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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Modern soccer was not invented in Mesoamerica, but Indigenous ballgame traditions across Mesoamerica and Arizona reveal a much older history of formal courts, rubber ball technology, public competition, ceremony, and community. Explore how the beautiful game fits into a deeper human story of sport and meaning.

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.

Learn how to handle, clean, display, and store Native pottery, jewelry, figurines, baskets, beadwork, textiles, and other cultural works without damaging their materials or meaning.

The Skidi Pawnee Star Chart is one of the most compelling examples of Indigenous astronomy in North America. It reflects a Pawnee understanding of the sky as a source of knowledge, ceremony, order, and responsibility.

Before kayaks became recreational boats, Arctic Indigenous peoples developed them for hunting, fishing, travel, and survival in cold waters. This MIP article explores the kayak as an Indigenous contribution rooted in engineering, environmental knowledge, and generations of design skill.

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.

The hanging canals near Mount Graham reveal a sophisticated Indigenous engineering system designed to move water across extreme terrain. Learn how these structures reflect innovation, precision, and deep environmental knowledge tied to the Contributions exhibit at the Museum of Indigenous People.

Case That Changed U.S. History. Elouise Cobell, also known as Yellow Bird Woman, exposed decades of mismanaged Native trust funds. Her work led to a $3.4 billion settlement and forced the U.S. government to confront systemic failures while creating lasting opportunities through land restoration and education for Native communities.

From the Trail of Tears to the Indian Citizenship Act to Minneapolis streets in 2026, the question asked of Native people has never really changed: do you belong here? The Museum of Indigenous Perspectives traces the unbroken pattern and explains why cultural integrity is the only honest answer.