Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Seth Eastman Watercolors: A Soldier Artist Among the Dakota

View the watercolor paintings of Dakota life by Seth Eastman, Army officer and one of the leading pictorial historians of Native Americans in the 19th century.

April 5, 2001 – October 7, 2001

American Indian Museum New York

Beauty, Honor, and Tradition: The Legacy of Plains Indian Shirts

View 50 mid-19th- to early 20th-century beaded, quilled, and painted shirts, which tell the stories of the artistic nature, philosophy, and values of the Plains Indians.

December 10, 2000 – October 1, 2001

American Indian Museum New York

Gifts of Pride and Love: Kiowa and Comanche Cradles

See historic Kiowa and Comanche lattice cradleboards, which are among the most beautiful expressions of Plains Indian bead design of the late 19th and early 20th century. Two new cradles were also created for this exhibition.

March 4, 2001 – May 27, 2001

American Indian Museum New York

Newborn Ancestors: The Art and Articles of Plains Indian Children

See cradleboards, clothing, and games offer insights into traditions that nurture the lives of Native children from the Great Plains.

March 4, 2001 – May 27, 2001

American Indian Museum New York

who stole the tee pee?

Explore the social, political, cultural, and personal changes that Native Americans of North America have experienced in the last century through 25 historical pieces,

October 1, 2000 – January 21, 2001

American Indian Museum New York

Creation's Journey: Masterworks of Native American Identity and Belief

Examine 165 major objects from 200 different tribal groups of the Americas dating from 3200 B.C. to the 20th century.

October 30, 1994 – October 2, 2000

American Indian Museum New York

Reservation X: The Power of Place

View installation pieces by seven native artists from across Canada and the United States that express the complex connections between community and identity.

April 9, 2000 – August 20, 2000

American Indian Museum New York

Instrument of Change: Jim Schoppert Retrospective Exhibition, 1947-1992

Examine the work of Tlingit artist James Schoppert (1947-1992) in this exhibition of 50 objects, which include carvings, masks, and poetry.

October 3, 1999 – February 6, 2000

American Indian Museum New York

Pomo Indian Basket Weavers: Their Baskets and the Art Market

Trace the history of art basketry and Pomoan participation in the 19th-c. California art market through 100 historical images and 110 baskets.

May 9, 1999 – August 15, 1999

American Indian Museum New York

The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama

See a 300-work exhibition focusing primarily on the "molas" (colorful, richly decorated applique blouses), for which the Kuna of Panama are world-renowned.

September 13, 1998 – March 21, 1999

American Indian Museum New York

Indian Humor

Paintings, sculpture, photographs, textiles, and mixed-media by 38 artists focus on the depth and vitality of Native American humor.

May 31, 1998 – August 2, 1998

American Indian Museum New York

Memory and Imagination: The Legacy of Maidu Indian Artist Frank Day

Explore the life, art, and legacy of Frank Day (1902-1976), a self-taught Native American painter from California who depicts Maidu customs.

February 15, 1998 – May 3, 1998

American Indian Museum New York

To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions

See 40 quilts that demonstrate the cultural and economic significance of quiltmaking in tribal communities.

October 19, 1997 – January 4, 1998

American Indian Museum New York

Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer): The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks

See 213 Yup'ik Eskimo masks from various international and private collections.

March 2, 1997 – August 17, 1997

American Indian Museum New York

Always Getting Ready: Upterrlainarluta: Yup'ik Eskimo Subsistence in Southwest Alaska

View photos by James Barker, from 1973-1992, that explore the annual subsistence cycle of the Yup'ik people from spring seal hunting to winter dance celebrations.

January 26, 1997 – June 8, 1997

American Indian Museum New York

Woven by the Grandmothers: 19th-Century Navajo Textiles from the NMAI

See 40 19th-century Navajo textiles, woven between 1840 and 1880, including boldly patterned chief blankets, poncho sarapes, biil (traditional two-piece dresses), women's striped shoulder blankets, bordered mantas, and diyogi (loosely woven blankets).

October 6, 1996 – January 8, 1997

American Indian Museum New York

Contemporary Navajo Weaving: The Gloria F. Ross Collection of the Denver Art Museum

Explore modern weaving with 38 modern rugs and tapestries made by Navajo weavers in Arizona and New Mexico.

October 6, 1996 – January 8, 1997

American Indian Museum New York

Crossroads Alaska: Native Cultures of Alaska and Siberia

Miniatures and models illustrate the diversity and ingenuity of the cultures and peoples of the North Pacific.

June 27, 1996 – August 8, 1996

American Indian Museum New York

Partial Recall: Photographs of Native North Americans

Explore the relationship between photography and identity in this 2-part exhibition of historical photographs of Native peoples and contemporary works by Native American photographers.

May 19, 1996 – July 21, 1996

American Indian Museum New York

Ancestral Memories: A Tribute to Native American Survival

See 20 mixed-media works and photos by Native Americans that commemorate the life and work of Native Americans in history and celebrate American Indian history and culture across generations.

May 19, 1996 – July 21, 1996

American Indian Museum New York

This Path We Travel: Celebrations of Contemporary Native American Creativity

Drawing on ancient and modern influences using sounds, objects, and videos, 15 contemporary Native American artists, writers, musicians and dancers make a collective statement about the continuity of the Indian American spirit.

October 30, 1994 – April 8, 1996

American Indian Museum New York

Four Native Voices: A Decade of Artistry

See musical instruments and art work by local Native American artists, and listen to the artists discuss their works.

January 1, 1993 – June 30, 1994

American Indian Museum New York

Indians As Children See Them

Observe 43 works by New York City school children who share their understanding of Native American cultures in this 6th annual juried exhibition.

March 9, 1993 – May 30, 1993

American Indian Museum New York

Pathways of Tradition: Indian Insights into Indian Worlds

Visit a selection of 103 objects representing a cross-section of American Indian cultures from the museum's one million artifact collection.

November 15, 1992 – January 24, 1993

American Indian Museum New York

Weaving a Mayan Heritage: Clothing by Juana Cavanaugh

Discover traditional vestments handmade by Juana Cavanaugh, an Ixil Indian from Guatemala.

March 18, 1992 – September 14, 1992

American Indian Museum New York