Eiteljorg Museum Shares Amazing Stories of American Indians and Western Art

Bruce LaFountain’s Wisdom Keepers sculpture at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

The motto, “telling amazing stories,” couldn’t be more fitting for the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis.

“The diversity of Native America and the American West are takeaways for every guest,” says Bryan Corbin, the museum’s public relations manager. “One comment we often hear from first-time visitors is their epiphany when they realize Native peoples in North America comprise hundreds of Native nations, each with their own language and culture.”

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Because Native peoples have always been and are still here today, their art isn’t relegated to the historic past.

“Native art is dynamic, vibrant and on a continuum from the earliest times to today, and Native artists today are on the cutting edge of 21st-century contemporary art,” Corbin says.

Visitors can experience examples of Native beadwork, ribbonwork, jewelry, pottery, basketry, paintings, works on paper, sculptures, carvings, glass art and mixed media. Art of the American West by diverse artists also is on view. In addition, the Eiteljorg offers permanent and temporary exhibitions and public programs throughout the year.

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Permanent Exhibitions

The reconstruction and reinstallation of the museum’s Native American Galleries, which reopened in June 2022 on the second floor, features the popular ongoing exhibit, Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America.

“This is a bold departure from past exhibitions visitors might have seen,” Corbin says. “In Expressions of Life, Native people are the authorities of their own stories. Artworks are not organized geographically; instead, Native art is presented through the themes of relation, continuation and innovation.”

For example, one room’s theme is “Connected by Water,” which highlights Native art from the Great Lakes and surrounding areas.

Recently reconstructed, the Native American Galleries features the popular ongoing exhibit Expressions of Life: Native Art in North America. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

The new Native American Galleries entrance contains audio greetings recorded in the languages of the Native peoples of Indiana, the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Peoria and Kickapoo.

The first piece visitors see is a shimmering hanging installation paying homage to the Miami peoples’ emergence story by 2019 Eiteljorg Fellowship artist Hannah Claus.

Highlights from the museum’s first-floor Western Art Galleries include a large three-panel oil painting titled October Suite: Grand Canyon from 1991 by Wilson Hurley and a realistic oil portrait of a bison submerged in water titled Stillwater Crossing from 2009 by Daniel Smith.

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Immersive exhibits allow for hands-on fun in the children’s area of the museum. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Traveling Exhibits

Visitors to the Eiteljorg Museum in 2023 can experience temporary or traveling exhibits, including Changing Views: The Photography of Dorothea Lange. Running from March 4 to Aug. 6, the exhibit of Lange’s images explores the roles of contemporary photographers.

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

“Dorothea Lange was a New Deal documentary photographer whose iconic 1936 photo titled Migrant Mother captured the plight of families uprooted by the Great Depression,” Corbin says. “Her images of what was happening in the West were instrumental in changing government policy.”

The museum’s Contemporary Native Art 101, featuring pieces by past Eiteljorg Fellows and other renowned Native contemporary artists, runs through March 12.

And the biennial Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship opens Nov. 11 and runs through March 2024. The exhibit will include works by five important contemporary Native artists and will feature beadwork, sculptures, works on paper, mixed media and photographs.

“Visitors will have opportunities to meet the artists and learn more about contemporary Native art,” Corbin says.

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis invites visitors to immerse themselves in Native art from the earliest of times through present day. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Eventful Happenings

The Eiteljorg Museum offers public programs year-round.

Slated for Oct. 21, the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) Community Celebration provides free music, dance and cultural presentations in celebration of the holiday and Mexican and Mexican-American communities.

The 31st annual Indian Market and Festival will be June 24 and 25. More than 100 Native artists from across North America will show and sell their art. The festival includes Native music and dance performances and cultural presentations.

The 18th annual Quest for the West® Art Show and Sale takes place Sept. 8 and 9. It brings 50 top Western American genre artists to the Eiteljorg for a fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sale. Pieces will be displayed through Oct. 8.

Visit the museum Nov. 18 through Jan. 15, 2024, to enjoy the 14th annual Fifth Third Bank Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure. This whimsical holiday model train display features backdrops made from natural materials such as bark, pine cones and moss. Trains ramble amid miniatures of Indianapolis buildings and American West landmarks.

Alongside the special events and museum exhibits, visitors of all ages can enjoy the Nina Mason Pulliam Education Center featuring the R.B. Annis Western Family Experience and the Stephen and Sharon Zimmerman Resource Center. Shop at the Frank and Katrina Basile Museum Store, dine at the museum’s cafe or rent the Allen Whitehill Clowes Sculpture Court for special events.

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