Blog

A 2,000-year-old tattooing tool discovered in Utah reveals a long history of Indigenous body art in the American Southwest. Explore archaeological discoveries, traditional facial tattoos, and the continuing cultural importance of Indigenous tattooing.

For generations, Native people appeared in movies while others controlled the camera. Blackhorse Lowe is among the Indigenous filmmakers changing who gets to tell those stories.

Native and Indigenous artists have worked in film since its earliest years, often within stories controlled by others. Today, Native actors, writers, directors, producers, and film festivals are changing who tells these stories and how communities appear on screen.

A photograph by Jesse L. Nusbaum preserved the faces of a Jemez Pueblo woman and child, but not their names. Their image opens a larger conversation about photography, Indigenous representation, and what the historical record chose to remember.

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.

Often called a Navajo wedding basket, a Diné ts’aa’ carries teachings that extend far beyond one ceremony. Explore its center, pathway, colors, and finished rim.

Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate brings orchestra, language, dance and storytelling together in Lowak Shoppala’, a major work centered on Chickasaw history and living culture.

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

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.

Diné scientist Reagan Wytsalucy is restoring the Southwest peach and reconnecting Native communities with a food nearly erased by forced removal.

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.

Hopi artist Filmer Kewanyama transformed his painting Spiritual Life into a large mural inside the Museum of Indigenous People’s HOOP Room. Through water, corn, pueblo architecture, color, and visual storytelling, Hopi Spiritual Life presents a contemporary Hopi artist’s perspective on culture, community, spirituality, and the natural world.

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.

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.

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.

The Tour de France is known as one of the world’s ultimate endurance tests. But who are the Native American, First Nations, and Indigenous cyclists who have reached cycling’s biggest stage?

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.

Long before chile peppers traveled across oceans and transformed global cuisine, Indigenous farmers in the Americas were cultivating, selecting, and sharing them. This story explores how peppers became one of the world’s most important Indigenous food contributions.

Learn how Ojibwe inventor Olivia Poole drew from cradleboard knowledge to create the Jolly Jumper, a lasting Indigenous contribution to modern baby care today.