Blog

Ontario is more than the name of a lake and province. Rooted in the Indigenous languages of the Great Lakes, it was recorded by Europeans as early as 1641 and has endured despite centuries of colonial renaming.

The story of Lori Ann Piestewa, the Hopi soldier whose name is carried by one of Phoenix’s most recognizable mountains.

In 1785, Toypurina helped bring Native communities together in a planned uprising against Mission San Gabriel. Her story reveals a larger history of Indigenous resistance to Spanish control over land, ceremony, and community life in California.

William Pollock (Pawnee) was already gaining recognition as a Pawnee artist when he enlisted in Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. His drawings, writings, and military record preserve the story of a promising artist whose life was cut short after serving in Cuba.

Born near Four Peaks and taken from his Yavapai family as a child, Wassaja became Dr. Carlos Montezuma, a physician, publisher, and outspoken defender of Native rights and Fort McDowell land and water.

Thirty Tribal Nations share the Colorado River Basin, and many hold some of its oldest water rights. As new rules take shape in 2026, the fight is about more than water. It is about sovereignty, culture, infrastructure, and who has the authority to decide the river’s future.

Border construction in 2026 damaged an ancient O’odham geoglyph, altered a mountain sacred to Kumeyaay and Kumiai communities, and placed Lower Pecos rock art at risk. The conflict raises a difficult question: can the United States secure its border without destroying the Indigenous history it is also responsible for protecting?

CONTRIBUTIONS closes July 31, 2026, at the Museum of Indigenous People. Explore the Indigenous technologies, food systems, ideas, and living knowledge highlighted throughout the exhibit.

Chunkey is an ancient Indigenous game requiring speed, endurance, accuracy, and judgment. Its history connects Cahokia, the Mississippian world, the Mandan, the Chickasaw Nation, and many other communities across North America.

Now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup has ended, the Puyallup Tribe’s historic role deserves reflection. The Tribe became the first sovereign Indigenous Nation to serve as an official FIFA Host City Supporter, helping Seattle welcome the world while sharing Puyallup language, culture and contemporary community life.

Federal officials are reconsidering protections covering approximately 336,400 acres around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The proposal could reopen federal public lands to mineral leasing and mining claims after decades of Tribal advocacy and bipartisan efforts to protect the Greater Chaco landscape.

Can tribal nations be fully sovereign if another government controls criminal jurisdiction and sacred lands? Explore Native sovereignty, Oliphant, Bears Ears, Chaco Canyon, and treaty rights.

Lacrosse returns to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, but its story began long before the modern Games. Indigenous nations, especially the Haudenosaunee, shaped one of North America’s oldest team sports.

Museum of Indigenous People Executive Director Manuel Lucero, Cherokee, was invited to provide a blessing ceremony at Prescott’s World’s Oldest Rodeo®. The moment honored Indigenous heritage, the history of the land, and the community connections that continue to shape Prescott today.

Powwows have a connection to the 4th of July, but not in the simple patriotic way many people expect. For many Native communities, Independence Day became a way to keep gathering during an era when federal policy tried to suppress Native ceremonies, dances, and religious life.

The World Cup is more than a global soccer tournament. This article explores how Indigenous and First Nations cultures were represented through ceremony, language, host Nation recognition, and Native soccer athletes whose stories stretch from early First Nations teams to MLS records and World Cup history.

Generations of "Skywalkers" (Mohawk ironworkers from Kahnawà and Akwesasne) helped shape New York’s bridges, skyscrapers, and the World Trade Center. Their story connects Indigenous skill, family responsibility, dangerous high-iron work, and the recovery and rebuilding that followed September 11.

Discover how Hohokam engineers built hundreds of miles of canals that sustained communities and helped shape Arizona’s Salt River Valley in the Sonoran Desert.

In the harsh Arizona desert, the Hohokam built structures that were never meant to fade. Casa Grande stands as proof—engineered with local materials and deep environmental knowledge, not force. These adobe walls reflect more than survival; they reveal a culture where architecture, identity, and land were inseparable. What endures today is not just a structure, but a legacy still shaping how we understand resilience.

Long before modern agriculture, Indigenous communities transformed a wild grass into maize and developed the Three Sisters farming system. This knowledge spread across trade routes, shaped the Southwest, and still informs how we grow and store food today. Discover how Indigenous innovation continues to impact global agriculture through the Museum of Indigenous People’s “Contributions” exhibit.