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All films are available on demand from February 1, 2025, 12:01 AM ET, to February 28, 2025, 11:59 PM ET.

Animation Celebration! features a collection of Indigenous short animated films that highlight colorful stories of magical tales, humorous encounters, and hidden histories as part of the museum’s Art of Storytelling program.

Native American Heritage Month

We honor Native American Heritage Month by highlighting our vast holdings that document the history and recognize the many achievements and contributions of Native Americans from as early as 1774. These include every treaty signed with Native Americans, available online through the National Archives Catalog, records from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Schools, and Indian Census Rolls. 

Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe Join us in person or online on December 1, 2022, at 7 PM ET. National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Register online; View on YouTube

Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played in the MLB for the New York Giants. David Maraniss’s book, Path Lit by Lightning, tells Thorpe’s story. Anita Thorpe, Jim Thorpe's granddaughter, will attend the program.

Related NARA exhibit: All American: The Power of Sports  National Archives Museum, Washington DC, through January 7, 2024.

Anita Thorpe, left, granddaughter of 1912 Olympic champion Jim Thorpe, poses with National Archives curator Alice Kamps in front of a display honoring Thorpe’s grandfather in the “All American: The Power of Sports," 9/12/2022. Photo for the National Archives by John Valceanu.

Related Smithsonian exhibit: Why We Serve: Native Americans in the U.S. Armed ForcesThe National Museum of the American Indian through November 30, 2023 Why We Serve honors the generations of Native Americans who have served in the armed forces of the United States—often in extraordinary numbers—since the American Revolution.  Online Resources:

Native American History special topics page of NARA’s related online resources.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Photos (more than 18,000) Now Online.

Friday, November 12, 2021

The National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase started today. https://nmai.brand.live/c/native-cinema-showcase

Also, I baked challah.

Valdivia female figurine, ca. 3500 BC. Valdivia, Guayas Province, Ecuador,

Clay, paint; 2 x 9 x 3 cm. 

James Judge Collection, presented by Mrs. Alice K. Bache. 24/8403,

10 Native American Artists Challenge Boundaries of Tradition at National Museum of the American Indian’s Heye Center

NEW YORK – The works of “Transformer: Native Art in Light and Sound” are electric, both literally and figuratively, providing timely expressions of Indigenous worldviews. Contemporary Indigenous art often reflects tradition, but it is commonly misinterpreted to exist solely as part of the past. This exhibition demonstrates the continuing adaptability of tradition to find a place within today’s…