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Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

A man with short white hair, moustache, and glasses plays a wooden flute. Behind him, slightly out of focus, is a young woman with long dark hair in a bun and a black tank top.

With Birchbark and Breath, Sierra and Hawk Henries Bring Intergenerational Artistry to the ‘Dawnland’

The Dawnland Festival of Arts and Ideas in Bar Harbor, Maine, uplifts Wabanaki and Northeastern Native thought leadership and artistry with panel discussions, performances, and a thriving artists’ market.

Detail of album cover with black print of a warrior figure in profile wearing a feathered crown and armor.

A Journey to Right the Wrongs on Smithsonian’s ‘Anthology of Central and South American Indian Music’

In 1975, Alan Lazar compiled the anthology for Folkways Records. In the last year, Smithsonian Folkways staff found and corrected several errors in culture-group terminology, track information, and sequencing.

Map of North America with several points across the continent marked with a blue pinpoint.

Explore Native American Films in the Mother Tongue Story Map

Through documentaries and dramas, animations and music videos, this collection highlights the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Americas.

A woman in a yellow dress and long braids skateboarding on a half-pipe

On International Day of Indigenous Women, Meet Native Women Skaters Making Space in the Sport

This is how Imilla Skate celebrates skateboarding’s Indigenous past and present.

Close-up on a pair of hands removing multicolored dried corn kernels into a woven basket.

The Journey of Myaamia Native Corn to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (A Photo Essay)

The journey of myaamia miincipi reflects the journey of the Myaamia people, who have been working tirelessly to reclaim their language and culture.

From behind, a woman holds up a flag in front of a memorial monument with a central flame. Her brown hair is braided with a purple butterfly barrette, and she wears white regalia with silver sequins and ribbons across the shoulders.

Native American Women Warriors Protect Culture, Community and the Future

For many, this coexistence of American patriotism and Indigenous pride may seem contradictory

Two children and an adult sit on three swings in a dry landscape with trees in the background.

Filmmaker Billy Luther Explains How Frybread Face and Me Was a Labor of Love

Luther’s narrative feature debut opened the 2024 Mother Tongue Film Festival at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

NAA-PhotoLot-76-148.jpg

How I Visit with Houma Relatives in the Smithsonian’s Archival Collections

When I visit the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, I always try to view the same item: NAA.PhotoLot.76, Houma collection.

Two protesters hold signs saying "You're on Abenaki land" and "This is Abenaki land."

This Land is Whose Land? Interrogating the Shortcomings of Settler Protest

In order to dismantle this nation’s blind spot for Native struggles, we must examine how ignorance about Indian Country and anti-Nativism are disseminated.

Various cobs of multicolored corn.

How Seeds Tell Stories

In the past century, there has been a seventy-five percent decline in agricultural biodiversity. When we fail to prioritize biodiversity, we risk erasing cultural diversity as well.

Two men with long hair, one older and one younger, perform with eyes closed on stage. They each hold a painted rattle, and the older man in the foreground also holds a microphone.

A Kumeyaay Folktale Illuminates Why the Sun and Moon Shine at Different Times

The celestial beings took a lesson from two frogs in love

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