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National Museum of the American Indian

“Hogan in the Snow,” ca. 1985. Painted by Robert Draper (Diné [Navajo], 1938–2000). Chinle, Navajo Nation, Arizona. 26/6481 (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian)

Christmas Across Indian Country, During the Pandemic and Before

Volunteers with the Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund distribute food and other essential supplies to isolated communities and farmsteads on the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation. As part of the Smithsonian's virtual program 24 Hours in a Time of Change, Shandiin Herrera (Diné)—seated on the left, wearing a Duke University sweatshirt—describes how this grassroots response to the COVID-19 pandemic came together last spring and shares her experiences as the fund's volunteer coordinator in Monument Valley, Utah. (Photo by Karney Hatch)

Smithsonian Wants Your 2020 Stories

Percy Sandy (A:shiwi [Zuni], 1918–1974).

Seven Native American Chefs Share Thanksgiving Recipes

California Natives gather in front of City Hall to celebrate Los Angeles's second annual Indigenous Peoples Day. October 14, 2019, Los Angeles, California. (Photo courtesy of Helena Tsosie)

Rethinking How We Celebrate American History—Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Native American veterans of the Vietnam War stand in honor as part of the color guard at the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. November 11, 1990, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Native Americans Have Always Answered the Call to Serve: National VFW Day 2020

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)

“We took our way of life with us to keep us strong. We represented our tribes in keeping with these values.” —Captain Cody Ayon

An Indigenous couple marries on the beach at Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park. Many of the United States' National Parks are places of historical, cultural, and sacred meaning for Native communities. (Photo used with the permission of Desirée Shelley Flores)

How Native Americans Bring Depth of Understanding to the Nation’s National Parks

Dressed in ceremonial regalia, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne), a veteran of the Korean War, stands with World War II veteran Senator Daniel K. Inouye and Native American veterans of the Vietnam War during the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall. September 21, 2004, Washington, D.C. (Mario Tama/ AFP for the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian)

A Native American Remembrance on Korean Armistice Day

Normee Ekoomiak (Inuit, 1948–2009).

A Curator’s Fourth of July Message on the Long, Shared Work of Creating a Better America

Kiowa Gourd Clan Ceremonial July 4 2019

Do American Indians Celebrate the Fourth of July?

Cegape or Strike the Kettle (Lakota, ca. 1841–?). Untitled painting, collected in 1893. North or South Dakota. 20/5176. Most large paintings of this kind focus on a single event, often a battle. This painting, made by a follower of Sitting Bull, shows warriors—figures on horseback carrying lances and shields—within the Lakota way of life. (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian)

144 Years after the Battle of Little Bighorn, Lakota Values Endure

Adrian Stevens (Ute/Shoshone–Bannock/San Carlos Apache) and Sean Snyder (Dine/Ute), a couple who regularly participate in powwows. (Courtesy of Adrian Stevens, used with permission)

Pride Month 2020: Perspectives on LGBTQ Native Americans in Traditional Culture

Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), with the inscription “To my little girl Grace From Dad Jim Thorpe 1951.” The photo, in the original folder frame, shows Thorpe during his career with the Canton Bulldogs football team, ca. 1915 to 1920. Grace Thorpe Collection, NMAI.AC.085 (pht_092_002). (National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian)

Happy Birthday, Jim Thorpe! We're Celebrating by Making His Daughter's Archives More Accessible Online

Drum used by Native American soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2007 and 2008. 27/167. The drum was also used in a Cheyenne Soldier Dance held for Cody Ayon (Southern Cheyenne) in 2010 when he returned to the United States. Mr. Ayon gave the drum to the museum in 2018. (National Museum of the American Indian)

Memorial Day in Indian Country

Genízaro Delvin Garcia standing in remains of the 18th-century Santa Rosa de Lima Church. Abiquiú, New Mexico, 2019. (© 2020 Russel Albert Daniels)

“Developing Stories: Native Photographers in the Field” Presents Contemporary Native Experiences from the Inside

From a Dance Performance on the Residential School Experience to a Symposium Celebrating Native Women's Art, Women’s History Month Matters at the National Museum of the American Indian

Maria Marable-Bunch, associate director for museum learning and programs of the National Museum of the American Indian, in the exhibition

"All the Fun Action Happens in the Galleries and Learning Centers of a Museum"—Maria Marable-Bunch

Plains nations' pipes and pipe bags from the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian and the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History. On view in the exhibition “Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations” at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. (Ernest Amoroso, Smithsonian)

2020 State of the Indian Nations Outlines Priorities to Advance Tribes' Nation-to-Nation Relationship with the United States

Thanksgiving, as the United States’ origin story, leaves out painful truths about the nation’s history. Giving thanks, however, has always been part of Native Americans’ everyday lives. Image: Earnest L. Spybuck (Absentee Shawnee, 1883–1949).

Do American Indians Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Alaska Magazine calls the Inuit drum-dance group Pamyua

From new music and dance fusions to traditional festivals, the museum's Native American Heritage Month is something special

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