Celebrating a World of Diversity: Folklife Festival Marks More Than Three Decades of the NMAI Amplifying Indigenous Voices

Scissor dancers from Peru perform on the National Mall for attendees of the First Americans Festival in 2004, which marked the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
 

The U.S. Congress passed the National Museum of the American Indian Act in 1989 to establish the NMAI, the only national museum dedicated to the Indigenous cultures of the Americas. Just five years later, the NMAI opened at what had been the location of the Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan. Then it built a custom Cultural Resource Center to house its vast 800,000-piece collection in Maryland in 1999 and a new museum in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

Since the NMAI first opened its doors, the museum and its Cultural Resources Center have served as gathering places for thousands of Native peoples and those who wish to learn about their communities and cultures, whether that be through the museum’s exhibitions, collection, educational program Native Knowledge 360°, a walk through its Indigenous gardens or a taste of Indigenous foods in its cafes. Through its long-term loans and repatriation efforts, the NMAI has also reunited items in its collection with their Indigenous communities. And as of 2020, the museum in Washington, D.C., is now home to the National Native American Veterans Memorial, the only national monument to the service of Indigenous military personnel.

Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo/Hopi/Tewa/Navajo), who started at the NMAI as an intern in its early days in New York and now serves as the museum’s director, said that she is glad the NMAI has been able to reach millions of visitors through the years yet is also “thankful that the heart of the museum—its collaborations and partnerships with Indigenous communities—has remained strong.”

For its Indigenous participants and non-Native visitors alike, the Folklife Festival is “a joyful, approachable way to learn about cultures,” said NMAI folklorist Cynthia Vidaurri. The festival offers the Indigenous participants opportunities to tell their own stories, whether that be through presentations to an audience or quiet conversations during a book signing or a weaving demonstration. Such interactions can illuminate the uniqueness of each Native nation but also shared common ground. Vidaurri said, “Folklife is the culture of home and community, the most profound essence of who we are as people. Every human being has traditional culture. That culture gives us a framework to take on the world that is very profound and heartfelt.”

On the last day of the festival, a special ceremony will be held for a departing friend, Kānepō, a volcanic rock that has been at the museum since it opened. The museum in Washington, D.C., was carefully designed to reflect the Indigenous cultures it represents, from its curved, gold Kasota limestone walls that look carved by wind and water to its gardens that feature Indigenous plants, cascading waterfalls and four stones that mark each of the cardinal directions. The youngest of these to the west is a lava bomb born through a volcanic eruption in Volcano National Park in Hawai‘i.

When Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele, a Hawaiian elder, or Kupuna, chose the rock, she told it that it would return home in 20 years. Even though this is “a short time in the life of a rock,” said her daughter Kekuhi Keali‘ikanaka‘ole, the separation for him and those who chose him is still painful as “he is our relative.” He was given a parting ceremony at the time he left Hawai‘i, and on July 1, she will host a similar farewell ceremony at the museum before guiding him home. Earlier in the week, visitors can attend workshops her group, HĀLAU ‘ŌHI‘A, is presenting to learn the rock’s story and the meaning behind the hula and other parts of his ceremony.

When Kānepō departs, another rock from Hawai‘i will take his place and another caretaker will be responsible for eventually seeing it home. This continuation of stewardship helps ground the museum and its Hawaiian visitors who come to present the rock with leis and other offerings.

As in many families, the younger generation takes on the mantle of culture from their elders. Yet that doesn’t mean the expression of that culture is always the same. Indigenous people from chefs to lacrosse stars to rappers have adapted their cultures to carve their own path and are thriving in a contemporary world. Lamar said she hopes that those who come to the Folklife Festival will “see Indigenous people as very much part of the fabric of American society.”

 

The following are just some of the many Indigenous participants in this year’s Folklife Festival. For a full schedule of events at the festival, visit festival.si.edu/schedule

Foodways

One of the most tangible ways to experience a culture is through its food. From how a dish’s ingredients are gathered and prepared to how it is served is a reflection of its creator. Folklife Festival attendees can taste a wide range of Indigenous foods at the NMAI’s Mitsitam cafe and concession stands on the National Mall. They can also hear talks or watch culinary demonstrations by renowned chefs such as “Sioux Chef” Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), Alex Strong (Indigenous Caribbean, West African and European Heritage), Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk and Prairie Band Potawatomi) and others.

Alex Strong (Indigenous Caribbean, West African and European Heritage)

Photo courtesy of Restaurant Associates

Alex Strong is the executive chef at the NMAI’s Mitsitam cafe in Washington, D.C. This cafe, operated by Restaurant Associates, is known for its culinary dishes that reflect the vast range of Indigenous peoples from different regions across the Western Hemisphere. She has worked at a plethora of Restaurant Associates locations, including the World Bank, U.S. Senate and Google.

Strong has bachelor’s degrees in culinary arts and business entrepreneurship. Originally from Puerto Rico, her family moved to the Bronx when she was a young child. She learned how to cook from her Taíno grandmother and West African father and enjoyed her Jewish grandfather’s latkes. Strong said sitting at the dinner table, she looked at the smiles on her 
family's faces as they tucked into culinary creations from around the world and realized that “food is where the love came from.” That shared joy inspired her to become a chef.

Strong said she hopes to bring that feeling of sitting at a family table to the cafe. Strong also enjoys using Indigenous ingredients in her recipes and sees the cafe as an extension of the NMAI’s ability to educate both her staff and the museum’s visitors about the richness and vibrancy of Native cultures. She said, “I want to bring that excitement into this space." I can do it with food. I love the story that food tells.”

Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk and Prairie Band Potawatomi) 

Photo courtesy of Elena Terry

Elena Terry is the executive chef and founder of Wild Bearies, an educational and community outreach organization that strives to bring ancestral foods and mentorship programs to tribal communities. She said she started Wild Bearies—so named because all of her children are from the Bear clan—to teach about cooking Indigenous foods because “once you learn those skills, you can work anywhere in the world.”

In her classes, Terry also does not shy away from teaching about how Indigenous people such as her grandmother and others within the Ho-Chunk Nation have suffered intergenerational trauma because they were forced to attend U.S. government boarding schools that sought to remove all evidence of Native culture from its students. “So how do we start to reclaim it in a positive way?” poses Terry. “For us, it’s through our traditional foods.”

Terry will be talking about the value of Indigenous foods as a preservation of culture at this year’s Folklife Festival. Both Terry and her daughter were part of the tribal procession that walked through the National Mall before the NMAI opened its doors 20 years ago. At that time, her daughter was an infant, and now she will be by her mother’s side at this year’s festival. For them, this is a tangible continuation of culture. Terry said, “It’s pretty neat to be able to go back this year to celebrate 20 years later and have her be a part of the program with me.”

Artist Demonstrations

Art can be the thread that connects generations. Many items initially created out of necessity became unique identifiers of a particular people as artists perfected their techniques and designs and passed on their knowledge. At the festival, traditional and contemporary artists from around the Western Hemisphere will showcase their works and skills, from textile makers from Peru and wool weavers from Alaska to pottery makers from the Southwest and basket makers from the East. Here are two artists you could meet.

Wayne Valliere (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe)

Photo by Tim Frendy

Wayne Valliere—whose traditional name is Mino-giizhig, which means "Good Sky"—is an accomplished bead and quill artist, weaver and sculptor. Yet he is probably best known as one of only a few birchbark canoe builders in the United States.

Valliere built his first canoe at age 16 after reverse-engineering a birchbark canoe from an elder’s boat. More than five decades later, he is striving to keep the art of canoe building alive in his Ojibwe tribal community in Wisconsin. As the director of language and culture at the Lac du Flambeau Public School District, he teaches 392 students about his Ojibwe people. He also is a mentor to six canoe-building apprentices. Teaching the art is important, he said, as “these canoes carry culture.”

Valliere said his practice of canoe building is sustainable because he is careful not to harm the tree when removing its bark. “I climb up a tree and make one slit down the bark and peel it off in one huge sheet with the tree standing. The bark grows back. It doesn’t kill the tree,” he said. For every tree the canoe builders use, he said, “we have a ceremony. We ask that tree permission. We don’t just take it. The trees, they have an individual spirit like people.”

John Darden (Chitimacha)

Photos courtesy of John Darden

John Darden is a maker of river cane baskets, an integral part of his Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. “I do traditional designs that I learned from my grandmother,” he said. “I always saw her weaving baskets. My grandmother had pattern baskets handed down from generation to generation.”

Chitimacha baskets are characterized by their extremely ornate patterns of colored woven river cane. Darden says he is familiar with more than 52 distinct patterns his tribe has traditionally used. Due to their intricacy, the baskets take a long time to make; Darden says he often works for weeks or even months on one basket.

“When I work with a basket, it is a connection to our people and to our tribe,” he said. “We were always well known for our basketry. We’ve got legends from the Creator in which we were taught to do the baskets. It speaks of a maiden going down a path, and she heard a voice and an unfinished basket dropped before her. If she wanted to do more, she could come back again and the Creator would teach her more. In the end, she learned to do the basket, and then she passed it on to the rest of the people. That’s how we got basketry.”

Storytelling

Stories carry the history of a people. The telling and retelling of the events of a people honor the lives past and help ensure a culture lives on into the future. At the festival, visitors can hear a great range of traditional stories as well as talks about subjects such as the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act that ensured Native Americans would always be citizens of the United States and have the right to vote.

Perry Ground (Haudenosaunee Confederacy)

Photo courtesy of the Fenimore Art Museum

Perry Ground is a traditional storyteller and a member of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. He learned Haudenosaunee stories from his great-grandparents and Mohawk storyteller Stephen Fadden while in college, and has told them for more than 30 years to educate others about his culture.

“As a storyteller, I think that the stories are a critical part of our traditional knowledge and they really define who we are as Native people in many ways,” he said. “The cultural information, the historical information, the beliefs, the values, just the life lessons that exist within the stories are really part of what makes us human beings.”

He has been a long-time partner of the NMAI. He has participated in the teacher workshops hosted by its educational program, Native Knowledge 360°, and expressed that he is happy to once again be a part of the museum’s Indigenous teachings by telling stories at this year’s Folklife Festival. He said some of the stories he tells are hundreds of years old, but all people can relate to them. "It’s a great way for non-Native people to learn about who we are … because it’s fun.”

Sports

Games of skill have been part of Indigenous life for centuries and have been the origin of some sports that have become professional competitions, such as lacrosse created by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Today, Native athletes are taking the courts, fields, racing tracks and other sport arenas by storm. Come to the festival to watch Arctic Olympic games, lacrosse star Neal Powless (Onondaga) and skateboarders Imillaskate (Quechua/Aymara), Di’orr Greenwood (Navajo) and Manny Santiago (Taíno) in action.

Imillaskate (Quechua/Aymara)

Photo courtesy of Imillaskate

Imillaskate is an all-women Bolivian skateboarding collective known for pulling off gnarly tricks at their local skateparks in the city of Cochabamba. Their name “Imilla” translates to “young girl.” The group began in 2019 with Dani Santiváñez and two other young women who wanted to break stereotypes of Indigenous people by showing their skill in a competitive sport yet also maintain their connection to their Bolivian culture.

During the 16th century, Spanish conquistadores forced Bolivian women to wear these skirts made in a Spanish style. Later, Bolivian women continued to wear them as a statement of pride in their Indigenous culture. So while these skateboarders are taking the air or banking on cement, they are often wearing their traditional attire of a pleated pollera skirt, blouse and bowler hat. “For us, it is important to be able to know where we come from in order to know who we are. In our case, we are daughters and granddaughters of women in skirts. They are examples of courage and struggle, so we identify with that legacy,” explained Imillaskate member Elinor Buitrago. Skateboarding, she said, is a lesson in persistence: “No matter how many times we fall, we get back up.”

The group has grown to six members, including Estefanny Morales. She said she wants people who attend the Folklife Festival to be able to relate to their example and feel the “importance of the roots that each person has, despite what society imposes.”

Dance and Music

Each dance and song tells a story, including about who performs them. At the festival, visitors will be able to experience a wide range of traditional and contemporary dance and music, from daytime performances by the Dineh Tah’ (Navajo) Dancers and exhilarating Métis fiddling of the Guadry Boys to evening concerts by renown artists such as Seminole and Choctaw hip-hop singers Doc Native and Spencer Battiest. Here is just a sample of the performances that can be enjoyed at the festival.

David Boxley and the Git Hoan Dancers (Tsimshian)

Photo courtesy of David Boxley

David Boxley is a Tsimshian carver, singer and dancer from Metlakatla, Alaska. Boxley has carved 85 totem poles so far, including one that stands in the atrium at the NMAI is Washington, D.C. He also carves the wooden masks worn by the dance group he founded in 1996, Git Hoan (“People of the Salmon”). While dancing to traditional Tsimshian drum songs that Boxley and other members of the group sing, these dancers depict characters in stories of Native Alaska people.

The Git Hoan Dancers performed at the NMAI’s opening celebrations 20 years ago. This year, the Git Hoan performance at the Folklife Festival will feature three generations of dancers, including Boxley’s 7-year-old grandson who plays a Raven character (left). Boxley said having so many generations in the group is critical to them helping to perpetuate the Tsimshian culture. “It’s the privilege of knowing that it’s going to last,” he said. “My mother’s generation, they were suppressed. Not a lot of knowledge about this beautiful culture that we come from [is known], and I’ve spent most of my life trying to revive that.”

Zuni Olla Maidens (Zuni Pueblo)

Photo by Daryl Tom (Diné)

The Zuni Olla Maidens is a dance and singing group known for their unique style of dancing while balancing traditional Pueblo vessels carefully on their heads. The performers practice for months to perfect the technique, and their ability to demonstrate the dance without dropping the ceramic pottery is much more than an impressive feat for spectators.

“We use that pottery to pay homage to our ancestral women who used to get water from nearby watering holes, wells or pools,” explained Juanita Edaakie, who is from the group’s Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. They also used the pottery to carry food or for other chores. She said, “We know it was grueling because you have to carry that big, giant pot on your head more than several times a day.”

Edaakie said her family and fellow Zuni Olla Maidens have enjoyed participating in many celebrations at the NMAI. Five generations of performers have been members of the group so far. “I give thanks to my mother, Cornelia Bowannie, who was the leader before she retired,” Edaakie said. “She taught us everything that we know.”

Sara Curruchich (Maya)

Photo courtesy of Sara Curruchich

Sara Curruchich, a Mayan author, composer and musician from Guatemala, said, “My work lies in wanting to contribute to the world so that the artistic creation of Indigenous peoples that has existed, exists and will always exist. This festival represents for me to be part of a space that promotes inclusion and, above all, the amplification of the music of Indigenous peoples in the world.”

Her folk and rock music springs from her Indigenous Mayan culture. She writes and sings in her Native Kaqchikel language as well as Spanish. “My lyrics, melodies and rhythms are influenced by the experiences, stories and worldview of my people. I seek to enrich and preserve our cultural identity through my music and transmit messages of emancipation, justice, empowerment, resistance and love for our roots,” she said. “My practice as a singer-songwriter and composer is mainly nourished by my connection with nature, life experiences in my town and the study of traditional and contemporary music of Indigenous peoples.”

At the Folklife Festival, Curruchich will perform with an all-women band made up of a marimba, drum and bass player. Curruchich said she wants attendees to take away much more than just a musical experience. Rather, she hopes, “that they can feel a deep connection with the energy and essence of my people, that they feel joy, and that, perhaps even for a moment, they let go of worries and we can celebrate life and cultural diversity. Furthermore, I want them to take with them a message of hope and love, that they perceive the strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples, that they recognize our struggles and also the beauty. I want you to leave with a feeling of inspiration and a reminder that, together, we can create a more inclusive, just and loving world.”