?
Egan: Most historians who study these exhibitions agree they
were a way of reinforcing or illustrating the racist notions of
white supremacy that seemed to be built into the logic of empire
and colonialism. Most na