National Museum of the American Indian

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Meet Montana’s Teacher of the Year: Kevin KickingWoman

It is very rare for an American Indian who has deep roots in his culture, to receive teaching recognition in formal education. Here is his story.

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The Long Path Toward Establishing Indigenous People's Day, a Day to Honor and Recognize the First Peoples of America

Native American Indians are committed to making Indigenous Peoples Day a national holiday in 2024.

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The Quapaw Treaty Was Honored for Only Six Years Before the United States Broke It

The document signed in 1818 serves as a reminder of the unfairness of the federal government's approach to negotiating with Native communities

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What Indigenous Americans Believe About Eclipses

From Cherokee to Shawnee to Shoshone-Bannock and others, the traditions and beliefs marking an eclipse reveal close connections to the planets

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Women’s History Month featuring Native Rights Champion Suzan Shown Harjo

“She’s taught all of us that Native values make Americans stronger.” - President Barack Obama

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How to Play Snow Snake, the Traditional Winter Game of the Haudenosaunee

This age-old game uses the techniques of skill and strength to propel a wooden pole down a long snow track

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How Christmas Is Celebrated Across Indian Country

A unique look at how Native people spend their winter holiday season

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The Indigenous Effect: Native People in Film

Over the past few years, Indigenous film and television have finally started to break through on mainstream platforms, and the National Museum of the American Indian's annual Native Cinema Showcase has been part of that change. Native comedian, filmmaker, and the producer of Netflix show "Spirit Rangers" Joey Clift (Cowlitz) looks back on how things have changed since his childhood and what he hopes the future holds for Indigenous film and television.

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The National Museum of the American Indian Offers Many Online Resources to Honor Veterans Day

For the 2023 Veterans Day, the National Museum of the American Indian has selected several online virtual options for you to connect to our Native veteran's publications.

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Through the Indigenous Lens of Photographer Tomas 'Teko' Alejo

For Hispanic Heritage Month the National Museum of the American Indian is proud to feature the powerful images of an Indigenous American Chicano photographer.

The quilted work Tears of Our Children, Tears for Our Children created by Susan Hudson (Diné/Navajo) depicts the effects of assimilation and boarding schools on the lives of Diné/Navajo children and adults.

Healing Soul Wounds: Grappling with the Indian Boarding School Era

During history major Maddie Henderson's internship at the National Museum of the American Indian, she sought to learn more about the Indian boarding school era and how forced assimilation has affected the dissemination of cultural practices generations later, including within her own family.

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Robert Houle: Red Is Beautiful

The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. is proud to present the contemporary art of Robert Houle in his final exhibition location and the only venue in the United States.

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What the 1865 Cheyenne Arapaho Treaty Represents About the United States' Broken Promises to Native Americans

The important document is now on view at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

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Festivals Officially Return to the National Museum of the American Indian Starting with the Cherokee Festival

After a hiatus due to the Covid crisis, in-person events are now scheduled for the museums in New York and Washington D.C.

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A Return to the Wounded Knee Occupation, 50 Years Later

The new era of social consciousness and racial activism in the 1970s would play a pivotal role in the events leading up to the 71-day occupation

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How Shared Stewardship Is Bringing to Light One of the World’s Most Significant Holdings of Mi’kmaw Cultural Items

How do two institutions work in partnership across borders and time zones to care for cultural items? More than 25 years ago, the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC) in Nova Scotia and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian began a partnership that continues today.

Michigan Anishinaabe women April Lindala, Linda Batiste-Cohen and Michelle Reed

Christmas Across Native America

Celebrations, memorials, and gatherings during the winter holiday season

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Indigenous Mestiza Researcher Features Indigenous Stories from Latin America and the Caribbean

Cynthia Vidaurri, folklorist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, travels the world conveying the stories of Indigenous peoples. In her recent American Indian Magazine article, “Mexico’s Legendary Xoloitzcuintli, the Hairless Dog,” Vidaurri highlights one of the first known dog breeds domesticated in the Americas by Indigenous people.

Thanksgiving from an Indigenous Perspective

How do Native Americans make peace with a national holiday that romanticizes the 1621 encounter between their ancestors and English settlers, and erases the deadly conflicts that followed?

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