To the original peoples of this continent, each day is a day to give thanks to the Creator. Thanksgiving ceremonies have always taken place whenever Native people have gathered, and food and feasts often serve as a focal point. For our national Thanksgiving, we've asked Native chefs Javier Kaulaity, Clayton Jones, Justin Pioche, Elena Terry, Brian Pekah, Monie Horsechief, and Anthony Warrior to share recipes inspired by Native American foods and techniques. Our hope during this unusual year is to bring something meaningful and new to your holiday.
Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! On Monday, more states, cities, and communities than ever will observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of or in addition to Columbus Day. They’re part of a larger movement to see a more complete and accurate history of the United States taught in our schools and public spaces. Given research showing that the majority of state and local curriculum standards end their study of Native American history before 1900, the importance of celebrating the survival and contemporary experience of Native peoples has never been clearer.
National Veterans of Foreign Wars Day, September 29, acknowledges the men and women who have served honorably in the U.S. military overseas in war or other imminent danger. The VFW traces its roots to the late 19th century and efforts to secure rights and benefits for veterans of the Spanish–American and Philippine–American wars. Its establishment, however, dates to 1914. A few years later, the participation of American Indians in the U.S. military during World War I helped bring down the last obstacles to their recognition as American citizens. Here, the museum looks at the mission and vision of the VFW and Native Americans' extraordinary record of service in combat.
Capt. Cody Ayon (Tsistsistas [Southern Cheyenne]) enlisted in both the U.S. Navy and the New Mexico Army National Guard. In this interview, he describes his reasons for joining the military, including family and tribal traditions and his wish to know people and cultures around the world. He retired in 2016 after 24 years of service, including a tour of duty in Iraq during the Iraq War. Looking forward to the completion of the National Native American Veterans Memorial this fall, Capt. Ayon says, “I believe this memorial will serve as reminder and a beacon, not only to Natives but to all who see it, that we are still here, we are still keeping our way of life alive, and our warrior traditions are not forgotten. Even after facing atrocities at the hands of our government earlier in the country’s history, we still stand as the keepers of our homeland.”
On National Park Service Founders Day, the museum looks at the changing relationship between Native Americans and the National Park Service through the eyes of three Native rangers and interpreters: “I think Native interpreters steeped in their own tribal cultures are inclined to go the extra mile to educate the public about other vantage points of an historical event or issue,” writes Roger Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). “I worked extremely hard to tell a complicated story. Even when I was off the clock, I was still thinking of how to add to the story of my park.”
As families across the United States begin the new school year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Native people face steeper obstacles than many other Americans. The eight U.S. counties with the largest Native populations have nearly double the national average of confirmed cases of Covid-19, and Native Americans have the highest hospitalization rate of any ethnic group in the country. Many Native families live in multigenerational households or in isolated areas with limited access to public services or the Internet. Many students attend Bureau of Indian Affairs schools administered by the federal government. With all this in mind, the museum asked Native students, teachers, parents, and school administrators across Indian Country to share their concerns about returning to school right now.
On National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, Kiowa tribal member Dennis Zotigh pays respect to the veterans who served during the Korean conflict, and especially to the three Kiowa soldiers who gave their lives there. Dennis, whose uncle served in Korea, also shares memories of performing with a Kiowa cultural group in Seoul nearly 20 years ago and his impressions from that trip.
As the country debates racist symbolism in monuments, sports, and commercial brands—and the Washington NFL franchise considers dropping the racial slur from its name—the director and board chair of the National Museum of the American Indian take the stand that the appropriation of Native language and imagery never serves to honor Indigenous people, histories, and cultures. On the contrary, it perpetuates racism and legitimizes racist acts.
“From where we stand now,” this short essay on the Declaration of Independence notes, “after 244 years, the standard of equality, human rights, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness . . . is still an ambition rather than a reality. Nothing about it is guaranteed, despite the public and private struggles that have continued for centuries.” The Declaration’s purpose was a call for radical change. “That call for change was relevant in 1776 and it is no less relevant now as we continue to strive against long-lived preconceptions, prejudices, disparities, and innumerable forms of discrimination and social injustice.”
How do Native Americans observe the Fourth of July? This year, many people’s plans reflect their concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. But the answer has always been as complicated as America’s history
On June 25 and 26, 1876, warriors of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho nations defeated Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Americans have always remembered the battle. What we often forget are the difficult decisions tribal leaders made afterward to ensure the safety of their people. The values that guided them then—generosity, perseverance, bravery, and wisdom—continue to serve the Lakota people today.
For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, Dennis Zotigh, a cultural specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian, invited Native friends to tell us how their traditional culture saw its LGBTQ members. A Chiricahua Apache friend replied, “Now, Dennis, this is a human question, not [just] Native.” We agree. But we also appreciate hearing what Native Americans have learned, reconstructed, or been unable to reconstruct about this part of our shared history and experience.
The exact date of Jim Thorpe's birth is unknown, but it is generally believed that the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States—regarded by many as one of the greatest athletes of all time—was born on May 22, 1887, or May 28, 1888. In honor of his birth, the Smithsonian Transcription Center has added eight significant projects from the Grace Thorpe collection in the museum's archives, including Grace’s “Memories of Dad” and her answer to the frequently asked question “How does it feel to be Jim Thorpe’s daughter?” Read more about Grace Thorpe’s life, then consider becoming a Smithsonian digital volunteer and contributing to the Transcription’s Center’s work.
The call to serve in the U.S. armed forces has resonated for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian men and women from the country's founding to the present day. Veterans are honored at Native gatherings of all kinds, where they are often asked to perform flag-raisings, blessings, and traditional acknowledgements. In powwows, veterans lead the grand entry carrying eagle staffs and national, state, tribal, and military flags, important reminders that the roots of the modern powwow lie in warrior societies. Here, Native friends share the meaning of Memorial Day for their families.
In the early 20th century, Native people responded to the proclamation of Mother’s Day with powwows, ceremonies, rodeos, feasts, and songs that honor Native mothers. How do American Indians celebrate today? Recognizing that family traditions for many of us will be different this year, Native friends from across the United States and Canada share their thoughts on Mother’s Day.
Since the turn of the 20th century, Native American photographers have taken the representation of their people into their own hands. In “Developing Stories: Native Photographers in the Field,” Russel Albert Daniels and Tailyr Irvine present original images that illustrate issues important to Native Americans today. Daniels (of Diné and Ho-Chunk descent) looks at the Genízaro people of Abiquiú, New Mexico. The Genízaro embrace the painful history of their ancestors and their perseverance in creating an enduring community. Irvine (Salish and Kootenai) visits the Flathead Reservation and nearby Missoula, Montana. She shows how blood quantum requirements for tribal enrollment complicate young people’s most personal decisions. Created in collaboration with the museum originally for exhibition in New York and Washington, as well as online, “Developing Stories” opens on the museum’s website with Daniels’ piece, to be followed this summer by Irvine’s essay.
Most of the Native American art we see in museums, in the United States and around the world, was created by women. In many traditional tribal governments, women formed the upper council, responsible for decisions of war and peace, and women have been elected to the highest offices in 20th-century Native nations throughout the United States. In short, Women’s History Month is important to our museum. Here are highlights of programs on the calendar in Washington, D.C., and New York City throughout March 2020.
For the close of African American History Month, and looking ahead to Smithsonian magazine's Museum Day April 4, we talk with Maria Marable-Bunch about her formal and informal education and her career in museums. A widely respected educator—recipient of the Alliance of American Museums’ Award for Excellence in Practice—and an accomplished artist, Maria, as she prefers to be called, is one of three associate directors of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Each year following the State of the Union Address, the president of the National Congress of the American Indians delivers the State of the Indian Nations. Presented in 2020 by Fawn Sharp, the State of the Indian Nations shares Native American nations' assessment of their relationship with the United States and their view going forward. Representative Deb Haaland gave this year's response. Together the two speeches are intended to ensure direct engagement between the U.S. Congress and Native American nations.
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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![Cody Ayon (Tsistsistas [Southern Cheyenne]) enlisted in both the U.S. Navy and the New Mexico Army National Guard. The Native community of Albuquerque welcomed then-Lieutenant Ayon home with a Soldier Dance after his service during the Iraq War. (Steven Clevenger [Osage], courtesy of Cody Ayon)](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/kgUu4eGyUlEs3vdLKw5yGToVQbk=/150x150/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/blogging/featured/Cody_Ayon_ceremony.jpg)
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