North Building, Levels 2 & 3
The American Indian art collection includes more than 18,000 art objects representing the heritage of all cultures and tribes across the United States and Canada. Recognized as one of the best of its kind in the United States, the collection spans more than 2,000 years of artistic creativity, from prehistoric times to the present.
The collection includes diverse artistic traditions such as Pueblo ceramics, Navajo textiles, Northwest Coast sculpture, basketry, Plains beadwork, and oil paintings, representing the full range of American Indian art styles. Over the past 80 years, these artworks have been featured both nationally and internationally in scholarly publications, innovative exhibitions, and educational programs.
Bowl, Maria and Julian Martinez

Martinez uses a matte black on polished black...
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Boy’s Cradleboard

Beadwork is an important American Indian art form.
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Galokwudzuwis mask, George Walkus

This mask represents a bird-monster.
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Plaque, Annie Boone

Boone was the best basket maker of her time.
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Polacca #6, Dan Namingha

Namingha is from a family of artists.
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Rug, Daisy Taugelchee

This rug is made from six miles of yarn.
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Shuffle Off to Buffalo Five, Harry Fonseca

Coyote is the trickster in California Indian lore.
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Sioux Eagle Dancer, Oscar Howe

Howe challenged definitions of Indian art.
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The Things I Have to Do to Maintain Myself, Roxanne Swentzell

Swentzell's sculpture makes the mundane...
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Tipi, Standing Bear

Drawings on this tipi show intertribal battles.
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Wheel, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds

“We are always returning back home again.”
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