Events

Meet artists, watch art demonstrations, tour galleries, enjoy intertribal dance performance

Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), Hoback curator of Great Lakes Native art and cultures and tribal liaison, will lead a guided tour of the Eiteljorg exhibition “Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America,” on Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 12.

Oct. 7, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS – Visitors can meet Native artists, tour the Eiteljorg Museum’s galleries, make art and experience intertribal dance during the museum’s Indigenous Peoples Day Community Celebration on Monday, Oct. 12. Admission is free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. New this year is a focus on the arts and cultures of Native peoples of the Great Lakes region.

“Indigenous Peoples Day is a meaningful opportunity for the community to come together, learn from Native artists, appreciate their art and experience the richness of Native cultures of the Midwest and beyond. We welcome everyone to join us at the Eiteljorg Museum for this all-ages, free-admission celebration that creates lasting memories,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said.

Indigenous Peoples Day raises awareness of the many cultures of Native peoples across the United States and emphasizes their continuing resiliency. Observed on the second Monday of October, the holiday provides Americans the opportunity to rethink misconceptions they might have learned as children and better understand the long and continuing histories of Native peoples. Some municipal jurisdictions such as the city of Indianapolis now recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as an official government holiday, as do 17 states.

A performance of intertribal Native dance styles takes place 3:30-5 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Eiteljorg Museum during the free Indigenous Peoples Day Community Celebration. File image by Michael Durr.

Here is the lineup of Eiteljorg Museum events Oct. 12:

Meet the Artists
From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Clowes Sculpture Court, artists Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), Katrina Mitten (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma), David Martin (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), and Dani Tippmann (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma) will take part in a panel discussion, sharing how their cultures and traditions inform their art. Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), Hoback curator of Great Lakes Native art and cultures and tribal liaison, leads the discussion.

Then, from 1 to 4 p.m., visitors can meet artists Jason Wesaw, Katrina Mitten, David Martin, and Dani Tippman, and see them at work during live art demonstrations at their tables in Eagle Commons.

Tour the Galleries and Gardens
Guided tours and a garden talk Oct. 12 offer visitors more ways to connect with the Eiteljorg’s collections:

• 12:45–1:45 p.m.: Dorene Red Cloud (Oglala Lakota), curator of Native art and the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, leads a guided tour of the exhibition Then and Now: Art from the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship.
• 1:30–2:30 p.m.: Dani Tippmann, foods program director at the Cultural Resources Extension Office for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, leads a talk and tour of the Eiteljorg Gardens, focusing on plants used by Native peoples of this region.
• 2:45–3:45 p.m.: Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), Hoback curator of Great Lakes Native art and cultures and tribal liaison, leads a tour of the Native American galleries exhibition, Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America. The exhibition includes remarkable examples of cultural belongings of Native peoples of the Great Lakes region, such as beadwork, quillwork, ribbonwork, basketry, pottery, weavings and carvings, as well as paintings, prints, sculptures and other contemporary art.

Guests will learn about Native art during curator-led gallery tours at the Eiteljorg during the Indigenous Peoples Day Community Celebration, Oct. 12. File image by Michael Durr.

Art-making Opportunities
Throughout the day, visitors can try their hand at art activities in the museum’s studios, including paper bandolier bags, felt projects and 3D paper fish.

Dance performance at 3:30 p.m.
The event wraps up outdoors under The Sails with visiting dancers from several Native nations who will come together in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day to demonstrate a Stomp Dance social.

“The Stomp Dance is a living ceremonial and social dance tradition shared among the Myaamia, Shawnee, Lenape, Peoria, Wyandotte and many other Native communities with homelands in the Great Lakes, many of whom were forcibly removed to present-day Oklahoma,” Raphael said. “In Shawnee the dance is called niikaanekaawe, a word connected to niikaanii, ‘to be in the lead.’ A male leader leads the dance and songs, while other men answer in a call-and-response chorus. Women provide the rhythm with leg shakers, traditionally made from turtle shells and today also made from metal cans. Dancing begins at 3:30 concluding at 5 p.m.”

Admission to all Indigenous Peoples Day programs is free Oct. 12. For further details, visit Eiteljorg.org/events/indigenous-peoples-day. If visitors park in the White River State Park underground garage, the Eiteljorg can validate their parking.

About the Eiteljorg
For more than 37 years, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art has been part of the cultural fabric of Indianapolis and scenic White River State Park. The museum explores the intersection of the arts, histories and cultures of the past and present by sharing the diverse stories of the American West and the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Located on the Central Canal at 500 West Washington St., the Eiteljorg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In 2026, the Eiteljorg was recognized as one of the 10 Best Art Museums in the USA Today Readers’ Choice awards.

A performance of intertribal Native dance styles takes place 3:30-5 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Eiteljorg Museum during the free Indigenous Peoples Day Community Celebration. File image by Michael Durr.

Media Contacts
Bryan Corbin
Public Relations & Content Manager
317.275.1315
bcorbin@eiteljorg.com

Katie Warthan
Director of Communications and Marketing
317.275.1317
kwarthan@eiteljorg.com