INDIANAPOLIS — Oct. 9, 2023, is Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Celebrated the second Monday in October each year, the observance and celebration highlights the vibrancy, resilience and immeasurable impact Native peoples have made across the world.
The Eiteljorg Museum in downtown Indianapolis is offering free admission to all visitors Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visitors can attend curator-led tours of the museum's new Native American Galleries, featuring the exhibition "Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America." The first tour begins at 11 a.m. with Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), and the second tour begins at 3 p.m. with curator of Native American art Dorene Red Cloud (Oglala Lakota).
"While I celebrate my culture daily, on Indigenous People's Day, I pay homage to my ancestors," Raphael said. "Despite failed attempts by the U.S. government to terminate our culture, language, and beliefs through forced removal from our original homelands — and despite forced separation of Native children to be taken away to boarding schools where they were abused, murdered and forever changed from what Creator originally meant for them — we the First Peoples and Indigenous Peoples of this land are still here."
David Boxley; artist, culture-bearer and storyteller; and Kandi McGilton; basket weaver and language revivalist; will be at the museum throughout the day for programming and demonstrations.
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