Watch highlights from a performance recorded live 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC.

Pasatono Orquesta has focused its interest and dedication to research, perform, compose, and promote the musical Mixtec culture. Watch a performance from the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

KickingWoman has dedicated his career to teaching, learning, and sharing knowledge.

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

Fiber artist DY Begay's work is an exploration of the artist’s passion for experiencing and interpreting her world.

This inquiry lesson provides primary and secondary sources, maps, images, background history, and objects from our collection to offer teachers and students insight into California Native American resilience during the Spanish mission period.

Educators are finding ways to get Indigenous teachers into classrooms.

Despite efforts to eliminate the Indigenous peoples of California during its gold rush, many survived to tell their stories.

Indigenous Architects are Reinforcing Cultural Identities on Ancestral Lands and Beyond.

For the Iowa Peoples, Keeping Their Sacred Eagles Soaring is a Life-long Commitment.

This inquiry lesson provides primary and secondary sources, maps, images, background history, and objects from our collection to offer teachers and students insight into California Native American resilience during the Spanish mission period.

Panelists discuss skateboarding's origins, rooted in Native Hawaiian surfing, and the sport's role in entrepreneurship, creativity, and relationship building across generations in Native communities today.

Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), founder and CEO of the Sioux Chef, co-founder of North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, and 2023 recipient of the Julia Child Award, discusses the revival of Indian food cultures.

Watch events and programs from the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC spanning dance, music, sports, food, and cultural expression.

See photos and articles from the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. The festival explored living traditions of Indigenous peoples through contemporary and traditional creative expressions, celebrations, and community connections.

Remarks by US Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland highlight the connection between boarding school research conducted by the Bureau and the efforts to support language and cultural revitalization in Indian Country today.

Museums are taking a hard look at what they have on exhibition and in their collections.

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

Suzan Shown Harjo has helped shape current ideas about cultural representation and respect.

Marine conservationist Angelo Villagomez shares how his Chamorro people in the Mariana Islands are working toward a protected ocean.

After more than a century, the Klamath River that provides critical salmon habitat will soon flow freely again thanks to tribes that fought for decades to have its dams removed.

A few dedicated artists are revitalizing the traditional Native Hawaiian protocols and methods of kākau uhi—creating tattoos by tapping intricate designs into skin.

Northern Shoshoni glovemaker Leo Arriwite‘s family has crafted leather gloves that have been prized throughout the West for generations.

Indigenous farmers and other “seed savers” are growing and sharing heirloom seeds to keep plants inherent to their cultures alive.

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

This online storybook explores the history and contemporary life of the Pamunkey people.

In many communities and homes, Christian customs are interwoven with Native culture as a means of expressing Christmas in a uniquely Native way.

Canada’s ban on sharing news on social media platforms has cascading impacts on Indigenous communities.

An NMAI fellow uses the senses to show how dolls can make and preserve memories.

Smithsonian exhibition features six Indigenous artists who through their dedication and innovation are carrying their ancestors’ traditions and messages forward.

Photographer Kiliii Yüyan captures the moment before an Inuit kayaker attempts to right himself in In Greenland’s Nuuk Harbour.

Native comedian, filmmaker, and producer of the 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.

Harvest ceremonies and festivals have been an integral part of Wampanoag lifeways for thousands of years. Learn the significance of Cranberry Day for Wampanoag communities as they continue cultural traditions and relationships with their homeland today.

During an internship at NMAI, history major Maddie Henderson sought to learn more about the Indian boarding school era and how forced assimilation has affected cultural practices generations later, including within her own family.

Celebrate the sound of Guatemala’s national instrument with performances by Marimba Linda Xelajú, Marimba Mi Pequeña Internacional, and Marimba Maya Awal.

Teachers examined why commonly used imagery and language about Native peoples are detrimental to student understanding of Native histories and cultures.

In Session 2 of this summer series, contemporary graphic artists Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo) and Dr. Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo) discussed how comics and graphic novels can be used to tell difficult and complex stories.

Tribal nations are leading the way to self-representation in museums.

Courts are adopting Native negotiation methods to avoid antagonistic lawsuits.

The migrating monarch butterfly is an intrinsic part of many Indigenous cultures, particularly those who hold Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, yet it may be at risk of disappearing.

The Kiowa Women Warriors are the first all-women Kiowa color guard-and the first to wear feathered war bonnets, a tradition long reserved for men.

Joe Tohonnie Jr. and the Apache Crown Dancers (White Mountain Apache) from Whiteriver, Arizona, celebrate the summer solstice through song and dance.

Oneida siblings are taking the professional cycling world by storm.

An NMAI exhibition features the candid art of Six Nations Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) artist, photographer and filmmaker Shelley Niro—works that shine a harsh spotlight on society yet provide a healing outlet for her people.

A Hopi pottery maker discovers her grandmother’s pot and inspiration in the NMAI’s Cultural Resources Center.

Taíno researchers stitch together thousands of Indigenous words to rebuild their language, one that was lost generations ago.

Whether a community gathering or an international competition, the powwow has been a way for Indigenous peoples across North America to strengthen bonds and preserve their diverse cultures.

Celebrate the talented Indigenous women from FX's hit television series Reservation Dogs, in a conversation with one of the female writers/directors and the actresses who play the comedic and sassy aunties.

Through monochromatic imagery, Nīa MacKnight highlights the power of the spirit within times of social unrest.

Teachers learn about the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s living culture and connection to a river.

A California Indigenous woman partners with a Smithsonian ethnologist to immortalize her Rumsen people’s stories.

Diné photographer Eugene Tapahe and the dancers of the Art Heals: Jingle Dress Project have journeyed to national and state parks across the United States to honor their ancestors, bless the land and offer prayers for those in need.

The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa reclaim more than 28,000 forested acres in Minnesota—just one of the Native nations that have recovered some of their ancestral territories.

More than 25 years ago, the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre in Nova Scotia and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian began a partnership that continues today.

Native friends share their celebrations, memorials, and gatherings during the winter holiday season.

Cynthia Vidaurri, NMAI folklorist, travels the world conveying the stories of Indigenous peoples.

A tribal historic preservation officer talks about his critical but challenging role.

Numbers of an animal central to Inuit culture are declining drastically in parts of Canada.

More than 500 Mi’kmaw items in the NMAI collection are destined for a new museum in Nova Scotia.

All That Glitters: Plains Cree Jeweler Erik Lee Reflects His Culture in Silver.

Snow snake is a game of strength and skill that has been played across many Indigenous communities for centuries.

Indigenous peoples in Canada and the northeastern United States are reviving their ancient practice of gathering maple sap and creating their own syrup.

Donna Beaver’s Tlingit and Tsimshian cultures have inspired her powerful poems and imagery.

Award-winning journalist Rebecca Nagle (Citizen of the Cherokee Nation) explains that tribal sovereignty is the inherent authority of Indigenous tribes to govern themselves.

In part one of this webinar, participants learned about different aspects of sovereignty, including non-political components such as cultural autonomy.

In part two of this webinar, participants heard from museum education staff about ways to teach tribal sovereignty to their students.

From reading Indigenous authors to exploring Native plants, these activities are suitable for all ages.

Discover how the revival of the bison became one of the United States’ great conservation success stories.

Indigenous photographer Dugan Aguilar created rare images of Native communities in California that celebrate their traditions, resilience and contemporary lives.

Find out how an app was created to show sites important to this city's Native peoples.

Heidi McKinnon set up shop to support and share the beautiful, handmade works of Indigenous artisans.

See radical Native skateboards in the museum's collection that reflect an international phenomenon.

Hawaiian farmers are restoring Native growing methods and fish ponds to provide foods that nourish their islands' peoples physically and spiritually.

Learn how one Asian American has made extended family relationships and respectfully participates in contemporary Native culture.

For thousands of years, Native Hawaiians have traveled the Pacific in traditional voyaging canoes.

Native powwows across Indian Country make a thriving and significant comeback.

What does romance look like in Native America?

A Nimíipuu student creates a computer model to bring back dogbane to the Nez Perce Reservation.

Native Americans are restoring wildlife to their lands that once thrived there and continue to be integral parts of their culture.

A cradleboard reconnects Walter Lamar with his Wichita great-grandmother.

Native community gardens are providing healthy foods while cultivating cultural traditions.

Images in the Smithsonian archives of Zitkala-Ša show how this accomplished Yankton Sioux writer, violinist, composer and advocate for Indigenous rights and women’s suffrage lived in two very different cultures.

Chavez maintains her cultural and communal ties while working in Washington DC.

Taffy Abel, US hockey’s first American Indian player, won a silver medal at the inaugural Winter Games almost a century ago.

Although current views may point to “political correctness” for changes in language and terminology, this is not something new.

In many communities and homes, Christian customs are interwoven with Native culture as a means of expressing Christmas in a uniquely Native way.

Remembering the humanity of Indigenous peoples on International Human Rights Day.

“Molly of Denali” writer Vera Starbard (Tlingit/Dena’ina) talks about the importance of distinguishing cultural appreciation from appropriation.

Indigenous directors, writers and actors are changing the narrative of American television and film.

The explosive video game industry now offers a glimpse into authentic Indigenous cultures.

The “Raven Story” U.S. postage stamp transports a Tlingit tale across a nation.

Teachers are introduced to children’s books by Native writers, criteria for evaluating children’s books about Native peoples, and suggestions for using books at story time or for more in-depth cross-disciplinary studies.

Duane Hollow Horn Bear (Sicangu Lakota), a member of the Lakota Studies Department at Sinte Gleska University and the great-grandson of one of the warriors who fought at Little Bighorn, talks about the values that guided the warriors there.

Explore how to teach about land acknowledgments in your classroom or community.

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland speaks about the need to have Native voices in the highest U.S. government decision-making offices.

More than 100 items from NMAI’s collection are on view at Oklahoma’s new First Americans Museum, reuniting them with their Native communities after more than a century.

American Indians were among those who fought to have the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments restored to help protect these precious public and ancestral lands.

One man’s intimate look at his New Mexico pueblo, its people and surrounding homelands.

For 60 years, athletes have proved their polar prowess through extreme sporting events, from knuckle hops to ear pulls.

NMAI returns the “Echenique Disc” to Peru.

This three-part series explains why the lūʻau holds a unique position within Hawaiian celebrations and significant events.

This Teach-In focuses on traditional foods and the knowledge related to growing, harvesting, storing and preparing them.

The birthplace of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is slowly recovering from a century of pollution.

An NMAI exhibition takes visitors on an immersive journey to discover why this state is an Indigenous place.

The ancestors of the Iroquois Nationals founded the world-renowned sport of lacrosse, yet they still strive to play in some international arenas.

Gene Tagaban (Tlingit), also known as “One Crazy Raven,” is a teller of stories that teach, entertain and heal. Gene regales listeners with stories from his grandmother about the trickster Raven.