Education Program

The Museum Education Department’s public programs and events are open to both Museum members and non-members. Museum members will receive a discounted fee as a benefit of membership.

Culture, Community and Spirit Project

In 2006, the IAIA Museum received a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for its Culture, Community and Spirit Project.

The project is a multi-faceted, replicable educational outreach program designed to increase community engagement with Indigenous perspectives and the ways these perspectives can speak to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Premised on creative conversations between the Native and non-Native communities, the program will be accomplished through childrens’ storytelling events which utilize Native elders’ voices, a children’s activity book and a Conversations to Remember panel series for adults.

Conversations to Remember Panel Series

Conversations to Remember provides an opportunity for dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews. Panel discussions feature participants from different disciplines, perspectives and cultural backgrounds. Discussions will focus on contemporary art expression, human creativity, and the value of knowledge contained within culture.

Archived Education Programs can be found here:

Our Indian Princess Discussion with Dr. Nancy Mithlo and Special Guests

Held November 15, 2009, Author, educator and curator Dr. Nancy Marie Mithlo (Apache) led a panel discussion on Native women in the arts entitled, Our Indian Princess – Subverting the Stereotype: A Discussion. Panelists included IAIA alumnae Laura Fragua Cota (Jemez Pueblo), Tammy Rahr (Cayuga) and Gloria Emerson (Navajo). They explored common misconceptions about Native art and artists, the power of stereotypes and how visual referents communicate across cultural divides. Click here to listen to this panel discussion.

Members’ Lunch with the Curator: Ryan Rice

Held November 7, 2009, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts members were treated to a lunch with Curator of Exhibitions and Programs, Ryan Rice (Mohawk). Rice curated the Museum exhibit Scout’s Honour. Members Lunch with Ryan Rice

Fritz Scholder: A Curatorial Perspective

Held August 22, 2008, 11am-1pm at the IAIA Museum Art Park
Panelists included Joseph Sanchez (Pueblo/Hispanic), Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Gerald McMaster, PhD (Plains Cree), Curator of Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario and Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche), Associate Curator, National Museum of the American Indian

Voices from the Mound: Contemporary Choctaw

Held March 6, 2008, 6pm at the IAIA Museum Main Gallery
Selected artist panelists included Marcus Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Roger Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/Cherokee), Norma Howard (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), and curator/moderator Tatiana Lomahaftewa-Singer, (Hopi/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

The Culture, Community and Spirit Project is made possible by: