Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Welcome Center's Display of Future Museum

View an exhibition on the planning, design, and construction of the new American Indian Museum.

June 2001 – December 19, 2003

Jewelry Designed by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell

See jewelry designed by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne, R-Colo.), a leading artist working in contemporary Native American jewelry.

September 21, 2004 – April 3, 2005

American Indian Museum DC

Native Modernism: The Art of George Morrison and Allan Houser

See works by George Morrison (Grand Portage Chippewa) and Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache), who have significantly influenced the direction of contemporary Native American art.

September 21, 2004 – November 6, 2005

American Indian Museum DC

Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions

See some 30 contemporary Native baskets that examine the ways in which baskets and their makers are literally and symbolically "carriers of culture."

June 8, 2006 – September 5, 2006

American Indian Museum DC

Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life along the North Pacific Coast

See more than 400 ceremonial and everyday objects that present the art and culture of the people of the Northwest Coast , featuring 11 Native communities from Washington state, British Columbia, and Alaska.

February 3, 2006 – January 2, 2007

American Indian Museum DC

Native Words, Native Warriors

See 15 large-scale banners that reveal the little-known but crucial role Native Americans played during World Wars I and II. Native Americans from more than a dozen tribes used their Native languages while in service to the U.S. military.

August 10, 2007 – September 4, 2007

American Indian Museum DC

An Exploration in Photography with Native Teens

View photographs by 13 Native high school students, mainly representing tribes from Oregon and Washington State, who visited the Oregon College of Art and Craft in the summer of 2007.

March 3, 2008 – March 15, 2008

American Indian Museum DC

Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses

See 55 dresses and more than 200 related items from the Plains, Plateau, and Great Basin regions in this exhibition of Native women's identity through traditional dress and its contemporary evolution.

March 24, 2007 – August 3, 2008

American Indian Museum DC

Circle of Empowerment: Education, Language, Culture, Tradition

View the winning artwork and writing pieces from the 4th Native American Student Artist Competition.

August 22, 2008 – September 22, 2008

American Indian Museum DC

Through the Eyes of the Eagle: Illustrating Healthy Living for Children

See nearly 70 original watercolors used in the Eagle Books -- a diabetes-prevention series developed for Native schoolchildren.

October 3, 2008 – January 4, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

A Century Ago..."They Came as Sovereign Leaders"

See photographs of six great Native chiefs who participated in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.

January 14, 2009 – February 22, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Comic Art Indigene

Explore how the new narrative art forms of comics and comic-inspired art incorporate storytelling to express the contemporary Native American experience.

March 6, 2009 – May 31, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian

See paintings, bronze sculptures, and lithographs that highlight the more-than-40-year career of contemporary Native artist Fritz Scholder (Luiseno, 1937-2005).

November 1, 2008 – August 16, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Outdoor Sculpture: Obelisk

Obelisk (1987, ed. 2/6) is a 15 1/2 foot-tall, 1,500-pound, cast-bronze sculpture by renowned Native American artist Fritz Scholder (1937-2005; Luiseno) that was inspired by his long fascination with all things Egyptian.

September 11, 2008 – August 16, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Student Art Exhibition: Tradition Is My Life, Education Is My Future

View works by the 2009 Native American Student Artist Competition winners.

August 19, 2009 – September 17, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America

View rare and archival photographs and film of Native American skateboarders, as well as skatedecks from Native companies and contemporary artists, that celebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and controversy of American Indian skate culture.

June 12, 2009 – November 1, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas

Read compelling text and see powerful graphics on 20 banners discusses the cultural integration and diffusion of African American and American Indian people.

November 10, 2009 – May 31, 2010

American Indian Museum DC

Brian Jungen: Strange Comfort

Examine iconic works and major pieces never before seen in the United States by Brian Jungen (Dunne-za First Nations/Swiss/Canadian).

October 16, 2009 – August 8, 2010

American Indian Museum DC

Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture

Learn about Native people who have been active participants in contemporary music during the past century.

July 1, 2010 – January 2, 2011

American Indian Museum DC

Crux: (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky)

View a mobile by Brian Jungen (b. 1970, Dunne-za First Nations/Swiss-Canadian) that depicts five animals that describe the Australian constellations.

July 30, 2009 – February 25, 2011

American Indian Museum DC

R.C. Gorman: Early Prints and Drawings, 1966-1974

See 28 early drawings and lithographs by Navajo artist R.C. Gorman (1931-2005) that foreshadow the monumental women and Indian madonnas that brought the artist international acclaim.

January 13, 2011 – May 1, 2011

American Indian Museum DC