November is National American Indian Heritage Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.
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The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Curated by artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation), this exhibition brings together works by an intergenerational group of nearly 50 living Native artists practicing across the United States. (National Gallery of Art)Visit the online exhibition »
Image Credit: Steven Yazzie (Dine/Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico/European descent) Orchestrating a Blooming Desert, 2003 oil on canvas overall: 121.9 x 152.4 cm (48 x 60 in.) framed: 127.2 x 157.5 x 4.4 cm (50 1/16 x 62 x 1 3/4 in.) Collection of Christy Vezolles © 2003 Steven J. Yazzie. All rights reserved. Image: Courtesy of the Heard Museum, Photo by Craig Smith
Robert Houle: Red Is Beautiful
A retrospective featuring one of the most renowned Indigenous artists from Canada. For Robert Houle (Saulteaux Anishinaabe, Sandy Bay First Nation), color is powerful, expressive, and lies at the foundation of his artistic practice. Throughout his career, his work has embodied and expressed what he most values: the creative moment, the earth, and the sacred. He works at the nexus of Western and Indigenous artistic traditions, whether he pierces the canvas with porcupine quills, reworks a grand history painting from an Indigenous perspective, or reconceives what is sacred while acknowledging his ancestors.
(Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian)
Image Credit: Robert Houle. O-ween du muh waun (We Were Told), 2017. Oil on canvas, triptych, 213.4 x 365.8 cm. Collection of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Commissioned with the A.G. and Eliza Jane Ramsden Endowment Fund, 2017. © Robert Houle
Native American Heritage Month - NPS Celebrates! (U.S. National Park Service)
America is a vast land of many cultures dating back thousands of years to the original inhabitants of the land. History and heritage of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Island communities are part of every national park and communities across the country today. Every November during Native American Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and our partners share history and the continuing culture of America's indigenous peoples.
Image Credit: SAMO Dancer NPS Photo by Connar L'Ecuyer
American Indian Records in the National Archives
The National Archives holds hundreds of thousands of U.S. Government records relating to Native Americans, from as early as 1774 through the mid-1990s. These include every treaty signed with Native Americans, records from the Indian Schools, Indian Census Rolls, and Bureau of Indian Affairs records.
Research Native American records »
Image Caption: “Native Americans from Southeastern Idaho, ca. 1897” National Archives Identifier: 519208
Native American Veterans
American Indians have eagerly served a government which did not always keep its word to their ancestors. They have volunteered to serve in conflicts from World War II to Iraq. Few encountered any overt prejudice while in uniform, but for all American Indian veterans, the honor of defending their country overrode all other considerations.
Image credit: (Dan Akee (2004), Veteran's History Project)
For Teachers
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids from the nation's premier cultural heritage preservation institutions.
National Endowment for the Humanities Teacher's Guide to American Indian History and Heritage »
See all Resources for Teachers »
Image Credit: Long Walk Home—Gallup Downtown Murals—by Richard K Yazzir, 2005
2023 Event Highlights
Online Workshop
November 4
Native Knowledge 360° and Teaching for Change Virtual Teach-In: Indigenous Education
Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and Teaching for Change for a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, and ideas exchange. The teach-in will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration required.
More information and how to register(National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution)
Performance and Discussion
November 4
Artist Raven Chacon in Concert and Conversation
Artist Raven Chacon is joined by Joy Harjo, Candice Hopkins, Ange Loft, Laura Ortman, and Olivia Shortt to present selections from his work, For Zitkála-Šá. A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Chacon dedicated this portfolio of scores to contemporary Native American and First Nations women to celebrate their contributions to music. Concluding the event is a conversation with the five For Zitkála-Šá performers, moderated by Chacon.
(National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution)
Gallery Talk
November 4
“Kinship”: An Artist Talk with Anna Tsouhlarakis
Join us for an artist talk with Anna Tsouhlarakis where she will discuss her work in the “Kinship" exhibition and her performance "Portrait of an Indigenous Womxn [Removed]." Her work with sculpture, installation, video, and performance redefines the expectations of Native American art. The artist will discuss the message and impact of her works.
Free, but registration is required.
(National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)
Performance
November 9
Charly Lowry: Lumbee-Tuscarora Singer and Songwriter
Charly Lowry is a dynamic singer-songwriter from Pembroke, North Carolina. She is proud to be an Indigenous woman belonging to the Lumbee and Tuscarora Tribes. She considers her work a platform for raising awareness around issues that plague underdeveloped and underserved Native communities.
(Library of Congress)
Ceremony and Family Activities
November 11
Join us on Veterans Day 2023 to recognize and honor the military service of Native Americans. Events include family activities, a special presentation about the National Native American Veterans Memorial by the designer, Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), and Curator Rebecca Trautmann, special hospitality for veterans, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial, preceded by the presentation of colors by the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society
(National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution)
Additional Events
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