Indianapolis Eiteljorg museum spotlights Indigenous Peoples’ Day
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Many Hoosiers are putting a spotlight on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Today, on the calendar, is known as both Columbus Day and, more passionately for many, Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
On Monday, a group got together at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art to celebrate their invaluable contributions to the community.
Nicole Lopez, an Indianapolis resident, said, “I want other people to know and recognize that there were other people here, that there were other cultures that were thriving and living their lives.”
For Lopez, Indigenous Peoples Day is not just an ordinary day. “We’re from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and so I never really lived there or grew up, but it was really important to my mom and my girls are really close to their grandma and so we just wanted to come and celebrate,” Lopez said.
Lopez lives in Indianapolis with her two daughters.
The trio got together with dozens of people at the Eiteljorg museum to celebrate the contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples. It was part of a tour that was led by curator Dorene Red Cloud.
Lopez said, “I really just want to keep that part of their heritage alive for them, so that they kind of know where their grandma came from, how she grew up, and her life, and that heritage and just sort of keep that alive and strong for them.”
Elisa Phelps, the vice president and chief curatorial officer at Eiteljorg Museum, said, “For so many years, with Columbus Day having been celebrated at this time, we really wanted to focus on the native peoples of North America.”
The tour focused on Native American and First Nations art in the new exhibit, “Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America.” It takes a look at perceptions and stereotypes of native peoples as well as works created by Indigenous artists.
The museum also urges visitors to rethink American history.
“Even in the face of removal and attempts to annihilate the culture, people continue to create and produce, and to retain their culture and their arts,” Phelps said.