Recaps: Indigenous Peoples’ Day + Veterans Day

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

BY SAMANTHA TOLEDO EDUCATION ASSISTANT

On October 10, 2020, the Heard Museum hosted its first in-person event since March 2020, the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with programming dedicated to the Indigenous communities and voices of Arizona. The Heard Museum used a hybrid of in-person and virtual media to welcome our guests back with stringent precautions in order to create a safe, clean, comfortable and enjoyable visit. For the safety of our guests who could not join us in person, former Miss Navajo Nation 2017-18 Crystal Littleben, took to Facebook Live and Instagram to lead our virtual audience on a tour of the museum highlights. One stop of the virtual tour took guests through the warm and melodious guitar tunes from Grammy-nominated artist, Aaron White (Navajo/ Northern Ute).

Another stop led the online viewers to the opening of the museum’s new installation, Behind the Mask: Indigenous Artists Speak Out. The face masks shown in the installation present a blank canvas for artists seeking to bring attention to the devastating effects that the COVID-19 virus has had on Indigenous nations and the population at large. In addition to the opening, remarks were made by Heard Museum Trustee, Ginger Sykes Torres (Navajo), whose family has made and donated 400+ masks to the medical community serving the Navajo Nation.

The museum virtually premiered a YouTube mask-making video with Nizhóníful Me, Caitlin O’Reilly (Navajo), which can be seen on our Heard Museum YouTube channel. Lastly, Indigenous Peoples’ Day closed with a virtual screening of Gather, a film focused on the growing movement among American Indians to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.

Above: Miss Navajo Nation 2017-18 Crystal Littleben waving to online viewers

Army Ranger Kyle Mitchell (Diné) Shaylin Shabi Young (Diné)

ENDURING SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN INDIAN VETERANS

BY MARCUS MONENERKIT | DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

In November, the Heard Museum continued its tribute to Veterans with our 8th annual American Indian Veterans National Memorial celebration. Of course, it took a bit of a turn this past year, and we unfortunately could not invite all of our friends and allies who faithfully support American Veterans year in and year out. But we were ecstatic to present something different this year, and of course it is still something that recognizes and represents the diverse commitment and talent of our local Native community.

As with previous years and keeping with Veteran protocol, the program began with our local drummer, Bo Koinva (Hopi), followed by an invocation by Troy Truax (White Mountain Apache), Commander for American Legion Post 114, the “Bushmasters.” We were thankful to get to work with past participants like Shaylin Shabi Young (Diné), a performer and former Miss Native American USA, who beautifully sang the national anthem in Navajo. We were also pleased and fortunate to once again hear an original story about family, traditions and serving in the armed forces from Army Ranger Kyle Mitchell (Diné). Working on film and video always takes more time than planned, and we also had to navigate social-distancing protocols. Each participant was taped separately over the course of a couple of weeks in late October to keep them in concert with the natural lighting of the afternoon and early evening of late fall.

Producing film and video is an excellent way to share what we do at the Museum, and, of course, we would always rather a person get the authentic experience of being at the Museum. This year we are happy we were able to do the Veteran film and would like to give a big thank-you to TriWest Healthcare Alliance for their continued support as Presenting Sponsor. If you have not watched it yet, the project was taped, archived and presented on YouTube. We hope to see you in November 2021 and for sure in 2022 as we celebrate the 10th annual American Indian Veterans National Memorial tribute.