- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
This week and next, there’s an abundance of Indigenous film, storytelling, art, games and Native humor happening in Indian Country.
For starters, multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist Gregg Deal curates a special exhibition of contemporary Native American artists and performs “The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy” at the Longmont Museum in Colorado. Plus, there are Native games to be played and watched in DC, New York and New Hampshire.
Here is Native News Online’s weekly round-up of arts, culture and entertainment offerings around Indian Country.
Make A Donation Here
Feature Film Friday: “Native America”
Friday, Jan. 27, 3:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Lake Forest, IL
At the intersection of modern scholarship and Native knowledge is a new vision of the Americas and the people who built it. Rated R. This event is part of Native Voices, the community-wide initiative to illuminate the historic legacy, current lives, and ongoing contributions of Native Americans in Lake Forest and Lake Count
History is Fun: Native American Storytelling
Saturday, Jan. 28, 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.
Rankin, PA
Join Miguel Sague Jr. of the Taino Nation and board member of the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center for an afternoon of storytelling and learning. This event will require a reservation because each child registered will leave with a book for their age group.
Winter Blast: A Day of Indigenous Games
Saturday, Jan. 28, 11:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m.
New York, NY
Warm up on a cold winter’s day playing Native games from across the Western Hemisphere. Try your hand at Inuit yo-yo, ring and pin, Hawaiian chess, hoop throwing, and more.
Winter Blast: A Day of Indigenous Games
Saturday, Jan. 28, 10:00 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
Games can be fun as well as teach important life skills. Jeremy Red Eagle (Sisseton Wahpeton) from the International Traditional Games Society, Julia Garcia (Aymara), and members of the Native Hawaiian school Hālau O‘Aulani, share Indigenous games from the Great Plains, Bolivia, and Hawai’i.
How Tribal Nations Can Lead the Way to a Renewable Energy Future
Friday, Jan. 27, 4:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Minneapolis, MN
Join for a conversation between Solar Bear founder and CEO Robert “Bob” Blake and Indigenous Energy Initiative founder Chéri Smith on the different ways tribal nations can lead and benefit from pursuing renewable energy as an economic and environmental driver for their community and the wider world.
Creations of Spirit
Saturday, Jan. 28 — Oct. 1
Bend, OR
Six Native artists commissioned for this new, original exhibition are creating artwork that will be used in Native communities before arriving at the Museum. A seventh artist is creating an interactive piece for the center of the gallery. Creations of Spirit will be a one-of-a-kind, celebratory experience featuring the stories of these living works of art. Videos, audio and large projections will immerse visitors in the landscapes and communities in which these objects are used, highlighting the theme of artwork as alive, full of stories and created for specific purposes and people. The original works will be supplemented with nine cultural items on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Abenaki Snow Snake Games
Saturday, Jan. 28, 10:00 a.m. — Noon
Keene, NH
For more than a thousand years, when winter blanketed the land, indigenous people engaged in snow snake games. The games are making a comeback and you’re invited to join in the festivities taking place on Saturday, February 11, at the Millet Green in Alstead. The games begin with a sacred fire, a smudging/blessing and a good native yell to cheer on the competitors.
In preparation for the games, join Chief and Elder Paul (Gwilawato) Bunnell, Tribal Genealogist, at the Monadnock Food Coop on January 28th from 10am-12 noon, to learn about the rich Abenaki culture while crafting a snow snake. This special workshop is hosted by The Monadnock Co-op, Ko'askek (Co'wasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation, and The Sustainability Project. Materials and light refreshments will be provided.
Virtual Zoom Tour: Thaw Collection of American Indian Art
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2:00 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.
Zoom
Fenimore Art Museum’s Thaw Collection of American Indian Art showcases incredible examples of Native American artistry, craftsmanship, and ingenuity from across North America. Basketry, masks, weapons, clothing, ceramics, weavings, and much more spanning dozens of cultures and hundreds of years is featured in our Thaw Gallery. Join Assistant Curator Julia Madore on a special virtual Zoom tour of this stunning and important collection, followed by a live question and answer session.
Duality: Contemporary Works by Indigenous Artists
Saturday, Jan. 27 — May 23
Longmont, CO
The Longmont Museum is excited to welcome nationally-recognized activist and artist Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) as guest curator of a new contemporary Native American art exhibition presenting the work of locally and nationally-known Indigenous American artists.
Duality: Contemporary Works by Indigenous Artists showcases unique and authentic artists who highlight the resurgence of contemporary art for Native people in recent years, including Virgil Ortiz, Nicholas Galanin, JayCee Beyale, Danielle SeeWalker, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Natani Notah, April Holder, Gregg Deal, Chelsea Kaiah, and Steven Yazzie.
Art featured in the show includes paintings, ceramics, sculpture, beadwork, video, and more.
Deal is a multi-disciplinary artist, activist, and “disruptor” whose work is informed by his Native identity. His art includes exhaustive critiques of American society, politics, popular culture, and history.
A major goal of the exhibition is to remind people that Native Americans exist in present-day society and that they are participants in the contemporary art world. According to Deal, visitors will see something different than what they have come to expect from Native American art.
The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy
Thursday, Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m.
Longmont, CO
A music-themed talk and performance piece by Indigenous artist, activist and curator of the Museum’s Duality exhibition Gregg Deal. Focused on the music that has moved him throughout his life, Gregg delivers stories and anecdotes that follow a timeline of struggle, survival, and ultimately healing through the power of music. At times upsetting, dramatic and funny, the performance traces how music has affected Gregg’s life from his earliest memories to the present.
Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) is a multi-disciplinary artist, activist, and "disruptor." His work is informed by his Native identity and includes exhaustive critiques of American society, politics, popular culture and history. Through paintings, murals, performance work, filmmaking, spoken word, and more, Deal invites the viewer to confront these issues both in the present and the past tense.
More Stories Like This
"Your'e No Indian" Examines the Disenrollment IssueAgua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to Open New Exhibition: Section 14 – The Untold Story
Actor Jonathan Joss, Voice of John Redcorn, Killed in Texas Shooting
Celebrate Summer and Father’s Day at the Chickasaw Cultural Center – June 14
After 30 Years, Berkeley's Turtle Island Monument Foundation Will Be Built
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
