American Indian History

Theresa Secord (Penobscot, b. 1958). Ear of corn basket, 2003. Maine. 26/1694. By looking at Thanksgiving in the context of living cultures, we can make the holiday a more meaningful part of teaching and learning, in school and at home.

Five Ideas to Change the Way Thanksgiving Is Taught in Classrooms and at Home

Students can use Thanksgiving and their new tools for thinking about culture to learn and share more about their own family’s history and traditions

On his last day of service in Vietnam in 1963, Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho) poses in Da Nang carrying his rappelling rope that he used to descend from helicopters to clear landing fields. Pratt is the designer of the National Native Americans Veterans Memorial.

The Remarkable and Complex Legacy of Native American Military Service

Why do they serve? The answer is grounded in honor and love for their homeland

Doña Ofelia Esparza decorates the ofrenda "Sacred Connections," created with her daughter Rosanna Esparza Ahrens for the 2019 celebration of El Día de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.

Celebrate the Day of the Dead With Music, Butterfly Science and Other Activities

The roots of el Día de los Muertos are millennia-deep in Indigenous Mexico

Part of the Crow reservation is in Montana's Big Horn County, but the at-large election system meant that the first Crow county commissioner wasn't elected until 1986.

To Make Native Votes Count, Janine Windy Boy Sued the Government

'Windy Boy v. Big Horn County' helped ensure the Crow and Northern Cheyenne were represented, but the long struggle for Native voting rights continues

Kiliii Yuyan, Umiaq and north wind during spring whaling, 2019

How Indigenous Peoples Adapted to the Arctic's Harsh Climate

A new exhibition at the British Museum spotlights an ingenious way of life threatened by global warming

The National Native American Veterans Memorial, designed by Cheyenne and Arapaho artist Harvey Pratt, features a steel circle balanced on a carved drum.

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the New Memorial to Native American Veterans

Located in front of the National Museum of the American Indian, the sculpture reminds us of the true burden of freedom

Hip-hop artist Frank Waln contributes a musical performance. From left to right: Musician Frank Waln; panelists Brook Thompson, Dylan Baca, Lina Krueck, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Michaela Pavlat, and Alberto Correa III.

Five Ideas for Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2020

Honor Native American ideas, make your garden a native ecosystem, read these books, or take in one of these online programs with Native guests

U.S. Representative Deb Haaland offered to stand in for the missing and deceased.

Portrait Project Memorializes Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

A new exhibition available to view online features 94 photographs, as well as original artwork

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.

Native Americans Have Always Answered the Call to Serve

National Veterans of Foreign Wars Day, September 29, recognizes the men and women who have served honorably in the U.S. military overseas

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship's debut in Plymouth, England, is one of many events marking the 400th anniversary of the original Mayflower's 1620 journey.

An A.I.-Driven 'Mayflower' Will Cross the Atlantic Next Year

The autonomous vessel's launch, originally scheduled to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, was delayed by the pandemic

Drone images show the location of a council circle found on an ancestral Wichita site in Kansas.

Drone Imaging Reveals Pre-Hispanic 'Great Settlement' Beneath Kansas Ranch

The 164-foot-wide earthwork is the sixth ancestral Wichita "council circle" discovered in the region

Patricia Marroquin Norby will serve as the museum's inaugural associate curator of Native American art.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Hires First Full-Time Curator of Native American Art

Patricia Marroquin Norby previously worked at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian–New York

An Indigenous couple marries on the beach at Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park, jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Maryland Park Service.

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

On National Parks Founders Day, the museum looks at the changing relationship between Native Americans and the National Park Service

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. October 21, 2004, Washington, D.C.

A Native Remembrance on Korean Armistice Day

Some 10,000 Native Americans veterans served during the Korean conflict

Effective immediately, the franchise will be known as the "Washington Football Team."

After Retiring Its Racist Name, D.C. Football Team Announces Temporary Moniker

A new title will be announced once trademark issues are resolved

The Supreme Court building in Washington, DC

What a New Supreme Court Decision Means for Native American Sovereignty

The landmark ruling upholds the sanctity of treaties between the United States and American Indians—to a certain point

People protest against the name of the Washington, D.C., NFL team before a game between Washington and the Minnesota Vikings. Minneapolis, November 2, 2014.

Ending the Use of Racist Mascots and Images

The appropriation of Native language and imagery perpetuates racism and legitimizes racist acts, says the director of the American Indian Museum

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How Do Native Americans Observe the Fourth of July?

The answer has always been as complicated as America's history

Researchers used these five replica clay pipes to "smoke" tobacco and other native plants.

Early Residents of the Pacific Northwest Smoked Smooth Sumac

Researchers used a new technique to detect the chemical fingerprints of specific plant species in a 1,400-year-old pipe's residue

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.

How Lakota Values Endure 144 Years After the Battle of Little Bighorn

Following Custer's defeat, tribal leaders made difficult decisions to ensure the safety of their people that continue today in the time of COVID-19

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