- Details
- By Tamara Ikenberg
This weekend and next week, there are hundreds of ways to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, aka Native American Day, throughout real-world and virtual Indian Country.
Monday Oct. 12 is the official day, but events are occurring all weekend. Native News Online has selected a handful of unique holiday happenings to help you plan your perfect Indiegenous Peoples' Day.
The Crazy Horse Memorial in Crazy Horse, South Dakota, during a laser light show. (blackhillsbadlands.com)
Crazy Horse Memorial’s Native Americans’ Day Celebration
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. MDT
WHERE: Crazy Horse Memorial, 12151 Avenue of the Chiefs Crazy Horse, SD; crazyhorsememorial.org
At the Crazy Horse Memorial, celebrants will enjoy Native singing and dancing, special displays, a hearty buffalo stew lunch, and the presentation of the annual Crazy Horse Memorial Educator of the Year Award, all under the majestic mountain carving of the legendary Oglala Lakota warrior
“Crazy Horse Memorial’s Native Americans’ Day celebration gives us the opportunity to take a moment to recognize the differences, and also the similarities, among people,” said Monique Ziolkowski, Crazy Horse Memorial’s chief executive officer, in a press release. “We are blessed to be able to be a part of many cultures.”
This year’s Educator of The Year award winner is Jill D. Kessler, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who works as a certified school counselor at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High 
This year's virtual Tulsa Native American Day includes a virtual art market starting on Sunday, Oct. 11. (Tulsa Native American Day Facebook page)School in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
Admission to the Memorial will be waived on Oct. 12 with a donation of three cans of food per person. Without the donation, regular admission rates of $12 per person will apply.
Tulsa Native American Day Virtual Art Market
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 11 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. CDT
WHERE: Check Facebook event page for details.
Add some shopping to your celebration list at the first Tulsa Native American Day Virtual Art Market, hosted by Oklahoma Indian Festival and Tulsa Native American Day. Artists will share their stories and sell their work during the event, which will feature live interactions via Zoom with artists and vendors, is the prelude to Tulsa Native American Day.
Alaska Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration
WHEN: Monday, Oct.12, 11 a.m – 12:30 p.m. PDT
WHERE: Check Facebook event page for details.
Sovereign Bill, the voice of Molly Mabray on "Molly of Denali," will be part of Alaska's virtual Indiegenous Peoples' Day Celebration. (Molly of Denali Facebook page)
Experience Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Alaska style, at a virtual celebration presented by organizations including Alaska Pacific University, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
Participants will have the pleasure of virtually meeting Tlingit and Muckleshoot artist and community organizer Sovereign Bill, the voice of Molly Mabray on the PBS Kids series “Molly of Denali.” Sovereign Bill will emcee the celebration along with Alaska Native linguist Rochelle Adams (Gwich'in).
The event will also feature a performance by Yup’ik musician Martin Paul and appearances by Alaska luminaries like Alaska State Writer Laureate Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes (Tlingit), and Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.
The Heard Museum in Phoenix will host and Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 10. (truewestmagazine.com)
Heard Museum Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. PDT
WHERE: Heard Museum, 2301 N Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ; https://heard.org
Santa Fe Indian Center will host Indiegenous Peoples' Day celebration at The Motorama at Downs Santa Fe on Monday, Oct. 12. (Sante Fe Indian Center)Part virtual, part in-person, the Heard’s take on Indigenous Peoples’ Day features an outside musical performance by Grammy nominated artist, Aaron White (Navajo/Northern Ute), the opening of the "Behind the Mask: Indigenous Artists Speak Out" installation, and a virtual screening of the newly released film, “Gather,” a documentary about cultural identity and food sovereignty.
Indigenous Peoples Day at Motorama
WHEN: Monday October 12, 3:30 p.m. MDT
WHERE: Motorama at The Downs Santa Fe, 27475 W Frontage Rd, Santa Fe, NM Tickets are $15. Order here. There will be no on-site tickets sold.
What does Santa Fe Indian Center have in store for Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
A night at the movies, complemented with performances by Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Hoop Dancers, Diné singer Nadine Oglesby, Indiegenous dance company Dancing Earth, and more.
At 7 p.m. there will be a screening of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” a 2016 film about a Lakota Elder who enlists a white writer to help him produce a book about his people.
The book "Journey of the Freckled Indian: A Tlingit Culture Story" by Alyssa London (Tlingit,Haida) will be discussed during a virtual event on Indigenous Peoples' Day. (Culture Story Facebook page)
A Conversation About Indigenous Identity & Solidarity Today
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m..
WHERE: Facebook event page
In the new children’s book “The Journey of the Freckled Indian," an Indigenous schoolgirl named Freckles connects with her Tlingit heritage. You can learn more about her journey, and the work of Tlingit author Alyssa London at a book launch event and special celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day. London will be joined by the book’s illustrator Monica Ricker-Bolter, (daughter of Native News Online publisher Levi Rickert) and Northwest formline artist Preston Singletary, who provided the book’s Pacific Northwest Coast formline art. The creative team will discuss modern indigenous identity and solidarity with Debra Yepa-Pappan, Community Engagement Coordinator at Chicago's Field Museum.”
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsUS Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Native News Weekly (August 4, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Red Hoop Talk: Native Stories, Real Conversations
NEXT ON NATIVE BIDASKÉ: The Tribe Said No - Her Own People Refused Her
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
