Learn about two types of totem poles from the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest Coast that memorialize individuals who have passed
Native American art after c. 1500
In the Arctic, where temperatures are below freezing for most of the year, warm clothing is of great importance.
Arctic clothing
A 19th-century totem pole from Old Kasaan village of the Haida helps us to understand the meaning and function of clan crests.
Haida Totem Pole, from Old Kasaan
Pueblo architecture reveals a close connection to the surrounding landscape and to Pueblo culture.
Pueblo architecture and its relationship to place
From quills to beads: the bandolier bag
The bandolier bag
This one-of-a-kind suitcase tells the surprising story of an artist, a wedding, and a people.
Nellie Two Bear Gates, Suitcase
What most American students learn about as Custer's Last Stand was the last great victory for the Lakota people.
Henry Oscar One Bull, Custer’s War
This outfit was likely made for a British lieutenant and gifted to him in a ritual exchange to show mutual respect.
Global trade and an 18th-century Anishinaabe outfit
Nampeyo found inspiration from the old to create a pottery style that was entirely new and highly sought after.
Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa), polychrome jar
Six bears were required to create this necklace, meant imbue the Pawnee chief with protection and power.
Bear Claw Necklace (Pawnee)
Martinez’s distinctive style developed from studying Southwestern pottery and Modernist abstraction.
Julian Martinez, Buffalo Dancers
The artist used Spanish coins as models for the coats of arms woven into this basket in California, then New Spain.
Juana Basilia Sitmelelene, Presentation Basket (Chumash)
The Yup’ik peoples, in one of the world’s coldest climates, made these ceremonial masks during the long winters.
North Wind Mask
Too many assumptions persist about Native American arts and cultures—start here to disentangle fact from fiction.
Terms and Issues in Native American Art
“Native American” is a broad term encompassing many diverse groups—learn how we organize this section.
About geography and chronological periods in Native ...
Wearers can toggle between the faces of animals and mythical beings—all with the tug of a string.
Transformation masks
Faced with mass production, Maria Martinez continued hand-making pottery as art rather than utilitarian vessels.
Puebloan: Maria Martinez, Black-on-black ceramic vessel
Coachella style has perpetuated stereotypes—but war bonnets have important cultural and spiritual significance.
Feathered war bonnet
Hide painting, a long tradition among Great Basin and Great Plains peoples, was adapted to appeal to tourists.
Eastern Shoshone: Hide Painting of the Sun ...
These bags imitated the ones European soldiers carried their ammunition in, and were worn during ceremonies.
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