INDIANAPOLIS — Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but many Americans recognize it as Indigenous Peoples' Day to celebrate Native Americans instead. The Eiteljorg Museum commemorated the occasion by offering free admission.
The Eiteljorg Museum has showcased Native American art in White River State Park since 1989 and parts of the museum are curated by Native Americans. Curator Monica Raphael, an artist with Anishinaabe-Sicangu Lakota heritage, guided visitors through the collection for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
"I can share and curate pieces from lived experience that has been passed down from generation to generation," Raphael said. "We remember our ancestors, remember all of their struggles, and everything they had to endure so that we did not become erased."
The museum also featured cultural dances and crafting demonstrations for the holiday.
Eiteljorg Museum director Kathryn Haigh said the institution's goal was to present Native American culture in both the past and present.
"When I went to school, I didn't learn as much about Native Americans," Haigh said. "I learned about the Trail of Tears and different things, but those stories were told to us as if Native Americans were not still here."
Raphael sees Indigenous People's Day as an important reminder to Americans that Native Americans have persevered and are still in society.
"It recognizes the atrocities and the things that were done wrong to my people and other people of color," Raphael said. "Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day is a way to change our world to become a better place."
