In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the museum talks with musician Delbert Anderson. The sources of Anderson's always-evolving art are eclectic, ranging from jazz standards and improvisation, to Navajo spinning songs and the traditional melodies his grandfather hums, the scenery of the Navajo Nation, and the historic experience of both Native and African American people. “Most of the time I explain the Delbert Anderson Trio’s music as traditional Native American jazz—fusing ancient Navajo cultural music with the hard swing and funk of the jazz masters,” Anderson says. “But I’d rather just call it music.”
Daniel Kahikina Akaka, who died today at the age of 93, was the first Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate. In 2013, shortly after he retired, he spoke with the museum about his determination to protect the languages, cultures, and traditions of the world's Indigenous peoples; support for Hawaiian self-determination; and hopes for Native Hawaiian young people. We're republishing Sen. Akaka's interview tonight in remembrance of his life of service.
Caroline Monnet—a multidisciplinary artist with roots in Algonquin, Quebecois, and French culture—talks about her background, artists she admires, the challenges contemporary Native artists face, and the hopes she and her colleagues in the ITWÉ Collective have for their art, including the installation "Manifestipi": "Our intention was to create a place of gathering where dialogue would be central to the experience. I think we’ve managed to achieve that. Each person comes out of the experience with a different perspective or take on the work. It is fantastic when an artwork becomes an experience."
In 1847, only 14 years after their long, sad march along the Trail of Tears ended, Choctaw people in Oklahoma learned of the Irish famine. With great empathy, Choctaw individuals made donations totaling $170, the equivalent of several thousand dollars today, for the relief of the Irish poor. Here Judy Allen, historic projects office of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, describes “an act that shaped tribal culture" and the lasting friendship it created between the two nations.
A new multimedia presentation surrounding the monumental sculpture "Allies in War, Partners in Peace" at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington details the Oneida Nation's aid and support to the American Revolution. “This enhanced interpretation provides an immersive experience for visitors to understand the country's rich history, so that there is a deeper understanding of the nuance, texture and depth of that history,” says Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter. “This exhibit commemorates the friendship that was forged between the Oneida Nation and the United States during the Revolutionary War, as well as the incredible sacrifices made by our ancestors during the founding of our country.”
Teachers often struggle, through no fault of their own, to locate culturally appropriate and historically accurate teaching materials about American Indians. Many textbooks, popular media, and prepackaged curricula relegate American Indians to the distant past and fail to illustrate the dynamic and diverse cultures of Native America. The National Museum of the American Indian—through the national education initiative Native Knowledge 360°, Teacher-in-Residence (TIR) Program, and outreach to educators—wants to change all that.
Michael Smith (Fort Peck Sioux Tribe), the founder and director of the American Indian Film Institute and American Indian Film Festival, was an advocate for Native people and a leader in bringing their voices to mainstream media through film. His dedication to showcasing films by or about American Indians and First Nations people was tireless. He could be seen at conventions, film festivals, tribal communities—even at local diners—where he would chat with anyone about his loves: the American Indian Film Festival and his family.
Written on paper from an army ledger book, the Navajo Nation Treaty reunited the Navajo with a portion of the land taken from them by the U.S. government. Between 1863 to 1866, in an event that became known as the Long Walk, the United States forced more than 10,000 Navajo from their homelands to a resettlement camp at Bosque Redondo, 300 miles to the east. But the Navajo made an eloquent case to return home and in 1868 negotiated a treaty that reversed their removal. The original treaty is on view at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., through early May.
The competition to design the National Native American Veterans Memorial received more than 120 submissions, from artists across the world. Five concepts were unanimously chosen as finalists by a jury of Native and non-Native artists, designers, and scholars. Today, the designers shared their concept drawings for the memorial and the ideas and experiences that shaped them.
Images of American Indians are embedded in Americans' everyday lives and have been since before the American Revolution. What other nation in the world is so fascinated by one segment of its society? And what can we learn about ourselves and our history by thinking about why? One of the curators of the "Americans," opening January 18 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., gives a brief introduction to a few of the ideas behind the major new exhibition.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice is the year’s day of least sunlight, when the sun takes its lowest, shortest path across the sky. North of the Arctic Circle, it is the midpoint of the period of darkness, when even twilight doesn’t reach the horizon. We asked a few of our Native friends to share traditions they’ve heard about the winter solstice. Their answers highlight winter as a time for storytelling.
Captain Jefferson Keel (U.S. Army retired), Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation and co-chairman of the National Native American Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee, talks about his experiences in the U.S. military. The design competition for the memorial begins November 11, 2017. Entries will be accepted through January 9, 2018. Information about the competition is available at https://nmai.us.fluidreview.com/.
Specialist Allen Kale‘iolani Hoe (U.S. Army retired), a member of the National Native American Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee, talks about his experiences as a Native Hawaiian in the U.S. military and his belief in the importance of national service. The design competition for the memorial begins November 11, 2017. Entries will be accepted through January 9, 2018.
Every month, the Washington museum’s imagiNATIONS Activity Center staff highlights a different book during the Story & Discovery program. These books, written by Native American authors or in consultation with Native communities, showcase the diversity of Native cultures throughout the Western Hemisphere. Here are six of the staff's favorites, appropriate for children age 5 to 7. Learning about other people's experiences breaks down stereotypes, and thinking critically about the characters and illustrations in these books is a great way to help young readers develop empathy and cultural sensitivity skills.
In May 2018, when the museum in New York opens its new imagiNATIONS Activity Center (iAC), one highlight will be a traditional Yup’ik kayak frame—15 feet of historically correct white spruce driftwood—made at the Qayanek Qayak Preservation Center in Kwigillingok, Alaska. The New York iAC will offer young museum-goers hands-on experiences that make vivid the origins and outcomes of Native innovation, including the genius of kayak-building.
The Thanksgiving story deeply rooted in America’s school curriculum frames the Pilgrims as the main characters and reduces the Wampanoag Indians to supporting roles. It also erases a monumentally sad history. The true history of Thanksgiving begins with the Indians.
Master Sergeant and Lipan Apache War Chief Chuck Boers (U.S. Army retired), a member of the National Native American Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee, talks about his experiences as a Native American in the U.S. military and the traditions that inspired his service. The design competition for the memorial begins November 11, 2017. Entries will be accepted through January 9, 2018. All information about the competition is available at https://nmai.si.edu/nnavm/memorial/.
Signs nailed to a mile-marker at the DAPL protest show how far people came and from how many places to stand up for treaty rights and the right of Native Nations to be consulted as governments. Now the final section of the exhibition "Nation to Nation" at the National Museum of the American Indian, the mile-marker stands as a powerful symbol of the fact that American Indian treaties remain U.S. law, and that their stories are not finished. It also serves as a symbol of modern resistance.
In 1809, nearly 1,400 Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, and Eel River Indians and their allies witnessed the Treaty of Fort Wayne, ceding 2.5 million acres of tribal lands in present-day Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio in exchange for a peace that did not last. This September, representatives of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi saw the treaty go on view at the National Museum of the American Indian. “It is an honor to come full circle to an article that our ancestors signed,” Tribal Chairman John P. Warren said. “I hope we are fulfilling their hopes and dreams by being here.”
As summer turns to fall, wonderful exhibitions in New York City and Washington, D.C., feature works by Inuit women from the acclaimed artists' community of Kinngait, or Cape Dorset, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York currently hosts "Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait," featuring works by Pitseolak Ashoona and her daughter and granddaughter. The Embassy of Canada in the United States is presenting the one-artist show "Ningiukulu Teevee: Kinngait Stories."
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![Kevin Gover, director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative and CEO of Oneida Indian Nation Enterprises, at the dedication of the new interpretive sound, light, and imagery around the sculpture “Allies in War, Partners in Peace.” (Katherine Fogden [Mohawk], National Museum of the American Indian)](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/VuwWkyQ85kJC4DTPgkNjuFjM3VI=/150x150/filters:focal(711x336:712x337)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blogging/featured/Oneida_dedication_2018-03-15_1500w.png)
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