Contemporary Native American art

Learn how Native American artists today are connecting with tradition and looking critically at their history.

1900 C.E.–present

videos + essays

We're adding new content all the time!

Yatika Starr Fields and mural painting
Yatika Starr Fields and mural painting

Yatika Starr Fields grew up in Tahlequah, in northeastern Oklahoma, whose nature and landscape continues to influence his work today.

Rebecca Belmore on <em>Rising to the Occasion</em>
Rebecca Belmore on Rising to the Occasion

Rebecca Belmore (Anishinaabekwe) discuses symbolism within her work "Rising to the Occasion"

Kay WalkingStick, <em>Me and My Neon Box</em>
Kay WalkingStick, Me and My Neon Box

Me and My Neon Box embodies Kay WalkingStick’s process of working through questions about painting, sexuality, gender, and race.

Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, <em>Native Hosts (Arkansas)</em>
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Native Hosts (Arkansas)

Signs to guide historical understanding

What’s in a map? Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s <em>State Names</em>
What’s in a map? Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s State Names

Thinking about our history in a different way helps us rethink our present. 

Wendy Red Star, <em>1880 Crow Peace Delegation</em>
Wendy Red Star, 1880 Crow Peace Delegation

Red Star annotated photographs to restore dignity and context to government-issue photographs of Crow chiefs.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, <em>Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People)</em>
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People)

Smith created this in 1992, responding to the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in North America.

Clarissa Rizal, <em>Resilience Robe</em>
Clarissa Rizal, Resilience Robe

Chilkat weaving has been practiced by Tlingit for hundreds of years; here modernity and tradition weave together.

Contemporary Native American Architecture
Contemporary Native American Architecture

What does Native American architecture look like today?

Selected Contributors