National Museum of the American Indian

#Educators: Are you in search of ways to improve teaching and learning about Indigenous peoples, histories, and cultures? This back-to-school season, the museum’s Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) team is excited to welcome educators to a series of upcoming professional development opportunities at both of our museum locations and online. Keep reading to learn more about these professional development opportunities and register now via Native Knowledge 360°: https://lnkd.in/gG2_Ne5y On Saturday, September 28, our Washington, DC museum will co-host our eighth annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In with our partners Teaching for Change. Participants can select two workshop breakout sessions. Each session provides resource-rich experiences, such as classroom lessons about Native peoples and topics; resources from both partners; and strategies for effectively incorporating the museum’s exhibitions in Washington, DC, into classroom curricula. Not able to join us in-person? Save the date for our virtual Teach-In on Saturday, November 2. On Saturday, October 5, our New York museum will host a Native New York: Educators’ Open House. Earn CTLE credits and a certificate of participation by attending and learning about the peoples and themes featured in the “Native New York” exhibition through NK360° classroom resources, gallery tours, film, photography, beading, and other guided experiences. Visit NK360° anytime to find classroom-ready resources and standards-based lessons about topics such as the impact of the Gold Rush on California Natives, food sovereignty, and Thanksgiving. #NativeKnowledge360 #BackToSchool #Education #K12 #Teachers

#DeadlineApproaching Just 2 days left to apply for this critical role in collections management at our museum! Learn more and apply via USAJobs: https://lnkd.in/g7e6k2cr Interested Federal employees can apply here: https://lnkd.in/gvbnequP

#ICYMI: Teachers play a crucial role in advancing the museum’s work to transform popular understandings of Native histories, cultures, and contemporary lives. Join us ONLINE this Saturday, Nov. 2, 12-3 PM for a virtual teach-in! Registration is required, and the cost is $15 for this professional development opportunity. Participants may select two workshop breakout sessions. Each session guides educators through the effective use of classroom lessons and resources from Teaching for Change and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). The teach-in fosters awareness of the museum’s Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) national education initiative, which promotes improved teaching about Native American communities through online and classroom lessons. Teaching for Change and museum educators will share key concepts from the NMAI’s Essential Understandings Framework, children’s literature from Social Justice Books, and teaching materials from the museum’s Native Knowledge 360° national education initiative. Learn more and save your spot now: https://lnkd.in/eqQNe-J6 #Teachers #Educators #K12

“For Native peoples, the boarding schools of our past can bring painful memories. President Biden’s apology on behalf of the U.S. government for the harm boarding schools inflicted on Native peoples is an important step in acknowledging the trauma many still carry from this era in American history. I hope the president’s words today bring some comfort to the survivors and their families, while reminding all of us there is still much progress to be made in the fight for Indigenous rights and sovereignty. With our colleagues across the Smithsonian, we will share these stories and educate the public about the continued impacts of this history on our families and communities.”—Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo/Hopi/Tewa/Navajo), Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Find resources related to the impacts of boarding schools on Native peoples on our website. https://s.si.edu/4hlL23d

#NowHiring: We're in search of a collections management expert familiar with managing procedures and protocols, and be responsible for the physical care, accountability, processing and packing of all collections, including loans, located at our museum in Washington, DC. The ideal candidate will have experience working independently in museum program administration, applying museum collections management procedures and protocols and being responsible for the safety and maintenance of museum collections items and loans. Learn more about the role and apply by Thursday, October 31 via USAJobs: https://lnkd.in/g7e6k2cr Interested Federal employees can apply here: https://lnkd.in/gvbnequP #MuseumCollections #SmithsonianJobs #MuseumJobs

"We not only are part of its history, but part of its evolution of where it's going."—Hawhenawdies-Neal Powless (Onondaga Nation, Eel Clan) "Our foods are something that we connect with, that tie us to our culture, that tie us to our ancestors."—Nico Albert Williams (ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Cherokee Nation) "Email me, call me, text me, I'll show up."—enthusiastic festival go-er Aaron Davis In a year of museum milestones, our memories of the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program “Indigenous Voices of the Americas” are so special to us. During the festival, hundreds of Indigenous people from communities across the Western Hemisphere gathered to honor contemporary and traditional creative expressions, celebrations, and community connections that feed new possibilities. You joined us in our halls, on the National Mall, and online to listen to those voices and recognize the vital significance of the message each shared in their own way—Indigenous people are still here. Today and every day at the National Museum of the American Indian, we illuminate Indigenous peoples. We illuminate Indigenous histories, Indigenous foods, Indigenous arts, Indigenous dreams, and Indigenous futures. We celebrate and exchange this knowledge all year and invite you to join us anywhere, anytime in that endeavor. Whether you find us online, on the road, or in DC and New York, thank you for showing up. #IndigenousPeoplesDay #2024Folklife

“The only thing I want is to be a hero for my people.”—La Borinqueña Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, the superhero La Borinqueña wears a costume modeled after the Puerto Rican flag. The hero and the comic books about her derive their name from "Boriquen," the name given to the island by the Taíno people, who lived there prior to Spanish colonization. The character gets her powers from the Taíno gods of Puerto Rico’s ancestors, highlighting the importance of women in Puerto Rican culture. Created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the La Borinqueña comics address contemporary social and environmental issues and celebrate the diverse Puerto Rican diaspora. By doing so, Miranda-Rodriguez aims to keep Puerto Rico in the national discourse, reminding everyone that they are part of the United States. La Borinqueña was featured in the exhibition “Taíno: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean” (Taíno: herencia e identidad indígena en el Caribe), a collaboration between the National Museum of the American Indian and the former Smithsonian Latino Center, now the National Museum of the American Latino. The exhibition included a guide with information about the Taíno peoples, their living legacies, and activities for students in grades 4–12. The guide is also available in Spanish at the link in our bio. During #HispanicHeritageMonth, we highlight the Indigenous history, peoples, and communities of the Spanish-speaking Americas. Learn more about how Latino History is American History with the National Museum of the American Latino's inaugural exhibition, "¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States" on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in the Molina Family Latino Gallery. Credit: La Borinqueña, #1, 2016. Collection of the National Museum of American History, 2017.0107.01 #SmithsonianHHM #Superheros #ComicBooks #LaBorinqueña

#InTheNews: On Friday, Sept. 27, the California state government recognized Native American Day, and announced the signing of several bills that advance tribal priorities. Bill AB 1821 "will require elementary through high school education regarding the Mission and Gold Rush periods to include the treatment and perspectives of Native Americans, providing students a fuller picture of the state’s history." Our Native Knowledge 360° education team is ready to support California educators in fulfilling these new requirements! Two of our newest resources focus primarily on the experiences of Native peoples of California during the Gold Rush and Mission periods. "The Impact of the Gold Rush on Native Americans of California" is an inquiry lesson that provides primary sources, maps, images, and background history to offer 8th-12th grade teachers and students insight into a little-known but vitally important aspect of one of the most iconic events in American history. “California Native American Survival and Resilience During the Mission Period” is an inquiry lesson that provides primary and secondary sources, maps, images, background history, and objects from our collection to offer 4th grade, and 7th-12th grade teachers and students insight into California Native American resilience during the Spanish mission period. #Educators can find these resources and more to transform teaching and learning about Native Americans on our site: https://lnkd.in/gCuYBtW2 #NativeAmericanDay #Education #California #NK360

Across the country, communities are harnessing local resources—people, land, intergenerational knowledge—to secure a nutritious, sustainable future for us all. How are traditional practices and heritage ingredients furthering these goals? What role do they play in solving seemingly intractable problems such as hunger and food insecurity, and what can communities learn from one another to achieve local objectives? This Friday, September 27, from noon to 1 p.m., join us for a timely conversation with innovative leaders in the field at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public, and ASL interpretation is provided. This program is produced by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in association with the Smithsonian Institution Office of Government Relations. It marks the second anniversary of The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Special thanks to the staff at the National Museum of the American Indian for their assistance with this program.

"There is no place in this hemisphere where Indian people have not walked. That's part of the reason I feel so strongly about our having a museum on the National Mall....Native America is not a stagnant, neatly compartmentalized group of cultures," wrote artist Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi) in "Spirit of a Native Place: Building the National Museum of the American Indian." On this day twenty years ago, our doors opened in Washington, DC. Every day since has been dedicated to sharing the stories, knowledge, and voices of Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere in the nation's capital. This summer, we celebrated a year of significant milestones for the museum and took the opportunity to help visitors understand just what Ramona meant when she wrote those words. Along with Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, we welcomed hundreds of Indigenous artists, makers, chefs, athletes, and storytellers for the 2024 program "Indigenous Voices of the Americas" (s.si.edu/IVA). Thousands of visitors from around the world had the opportunity to understand the beauty, strength, and resilience of Native peoples through stories, songs, dance, arts, sports, food, and more. For the next twenty years and beyond, our museum will continue to seek equity and social justice for the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere through education, inspiration, and empowerment. You are always welcome in this Native place, and we hope to see you again soon. #OnThisDay #IndigenousVoicesOfTheAmericas