Oregon

Western Nebraska’s Pine Ridge country looks quiet today. Rugged buttes rise over the White River valley, cottonwoods trace the water’s bends, and pronghorn graze across the open hills. But beneath the calm lies a history every bit as dramatic as the land itself. This is Fort Robinson, one of the most storied military posts of the Northern Plains.

Discover the rich history and cultural significance of body modification and piercing — from ancient rituals in Egypt, India, and Africa to the punk rebellion of the 1980s and today’s mainstream acceptance. Explore how piercings have symbolized identity, spirituality, and rites of passage across civilizations, and see how modern piercing culture has evolved into a celebrated form of personal expression and art.

Tucked into the Southern Black Hills, Hot Springs, South Dakota, wears two coats at once: spa town and science hub. On one side of town, naturally warm, mineral-rich water still bubbles up as it has for millennia, the reason nineteenth-century visitors flocked here to “take the waters.”