Winter Blast: A Family Day of Native Games
Saturday, Jan. 25, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
This free family-friendly event celebrates Indigenous games from the Arctic to Argentina. Visitors can meet Talibah Begay (Navajo) as she shares a traditional Navajo shoe guessing game. Leihua Stewart (Native Hawaiian) teaches traditional Hawaiian games. Participants can learn to play Bolivian games with Julia Garcia (Aymara). The day features hands-on activities and “make-and-takes.”
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
Opening and Screening
Thursday, Feb. 20
The annual Mother Tongue Film Festival, presented by the Smithsonian’s Recovering Voices program, celebrates the United Nations’ International Mother Language Day by showcasing recently produced feature and short-length films about the cultural richness of Indigenous and endangered languages. Recovering Voices, a collaboration of the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, partners with communities around the world to revitalize and sustain endangered languages and knowledge. Full schedule will be available https://mothertongue.si.edu/
Friday, Feb. 21, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Potomac Atrium
Visitors can explore the foods found in communities that live along the Inka Road of South America. Freddie Bitsoie (Diné), executive chef of the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe, and other guest chefs will share the stories and food traditions that sustained and continue to support the diverse peoples of the intricate road system. Visitors can enjoy Andean music between tastings and take part in Cultural Interpreters’ tours of the museum’s “The Great Inka Road” exhibition.
Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru. The Inka Road Food Fiesta is free, but tickets are required. See the museum’s website for details.
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
Guatemalan National Day of Marimba
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
The marimba is recognized by the Organization of American States as part of the Cultural Heritage of the Americas. Celebrate Guatemala’s National Day of Marimba with performances by local marimba groups.
Presented in collaboration with the Consulate of Guatemala.
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Women Artists of Latin America
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
NMWA hosts its 7th annual Art+Feminism edit-a-
Dance Performance: The Mush Hole: Truth, Acknowledgement, Resilience
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
Santee Smith, Artistic Director
Saturday, March 14, 2 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
The Mush Hole is a heartbreaking dance theater piece that moves through Canada’s residential school history with hope and empathy. The performance by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, created, directed, produced by Santee Smith, reflects the realities of the Mohawk Institute Residential School experience and offers a compelling way to open dialogue and to heal. Created in collaboration with Mohawk Institute Residential School survivors and including school documentation in recounting its history, The Mush Hole is about survival and intergenerational resilience.
The Mohawk Institute, also known as the Mush Hole, is Canada’s oldest residential school, after which all other residential schools were modeled. Operating in Brantford, Ontario, from 1828 to 1970, the Mohawk Institute served as a boarding school for First Nations children from Six Nations and other communities in Ontario and Quebec. It was a key tool in the effort to assimilate First Nations children into European Christian society and sever the continuity of First Nations culture from parent to child, leaving a legacy of trauma.
Through Her Eyes: Celebrating Indigenous Women of the Andes
Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Potomac Atrium
A special Women’s History Month program, Through Her Eyes celebrates the stories, experiences and perspectives of Andean Indigenous women. Cultural and content experts will lead a series of performances, demonstrations and activities offering visitors a window into the rich traditions and contemporary life of women in these Indigenous communities.
Julia Garcia (Quechua) will demonstrate how to dress a fashionable llama. Did you know that colorful ear tassels are a clue to a llama’s ownership and that bells can help you find your llama in the dark? Visitors can learn how to make ear tassels and neck adornments fit for a llama. Isabel Hawkins will share stories woven into Andean textiles, including the cardinal direction markers, constellations and equinox symbols that make up the patterns of some Andean textiles. Zuly Jimenez (Quechua) will use potatoes to create figures for a retablo (a small scene represented in a box frame).
The museum’s Collections Conservation staff will share their expertise on the care of weavings. Kathleen Martin, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Textile Conservation, will discuss her research, show samples and demonstrate the indigo dye process. Conservator Susan Heald will lead a hands-on demonstration with cochineal and show how the color can be shifted from orange to red to purple, and conservator Emily Kaplan will share the history of ceremonial drinking cups called qeros.
