Smithsonian Magazine Marks Indigenous Peoples' Day with 15 Photographs of Native American Traditions
On Indigenous Peoples' Day, Smithsonian magazine released a photo essay showcasing 15 images that depict Native American life throughout the U.S., captured between 2015 and 2025. The featured locations span Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah. Christopher Carpenter provided four photographs, including one of a Navajo woman in New Mexico and girls at a powwow in Albuquerque. Kevin Shi photographed participants at a powwow in San Diego, while Rebecca Hobert recorded an Apache sunrise ceremony in San Carlos. Additional contributors included Micah Barkley, Helen McLain, Tara Kerzhner, Jeremiah Murphy, Paul Andes, and Benjamin West, a member of the Otoe Missouria Tribe. The essay was edited by Jeff Campagna and Tracy Scott Forson.
Key facts
- Smithsonian magazine published a 15-image photo essay for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
- Photographs were taken between 2015 and 2025 across Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.
- Christopher Carpenter contributed four images, including a Navajo kinaalda ceremony in Gallup and the annual University of Utah Powwow in Salt Lake City.
- Dignity: Of Earth and Sky is a 50-foot stainless steel sculpture near Chamberlain, South Dakota, honoring the Lakota and Dakota people.
- About 7.4 million self-identified Native Americans live in the United States today.
- Benjamin West is an enrolled member of the Otoe Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma, also Southern Cheyenne and Muscogee Creek.
- The Oglala Lakota Nation Fair and Rodeo is held annually in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
- The essay was edited by Jeff Campagna and Tracy Scott Forson of Smithsonian magazine.
Entities
Artists
- Micah Barkley
- Christopher Carpenter
- Helen McLain
- Kevin Shi
- Tara Kerzhner
- Rebecca Hobert
- Karineh Gurjian
- Benjamin West
- Jeremiah Murphy
- Michael Benanav
- Paul Andes
- Jonas Rydell
- Antoninette
- Bart Stevens
- DelShay Henio
- Jeff Campagna
- Tracy Scott Forson
Institutions
- Smithsonian magazine
- Muscogee Creek Nation
- Navajo Nation
- Coeur d'Alene
- Nimiipuu (Nez Perce)
- Otoe Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma
- Southern Cheyenne
- Lakota
- Dakota
- Apache
- University of Utah
Locations
- Nashville
- Tennessee
- United States
- Potomac River
- Lake Erie
- Shenandoah
- Denali
- Michigan
- Ohio
- New Mexico
- Chamberlain
- South Dakota
- San Diego
- California
- Idaho
- San Carlos
- Arizona
- Gallup
- Albuquerque
- New York City
- New York
- Florida
- Salt Lake City
- Utah
- Pine Ridge
- Montana