Native American Heritage Month
Celebrate and honor the cultural heritage, diverse histories, and continuing contributions of Native People during Native American Heritage Month (and every month) at the New York State Museum.
We invite you to visit the State Museum, attend our programming, and explore the additional resources below.
Upcoming Events
Statewide Native American Heritage Month Events
Check out the Office of State History's comprehensive list of NAHM events, lectures, and site visits happening across New York State!
Haudenosaunee Stories of Winter with Perry Ground
January 18, 2025
January 19, 2025
Perry Ground (Turtle Clan, Onondaga) shares Stories from the People of the Longhouse. This storytelling presentation is filled with traditional Haudenosaunee legends that have been told for hundreds of years. These stories teach about the beliefs, customs, and history of the Haudenosaunee people and continue to be an important part of Haudenosaunee culture.
NYSM Resources
New Acquisition: Double Weave Basket by Artist Carrie Hill (Kanien’keha:ka, Akwesasne)
Learn more about this extraordinary double-weave basket by Carrie Hill (Kanien’keha, Akwesasne) that creatively addresses the devastating impact of the Emerald Ash Borer on Haudenosaunee basketry and highlights the resilience of Indigenous traditions.
Unearthing Ceramic Technology and Pottery Traditions at the Mohawk Garoga Site
Discover how a recent investigation into 16th-century Haudenosaunee pottery and raw clay nodules from an ancient village is uncovering new secrets about the artistry, techniques, and daily life of the Kanien’keha:ka people.
Burial Law: A New Law to Protect Unmarked Burial Sites in New York
Learn how New York's new "Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act" is reshaping the respectful treatment and protection of Indigenous burial sites, empowering Native communities to reclaim control over ancestral remains and cultural heritage.
Repatration
There are new 2023 regulations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Learn how they transforming museum practices, accelerating repatriation, and fostering deeper collaboration with Native Nations to honor and protect their cultural heritage.
A New York Minute in History Podcast: Centering Authentic Indigenous Voices
Discover ways historians can center authentic indigenous voices and work with Native American communities across the state in planning for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
Artwork on Loan
Did you know you can view artwork from the NYSM Contemporary Indigenous Artwork & Ethnology Collections that is currently on loan with organizations throughout New York State?
Featured Videos
Recorded on May 1, 2024
Artist Jeremy Dennis’s photography centers on Indigenous histories on Long Island and the complex, interdependent relationships between Indigenous people, non-Indigenous people, land, water, and animals that co-exist there.
Warrior of the Revolution: Colonel Louis Cook of the Seven Nations of Canada
Recorded on October 27, 2024
Author Darren Bonaparte presents an enlightening lecture on Colonel Louis Cook, a significant figure in the American Revolution.
Educator Resources & Online Exhibitions
Dispossession of Indigenous Lands Map
Learn more about territorial boundaries and the locations of present-day Indigenous Nations and communities whose ancestral lands lie within what is now New York.
Represent: Contemporary Native American Art
The Contemporary Native American Art Collection honors a living legacy of master craftsmanship and vibrant innovation in the artistic expressions of New York State's First Nations.
View the Online Exhibit
View the Educational Guide (PDF)
A Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Village
Discover more about three of the NYSM's most popular dioramas from the Native Peoples Gallery: A reconstruction of a full-size kanonhsésne (longhouse), a scale model of a Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Village, and an agricultural field highlighting the three main crops utilized by the Haudenosaunee.
View the Online Exhibit
View Instructions on How to Build a Longhouse (PDF)
Schedule a School Group Tour: List of Programs
» Cradleboards and Longhouses
» Native Peoples of New York - A Journey
» People of the Longhouse
Fort Orange
Fort Orange was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland. Built as a trading post by the West India Company in 1624, the fort was also a point of contact and trade between Native Americans and Europeans.
View Exhibit Information
View Educational Materials:
» Native American Daily Life before Dutch Arrival (Google Doc)
» Trade at Fort Orange (Google Doc)
Research & Collections
Native American Ethnography at the NYSM
Ethnography at the New York State Museum is focused on the documentation and analysis of human culture, specifically Native American culture, and explores how Native peoples lived in the past and continue to build and preserve their culture in the present.
» Explore Ethnography Research
» Explore Ethnography Collections
Research & News
Tribes mount organized responses to COVID-19, in contrast to state and federal governments
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/tribes-mount-organized-resp...
As Arizona coronavirus cases surge from early reopening, Indigenous nations suffer not only more Covid-19 but also the blame
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/arizona-coronavirus-cases-s...
In Whose Honor? On Monuments, Public Spaces, Historical Narratives, and Memory
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/whose-honor-monuments-publi...
Inspiration from Museum Collections: An Exhibit as a Case Study in Building Relationships between Museums and Indigenous Artists
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/inspiration-museum-collecti...
New Acquisition: Silk Beaded Bag by Kenneth Williams Jr. (Cattaraugus Seneca and Arapaho)
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/ethnography/news/new-acqu...
Karen Ann Hoffman, NYSM Ethnology Collections featured artist, receives 2020 National Heritage Fellowship
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/ethnography/news/karen-an...
Today's artwork from NYSM Ethnology collections recognizes Indigenous medicinal knowledge
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/ethnography/news/todays-a...
Innovative new works added to the Contemporary Native American Art Collection
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/ethnography/news/innovati...
New Acquisition: Mahican and Mohawk Baskets
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/ethnography/news/new-acqu...
Native American Archaeology
Native Americans have been present in New York for 13,000 years. Since the mid-19th century, the New York State Museum has conducted archaeological investigations that have helped to write the histories of Native Americans in the state. The Museum continues that tradition today through field- and collections-based research.
» Explore Native American Archaeology Research
» Explore Native American Archaeology Collections
Research & News
Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected In Modern-Day Place Names
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/common/nysm/files/nysmrecord-vol5-1.pdf
Current Research in New York Archaeology: A.D. 700–1300
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/common/nysm/files/nysmrecord-vol2_0-3.pdf
Preserving Tradition and Understanding the Past: Papers from the Conference on Iroquois Research, 2001–2005
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/common/nysm/files/nysmrecord-vol1_0.pdf
Onondaga and Empire; An Iroquoian People in an Imperial Era
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/archaeology/news/new-publ...
Perishable Material Culture in the Northeast
https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/publications/bulletin/500-14632.pdf
Mohican Seminar 1
NYSM Bulletin 501, 2004
https://nysl.ptfs.com/aw-server/rest/product/purl/NYSL/s/3f332d6d-42f6-4...(link is external)
Mohican Seminar 2
The Challenge - An Algonquian Peoples Seminar
NYSM Bulletin 506, 2005
https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/publications/bulletin/506-20359.pdf
Mohican Seminar 3
The Journey - An Algonquian Peoples Seminar
NYSM Bulletin 511, 2009
https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/publications/bulletin/511-20361.pdf
Early Fluted-biface Variation in Glaciated Northeastern North America
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/early-flutedbiface-variatio...
Late Prehistoric Household Archaeology in Eastern New York
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/late-prehistoric-household-...
An analysis of network brokerage and geographic location in fifteenth-century AD Northern Iroquoia
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/analysis-network-brokerage-...
Paleoindian Landscapes in Southeastern and Central New York
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/paleoindian-landscapes-sout...
Paleoindian Peoples and Landscapes of Northeastern North America: An Introduction
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/paleoindian-peoples-and-lan...
Early Human Settlement of Northeastern North America
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/early-human-settlement-nort...
Space, Time and the Middle Woodland 'Jack's Reef Horizon' in New York
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staff-publications/space-time-and-middle-woodl...
Additional Resources from the Office of Cultural Education
New York State Library
Visit the State Library’s website to learn more about upcoming programs and to explore other online resources.
The Best Land: Researching a Contested Place
https://nyslibrary.libcal.com/event/12114956
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Online: This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
Talking Book and Braille Library
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we have curated a selection of braille and audiobooks for all ages. These titles are specifically formatted for people who are blind and print disabled. We encourage you to share them with friends and family who are patrons of the Talking Book and Braille Library or would like to begin service with us. Not eligible for our service? Your public library may have the same titles in a format that is available to you.
https://nyslibrary.libguides.com/blogs/tbbl/news/reading-list-iphm
New York State Archives
Indigenous history and culture is present throughout New York State and its history. The NYS Archives and many repositories throughout New York hold documents related to this history. This page offers direct access to highlighted resources centering the history of indigenous communities in New York.
https://considerthesourceny.org/featured-collections/native-american-her...
PBS
Access the Indigenous Culture & History folder featuring curated classroom resources from PBS LearningMedia. These K-12 multimedia support materials are free and teacher-crated, ranging in focus from New York State to across the United States.
https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/shared/1165858/6311193/
NYSED Teacher Resources
Access a list of resources for teachers from NYSED and external sources.
https://www.nysed.gov/indigenous-education/teacher-resources
View a selection of artwork from the NYSM Contemporary Indigenous Art Collection and artifacts from the NYSM Anthropology Collection.
Explore select artworks featured in the past exhibition Each One Inspired: Indigenous Art Across the Homelands.
Sometimes important collections come in small packages. Learn more about this incredible donation of projectile points made to the NYSM by the McVaugh family.
Educational Videos for Young Audiences
Art & Culture
