Native Pride Productions Inc., led by Larry Yazzie (Meskwaki), performs at the Eiteljorg Indigenous Peoples Day Community Celebration on Oct. 13. (Image/Courtesy Native Pride Productions)

During the Eiteljorg Museum’s annual celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 13, visitors can participate in celebrating the resiliency and vibrancy of North America’s first peoples. The free-admission event includes performances by the acclaimed dance group Native Pride Productions, curator-led gallery tours, art-making activities and more.

“Indigenous Peoples Day highlights the resilience and vibrancy of Native cultures across North America, reminding us that the first inhabitants of this land continue to thrive in contemporary society. At the Eiteljorg, our free Indigenous Peoples Day celebration invites the community to come together in a welcoming space to reflect on the histories and ongoing contributions of Native peoples,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said.

Native Pride Productions, a dance collective based in Jacksonville, Florida, and founded by world champion powwow dancer Larry Yazzie (Meskwaki), will give three one-hour performances Oct. 13. In addition to storytelling and flute music, the group’s three members will perform various powwow dances, including the Fancy Dance, Grass Dance and Jingle Dress Dance, and share about the cultural meanings of each.

The Eiteljorg is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday Oct. 13; events that day are free. Here is the schedule:

  • 11 a.m.: Native Pride Productions performs in the Clowes Sculpture Court
  • 12:10 p.m.: Guided tour of the Native American Galleries exhibition, Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America, led by Monica Jo Raphael (Anishinaabe / Sičáŋğu Lakota), who is the Hoback curator of Great Lakes Native art, cultures and community engagement
  • 1:20 p.m.:  Native Pride Productions performs
  • 2:30 p.m.: Guided tour of the exhibition Voices from the Arctic: Contemporary Inuit Art, led by Dorene Red Cloud (Oglala Lakota), curator of Native American art
  • 2:30 p.m.: Photo opportunities for visitors with members of Native Pride Productions
  • 3:40 p.m.: Native Pride Productions performs.

Throughout the day, visitors of all ages can enjoy volunteer-led art-making activities in the museum’s Eagle Commons. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the Watanabe Gardens and pick up free seed packets of perennials native to Indiana to plant at home.