Visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas includes the creative works made by Indigenous peoples of the Americas from long ago until today. These people live in many places, such as South America, North America (which includes Central America and Greenland), and even the Siberian Yupiit, who share culture with Native Alaskan Yupiit.

Major cultural areas of the pre-Columbian Americas: Arctic Northwest Aridoamerica Mesoamerica Isthmo-Colombian Caribbean Amazon Andes. This map does not show Greenland, which is part of the Arctic cultural area.

Their art comes in many forms, both small and large. Small works can be painting, basketry, textiles, or photography. Big works include architecture, land art, public sculpture, and murals. Some of these, like quillwork using porcupine quillwork or birchbark biting, are special to the Americas.

People from Europe began collecting this art after they first met Indigenous peoples in 1492. These artworks ended up in special collections and museums. Today, many scholars and friends of Indigenous peoples work to make sure this art is seen and understood from the Indigenous way of thinking.

Lithic and Archaic stage

The Lithic stage or Paleo-Indian period happened from about 18,000 to 8,000 BCE. The Archaic period followed, from around 8000 to 800 BCE. During these times, people made art from many materials, but only a few things made from plants or animal hides have survived until today.

Some of the oldest known art in the Americas comes from this time. One example is a carved bone, possibly from a large ancient animal, showing the shape of that animal. It was found in Vero Beach, Florida and is about 11,000 years old. Another old object is the Cooper Bison Skull from around 8,050 BCE, which is the oldest known painted thing in North America. In South America, rock paintings from the Monte Alegre culture at Caverna da Pedra Pintada are from about 9250 to 8550 BCE. Guitarrero Cave in Peru has some of the earliest known fabrics, dating to 8000 BCE.

The southwestern United States and parts of the Andes mountains have many painted and carved pictures on rocks from this time. These are called pictographs and Petroglyphs, and they are a type of rock art.

A petroglyph of a group of [bighorn sheep](/wiki/Bighorn_sheep) near [Moab, Utah](/wiki/Moab,_Utah), United States; a common theme in glyphs from the southwestern [desert](/wiki/Desert)

North America

Arctic

See also: Inuit art and Alaska Native Art

The Yup'ik of Alaska have a long history of carving masks for special events. Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Arctic have created art since the time of the Dorset culture. The art of the Thule people who came after them around 1000 CE was more for decoration.

When Europeans arrived, Inuit art changed a lot. In the late 1800s, Inuit artists made souvenirs for whaling ship crews and explorers. Common items included games. Modern Inuit art began in the late 1940s when, with government help, they started making prints and sculptures to sell. In the mid-1900s, Inuit printmaking became very popular after James A. Houston set up a printmaking studio in Kinngait in 1957.

Greenlandic Inuit have a special way of making textiles using animal skins and small pieces of dyed ocean animal parts in colorful designs, called avittat. Women make beautiful beaded necklaces. They also have a strong tradition of mask-making and create special objects called tupilaq.

Inuit art from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland

Baleen basket with whale tooth finial, by George Omnik (Iñupiaq), Alaska; Honolulu Museum of Art (Hawaii, USA)

A carved representation of a [tupilaq](/wiki/Tupilaq), from Greenland

[Yup'ik](/wiki/Yup'ik) mask; from Alaska; [Musée du quai Branly](/wiki/Musée_du_quai_Branly) (Paris)

Toy Angakkuq (shaman); 6 February 1998; [serpentine](/wiki/Serpentinite), [caribou](/wiki/Caribou) bone & feathers; by Palaya Qiatsuq

Subarctic

Cultures in interior Alaska and Canada south of the Arctic Circle are Subarctic peoples. The oldest known art from this area is a rock carving in northwest Ontario, dating to 5000 BCE. Caribou, and sometimes moose, were important for providing materials for art. Porcupine quillwork decorated hides and birch bark. After contact with Europeans, moosehair tufting and floral glass beadwork became popular in the Subarctic.

21st-century [Athabaskan](/wiki/Athabaskan) moosehair tufting on beaded hide box,

[Fairbanks, Alaska](/wiki/Fairbanks,_Alaska)

[Tsuu T'ina](/wiki/Tsuu_T'ina) painted hide tipi,  
[Alberta](/wiki/Alberta), Canada

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Man's hide jacket. The floral designs' stems feature "thorny" beadwork, typical of the Subarctic, Museum of Anthropology at UBC

Northwest Coast

Main article: Northwest Coast art

The art of the Haida, Tlingit, Heiltsuk, Tsimshian and other tribes living along the coast of Washington state, Oregon, and British Columbia, is known for its complex styles, mainly in wood carving. Famous examples include totem poles, transformation masks, and canoes. After contact with Europeans, painting and engraved jewelry in silver, gold, and copper also became important.

The [Chief Johnson totem pole](/wiki/Chief_Johnson_totem_pole) in [Ketchikan](/wiki/Ketchikan), Alaska, in the [Tlingit](/wiki/Tlingit_people) style

._Thunderbird_Transformation_Mask,_19th_century.jpg)

'Namgis thunderbird transformation mask, 19th century, cedar, pigments, leather, nails, metal plate, 71 in. wide when open, Brooklyn Museum, NY

Haida argillite carving; 1850–1900; from [Haida Gwaii](/wiki/Haida_Gwaii); [National Museum of the American Indian](/wiki/National_Museum_of_the_American_Indian)

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Cedar bark hat; Nuu-chah-nulth; Museum of the Americas (Madrid, Spain)

Eastern Woodlands

Northeastern Woodlands

The Eastern Woodlands, or simply woodlands, cultures lived in areas east of the Mississippi River for at least 2500 years. Many different cultures lived there, but they shared the practice of burying their dead in mounds, which helped preserve a lot of their art. These cultures are often called the Mound builders.

The Woodland period (1000 BCE–1000 CE) had early, middle, and late periods. Cultures in this time mostly hunted and gathered for food. Ceramics from the Deptford culture (2500 BCE–100 CE) are the earliest art in this area. The Adena culture carved stone tablets with animal designs, made pottery, and created costumes from animal hides and antlers for special events. Shellfish was a main part of their diet, and engraved shells have been found in their burial mounds.

The Middle Woodland period (200–500 CE) was led by cultures of the Hopewell tradition. Their artwork included many types of jewelry and sculpture made from stone, wood, and even human bone.

The Late Woodland period (500–1000 CE) saw less trade and smaller settlements, and art creation also decreased.

From the 12th century onward, the Haudenosaunee and nearby coastal tribes made wampum from shells and string; these were used for memory, as money, and to record treaties.

Iroquois people carve False Face masks for healing events, but the traditional leaders of the tribes, the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee, say these masks are not for sale or public display. The same is true for Iroquois Corn Husk Society masks.

Art from the Eastern woodlands of North America

One famous sculptor from the mid-1800s was Edmonia Lewis (African American / Ojibwe). Two of her works are in the Newark Museum.

Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands continued to create art through the 20th and 21st centuries. One such artist is Sharol Graves, whose prints have been shown at the National Museum of the American Indian. Graves also illustrated The People Shall Continue from Lee & Low Books.

Southeastern Woodlands

The Poverty Point culture lived in parts of Louisiana from 2000 to 1000 BCE during the Archaic period. Many objects found at Poverty Point were made from materials that came from far away, including stone tools, gorgets and vessels, and shell and stone beads. Stone tools were made from materials from the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains and from the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys. Vessels were made from soapstone from the Appalachian foothills of Alabama and Georgia.

The Mississippian culture lived in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from about 800 CE to 1500 CE. After growing corn, the Mississippian culture became fully farming-based, unlike earlier cultures that also hunted and gathered. They built platform mounds larger and more complex than before, and developed better ceramic techniques, often using ground mussel shell as a tempering agent. Many were part of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a network for religion and trade across regions and languages. Most of what we know about this complex comes from the detailed artworks left behind, including pottery, shell gorgets and cups, stone statuary, repoussé copper plates such as the Wulfing cache, Rogan plates, and Long-nosed god maskettes. By the time Europeans arrived, Mississippian societies were facing serious problems, and with political changes and diseases from Europeans, many of these societies collapsed, though some, like the Plaquemine culture Natchez and related Taensa peoples, survived. Other tribes descended from Mississippian cultures include the Caddo, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, Wichita, and many other southeastern peoples.

A lot of wooden objects from before Europeans arrived have been found in Florida. While the oldest wooden objects are up to 10,000 years old, carved and painted wooden objects are known only from the last 2,000 years. Animal figures and face masks have been found at many sites in Florida. Animal figures from between 200 and 600 CE were found in a burial pond at Fort Center, on the west side of Lake Okeechobee. A very impressive 66 cm tall carving of an eagle is especially notable.

More than 1,000 carved and painted wooden objects, including masks, tablets, plaques and figures, were found in 1896 at Key Marco, in southwestern Florida. These are considered some of the finest prehistoric Native American art in North America. The objects are not well dated, but may belong to the first millennium of the current era. Spanish missionaries described similar masks and figures used by the Calusa late in the 1600s, and at the former Tequesta site on the Miami River in 1743, though no examples of Calusa objects from historic times have survived. A style of southern Florida figures is known from wooden and bone carvings from various sites in the Belle Glade, Caloosahatchee, and Glades culture areas. The Miami Circle, a Tequesta site showing a nearly perfect circle, was found in 1998.

The Seminoles are best known for their textile work, especially patchwork clothing. Doll-making is another important craft.

The West

Great Plains

Tribes have lived on the Great Plains for thousands of years. Early Plains cultures are usually divided into four periods: Paleoindian (at least c. 10,000–4000 BCE), Plains Archaic (c. 4000–250 BCE), Plains Woodland (c. 250 BCE–950 CE), Plains Village (c. 950–1850 CE). The oldest known painted object in North America was found in the southern plains, the Cooper Bison Skull, found in Oklahoma and dated 10,900–10,200 BCE. It is painted with a red zig-zag.

In the Plains Village period, the cultures of the area lived in clusters of rectangular houses and grew corn. Different areas had their own styles, including Southern Plains, Central Plains, Oneota, and Middle Missouri. Tribes were both hunters on the move and farmers with homes. During the Plains Coalescent period (1400-European contact) changes, possibly drought, caused many people to move to the Eastern Woodlands, and the Great Plains had few people until American settlers pushed tribes back into the area.

The arrival of the horse changed the lives of many Plains tribes. Horse culture let tribes live completely on the move, hunting buffalo. Buffalo hide clothing was decorated with porcupine quill embroidery and beads – dentalium shells and elk teeth were valued materials. Later, coins and glass beads from trade were also used. Plains beadwork continues today.

Buffalo was the main material for Plains hide painting. Men painted stories and pictures of their achievements or visions. They also painted pictures known as Winter counts. Women painted designs on tanned robes and rawhide parfleches, which sometimes served as maps.

During the Reservation Era of the late 1800s, buffalo herds were destroyed by non-native hunters. With few hides available, Plains artists used new surfaces like muslin or paper, creating Ledger art, named for the ledger books often used by Plains artists.

Great Basin and Plateau

Since ancient times, the Plateau region, also called the Intermontaine and upper Great Basin, has been a center of trade. Plateau people usually lived near major rivers. Because of this, their art shows influences from other areas – from the Pacific Northwest coasts and Great Plains. Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, and Cayuse women weave flat, rectangular bags from corn husks or hemp dogbane, decorated with bold, geometric designs in false embroidery. Plateau beadworkers are known for their contour-style beading and elaborate horse decorations.

Great Basin tribes have a strong tradition of basket making, as shown by Dat So La Lee/Louisa Keyser (Washoe), Lucy Telles, Carrie Bethel and Nellie Charlie. After being forced from their lands by non-Native settlers, Washoe weavers sold baskets, especially from 1895 to 1935. Paiute, Shoshone and Washoe basketmakers are known for baskets with seed beads and waterproof baskets.

Basket by [Carrie Bethel](/wiki/Carrie_Bethel) ([Mono Lake Paiute](/wiki/Mono_Lake_Paiute)), California, 30" diam., c. 1931-35

California

The Native Americans of California used different materials and forms for their traditional designs in artifacts that show their history and culture. Some traditional art forms and archaeological evidence include basketry, painted pictures and carvings on cave walls, small figures, and shell beads.

The Native Americans in California have a tradition of very detailed basket weaving arts. In the late 1800s Californian baskets by artists from the Cahuilla, Chumash, Pomo, Miwok, Hupa, Serrano, Cupeño, and many other tribes became popular with collectors, museums, and tourists. This led to great innovation in basket designs. Many baskets by Native American basket weavers from all parts of California are in museum collections, such as the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, the Southwest Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian. Baskets are usually made from dried grasses and other plants, such as those from the Juncaceae and Sumac families, and often have patterns with dyed grass strands, usually in black, red, or orange. Baskets of a single color are less common among most tribes. Certain design motifs, such as stars, crosses, and flowers, can be found in the basketry of several tribes whose lands are close together, and this was once thought to be because of cultural exchange during the Spanish Missions in California, but baskets from before the missions suggest that this was actually due to the natural exchange of goods and ideas between neighboring cultures.

California has many pictographs and petroglyphs rock art. One of the largest groups of petroglyphs in North America, by the Coso people, is in Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons in the Coso Rock Art District of the northern Mojave Desert in California. In the Sand Canyon Area, in the Southern Sierra Nevada, California, rock art of the Kawaiisu is found at Teddy Bear Cave. Among the findings, the animal and human-like drawings in the cave have been linked to the site’s use as a ceremonial space where other material artifacts were given as sacred offerings. Kawaiisu mythology is shown in the rock art, showing its close connection to myths of creation. Pictograph notes and other ethnographic data such as oral interviews with tribe members explain more about Teddy Bear Cave’s importance in Kawaiisu mythology, along with its drawing elements which are not well known in California Archaeology.

The most elaborate pictographs in the U.S are considered to be the rock art of the Chumash people, found in cave paintings in present-day Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties. The Chumash cave painting includes examples at Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park and Burro Flats Painted Cave.

Another form of stone carving, practiced by the Hokan Chumash and Comcaac peoples, is carving stones to look like slices of columnar cactus, called cactus stones, or cogged stones by indigenous Californian mythology expert, Paul Apodaca. These cactus stones were carved into the shape of different cuts and species of cacti, commonly slices of the San Pedro cactus and saguaro cactus. Cactus stones shaped like thin slices of the middle of the cactus could be used as tokens for a game called camoiilcoj, or as wheels for a children’s toy, those shaped like the rounded tops of the San Pedro and saguaro cactus were used as spinning tops, and those shaped like thicker slices, often with a depression carved into the center of the stone were used as containers for materials used in rituals, as well as being sacrificed for religious rituals instead of actual cactus slices when the plants were not available. The art of carving cactus stones started with the Comcaac people, who had plenty of cactus, and for whom cacti have spiritual meaning, and is thought to have been shared with the neighboring Chumash tribes. This is thought to be the case because cactus stones have been found at Chumash sites with rock art that strongly resembles Comcaac depictions of cactus. Since the Chumash sites are in areas where the species of cacti shown in the rock art and cactus stones are not common, the presence of such motifs is likely due to the exchange of knowledge that comes with the exchange of trade goods.

An art practice used by the Native American tribes of California, such as the Chumash, is carving and shaping small figures. From many archaeological studies at various historical sites (the Channel Islands, Malibu, Santa Barbara, and more) many small figures were discovered showing several animal forms, such as fish, whales, frogs, and birds. By studying these small figures, several strong conclusions were drawn that gave context to the Native Americans of California, such as social links between the Chumash and other tribes, economic importance, and possible use in rituals. Some small figures were found in burials, and others had similar style features with dates suggesting social interaction between tribes in the Middle and Late Holocene. There is limited evidence of sea otter and Pinniped imagery in the coastal region of California spiritual practices, but finds such as those at a Palmer-Redondo site in 1932 suggest a link between such imagery and ritual and belief. Effigies shaped like sea otters were found at the Redondo Beach site in Los Angeles County and are believed to have had roles in cultural practices. The items found at the site were two full body sea otter steatite carvings. These items could have been decorative or beautiful pieces but they are believed to have been talismans or amulets, having spiritual meaning or magic properties linked to good hunting or plenty of a species.

Owning otter skin/pelts is linked to wealth, compared to the meat of the animal. The importance of having a full body effigy to show the value of the otter’s fur is noted. The presence of full body effigies in graves supports this idea of wealth in relation to otter pelts. Social differences would likely be shown in the differences in the number of stone effigies in each grave, linking more stone effigies with higher social status.

Similar stone effigies have been found in the California coastal area, at the Palos Verdes Peninsula a stone object was found that is believed to belong to the Gabrielino/Tongva people. The object looks like a bird or possibly a porpoise-like creature. This is because of the distinctive hump and head that could be seen as a bird in flight or a porpoise showing its tail. The siltstone artifact may have started its cultural life as a manuport of some kind because of the similarities in shape to a bird or whale, but clearly shows evidence of being shaped into its current form. Human changes to the rock are also clear from the perfectly placed midline on the effigy that is meant to show the object’s center of gravity. When hung from this midline the effigy stays level horizontally, possibly meant to copy a bird in flight.

Shell and other glass beads have been widely used and traded along the California Coast from tribes such as the Kumeyaay, the Cahuilla, and the Luiseño for over 10,000 years. Over the years, archaeologists and historians have studied how these shell beads are made for different uses, including religious and traditional ceremonies. Shells, such as freshwater snails and other sea life, were used for decoration as much as they were made into jewelry. Jewelry for Kumeyaay women included “blue beads”, also known as clam shell beads, while men wore nasal septums and small beaded strings of white clam shells. Shell bead jewelry that is traded is often later used and shared in ceremonies among tribes such as the Cahuilla, the Serrano, and the Gabrieleño (Tongva). Shell beads were not only for decoration within California but were also important in trade and connections through other areas. Ornamental shell beads were traded across the Mexican border and became part of other tribes in Baja California.

[Chumash rock art](/wiki/Chumash_rock_art) at Painted Cave

Late 19th-century [Hupa](/wiki/Hupa) woman's cap, bear grass and conifer root, Stanford University

Southwest

Mesoamerica and Central America

The ancient cultures of Mesoamerica developed in two main areas: east and west. The Maya culture was strongest in the east, especially on the Yucatán Peninsula. In the west, many different groups lived, such as the West Mexican, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, and Aztec peoples.

Central America was home to many civilizations living south of modern-day Mexico, with some overlap in regions.

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica was home to many interesting ancient cultures.

Olmec

The Olmec people, who lived on the gulf coast from 1500 to 400 BCE, were the first civilization in Mesoamerica. They created many important traditions that lasted for centuries, like a special calendar, a ball game, and large stone pillars called stelae to remember important events.

The Olmec made huge stone heads, thought to be portraits of leaders, and small figurines from materials like clay, jade, or serpentine stone.

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan was a large city in the Valley of Mexico, built around 200 BCE. It had some of the biggest pyramid shapes in the Americas and many colorful wall paintings that are still preserved today.

Classic Veracruz Culture

The Classic Veracruz Culture created beautiful clay figures with expressive faces and detailed clothing made from added clay pieces.

Zapotec

The Zapotec people lived in Monte Albán, in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico. They created many ceramic pieces and golden decorations for their leaders.

Maya

The Maya civilization lived in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. They made many artworks, including detailed stone portraits, jade pieces, and colorful wall paintings.

Toltec

The Toltec created carvings of birds and turtles from stone.

Mixtec

The Mixtec made beautiful gold and turquoise jewelry and detailed stone mosaics.

Totonac

The Totonac created stone figures of leaders and other important people.

Huastec

The Huastec made small stone statues.

Aztec

The Aztec created double-headed snakes made from wood and decorated with turquoise, and large stone calendars that show their sacred days.

Central America and "Intermediate area"

Greater Chiriqui

Greater Nicoya

The people of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica made bird shapes from jade for funeral decorations. Later, around 500 CE, they started using gold ornaments instead, possibly because jade became harder to find.

Caribbean

The Taíno people made special wooden figures called zemis and used bowls for rituals.

See also: Pre-Columbian art § Mesoamerica and Central America Main articles: Olmec figurine and Olmec § Art See also: Mesoamerican architecture and Mesoamerica § Chronology_and_culture Main articles: Remojadas and Classic Veracruz Culture § Ceramics "The Bat God was one of the important deities of the Maya, many elements of whose religion were shared also by the Zapotec. The Bat God in particular is known to have been revered also by the Zapotec ... He was especially associated ... with the underworld."^{[attribution needed]} Main articles: Maya art, Maya ceramics, Maya architecture, and Maya stelae See also: Bonampak and San Bartolo (Maya site) Main article: Mixtec § Language, codices, and artwork Main article: Totonac culture Main article: Huastec people § Art Main article: Aztecs § Art and cultural production

South American

See also: Pre-Columbian art § South America

The native civilizations were most developed in the Andean region, which includes areas of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

Hunter-gatherer tribes in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil also developed artistic traditions like tattooing and body painting. Because these tribes live in remote areas, their art has not been studied as much as the Andean cultures.

Isthmo-Colombian Area

The Isthmo-Colombian Area includes some Central American countries like Costa Rica and Panama, as well as some South American countries nearby, like Colombia.

San Agustín

Main article: San Agustín culture

Art from San Agustín includes zoomorphico-anthropomorphic figures and double-spouted jars. There are also pendants made of gold.

Calima

Main article: Calima culture

Calima culture created funerary masks and animal-headed figure pendants, often made of gold. They also made double spout and strap handle vessels with mythological figures.

Tolima

Main article: Panche people

Tolima created pectorals, pendants, and anthropomorphic pendants, often made of gold or tumbaga.

Gran Coclé

Main articles: Gran Coclé and Sitio Conte

Gran Coclé produced pedestal dishes, ceramic plates, and gold plaques.

Diquis

Main article: Diquis

Diquis is known for stone spheres of Costa Rica, ceremonial metates, stone figures, and lobster-shaped pendants.

Nariño

Main article: Nariño culture

Nariño created nose ornaments, footed bowls depicting monkeys, and gourd-shaped vessels, often made of gold or ceramic.

Quimbaya

Main article: Quimbaya civilization

Quimbaya made lime containers, statues of caciques, Quimbaya airplanes, and ceramic figurines with tumbaga decoration.

Muisca

Main article: Muisca art

Muisca art includes the Muisca raft, tunjos, masks, and ceramic masks.

Zenú

Main article: Zenú § Pre-Columbian period

Zenú created two-headed deer-shaped ornaments, owl-shaped ornaments, bird finials, and olla with annular base and modeled figures.

Tairona

Main article: Tairona § Arts and crafts

Tairona produced small footed bowls with tiger head handles, ancestral figures, and anthropomorphic pendants, often made of stone or gold.

Andes Region

Valdivia

Main article: Valdivia culture

Valdivia created parrot figures, ancestor statues with six faces, female figurines, and jaguar-shaped figures.

Chavín

Main article: Chavín culture § Art

Chavín produced stone sculptures in the shape of heads, Chavin crowns, stirrup-spout vessels with scroll ornament, and the Raimondi Stela.

Paracas

Nasca

Moche

Main article: Moche culture § Material culture

Moche created ceremonial headdresses, pottery representing a Crawling Feline, and ear ornaments with winged runners.

Recuay

Main article: Recuay culture

Recuay made seated figures, effigy bottles, vases with music scenes, and textile fragments.

Tolita

Main article: Pre-Columbian Ecuador § La Tolita Culture

Tolita produced standing figures, nose-ornaments, and other gold and silver pieces.

Wari

Main article: Wari culture

Lambayeque/Sican

Main article: Sican culture

Lambayeque/Sican made beaker cups, cups, Sican headdress masks, and ceremonial knives (tumi).

Tiwanaku

Main article: Tiwanaku

Capulí

Main article: Capulí culture

Capulí produced pendants, face-shaped plaques, male figure-shaped coca chewers on benches, and bowls supported by three figures.

Chimú empire

Chancay

Chancay created beaded wrist ornaments, fragments of slit tapestry with eccentric weave and applied fringe, and vessels.

Inca

Main articles: Inca § Arts and technology, Inca Empire § Arts and technology, and Inca architecture

Amazonia

Modern and contemporary

Beginnings of contemporary Native American art

It can be hard to know exactly when "modern" or contemporary Native art began. In the past, some art experts thought that using Western art materials or showing art in big exhibitions made Native American art "modern." But today, these ideas are changing. Native American art has always included many kinds of materials and styles. For example, artists from the past used paints made from natural things, and some used new materials as soon as they became available.

In Native American art, there isn’t always a strict difference between everyday items and artworks. Things like rugs, blankets, and tools are often highly valued and respected. For example, the Cherokee Nation honors its best artists, including those who make baskets, tools, and sculptures, showing that all kinds of art matter.

Basketry

Basket weaving is one of the oldest and most common art forms in the Americas. Native artists use many different materials to make baskets, from grasses to animal hides. Some baskets are used for everyday tasks, while others are made just for beauty. For example, Haida artist Lisa Telford weaves baskets from cedar bark, and some of her baskets are shaped like high-heeled shoes!

Beadwork

Beadwork is a special kind of art that many Native American artists use. Even though the beads themselves often come from far away, the designs and patterns are deeply connected to Native traditions. Artists like Richard Aitson and Marcus Amerman create beautiful beaded pieces that tell stories and show their cultures.

Ceramics

Ceramics have been made in the Americas for thousands of years. From small pots to large sculptures, Native American pottery has many styles and uses. Artists like Nampeyo and Maria Martinez helped keep traditional pottery alive, while others like Roxanne Swentzell create new, modern ceramic artworks.

Jewelry

Native American artists also make beautiful jewelry from materials like silver, shell, and stone. These pieces can be simple or very detailed, and they often have special meanings connected to the wearer's culture or family.

Performance art

Performance art is a newer kind of art that lets artists tell stories and share ideas in a very direct way. Artists like Rebecca Belmore and James Luna use performance to talk about important issues, like the experiences of Native American women or the history of their people.

Photography

Many Native American photographers have used their cameras to show their communities and cultures in a real and honest way. Photographers like Peter Pitseolak and Horace Poolaw captured everyday life in their communities, while others like Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie have worked to make sure Native American photography is respected and shown in art museums.

Printmaking

Printmaking lets artists create pictures by printing designs onto paper or other surfaces. Inuit artists, in particular, have made wonderful prints using techniques from Japan and Europe. Artists like Kenojuak Ashevak and Jessie Oonark have created beautiful prints that tell stories and show their cultures.

Sculpture

Sculpture is another important way that Native American artists express themselves. From large stone statues to small wooden carvings, sculpture can take many forms. Artists like Edmonia Lewis and Allan Houser helped make Native American sculpture known around the world, while others like Roxanne Swentzell create modern sculptures that talk about today’s issues.

Textiles

Textiles, like woven cloth and embroidered designs, have been part of Native American culture for thousands of years. From the colorful weavings of the Andes to the intricate patchwork of the Seminole, textiles are a powerful way to show culture and history. Artists today continue to use traditional techniques while also trying new materials and styles.

Cultural sensitivity and repatriation

Native peoples create some works that are meant only for sacred, private ceremonies. Many sacred objects, like certain figures and regalia, should only be seen or touched by people with special knowledge. Museums often do not display these items out of respect.

Some sacred items, like birch bark scrolls and medicine bundles, are too culturally sensitive for public display. Navajo sandpaintings are used in healing ceremonies, but they can be made into permanent art for sale as long as they do not show Holy People. Some tribes do not allow photographs of sacred ceremonies, and they wish that existing photos of these ceremonies are not shown.

Tribes and individuals sometimes disagree about what should be displayed publicly. Many museums do not show certain items, like Ghost Dance regalia or warrior shields, at the request of tribal leaders. Many tribes also do not want items from graves, like urns, in museums and would like these items returned to their original place. In the United States, this process is helped by a law called NAGPRA. In Canada, tribes and museums work together to return these items. Sometimes, museums outside these countries choose to return items voluntarily.

Fraud

Further information: Indigenous identity fraud, Cultural misappropriation, Intellectual property rights, and Indian arts and crafts laws

Indigenous artists in the Americas have faced challenges with fraud for many years. In 1935, the United States created a law called the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. This law set up a board and made it illegal to sell items as Native American art when they are not. Many states, like New Mexico and Oklahoma, also made their own laws to protect Native artists.

Some tribes, like the Cherokee Nation, made their own rules to make sure only their members can sell art as Cherokee. Artists from Mexico and Guatemala have worked to protect their designs through special laws, but sometimes their artwork is used without permission by others.

Museum representation

Indigenous American arts have had a complex history with museums since the early 1900s. In 1931, The Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts was the first big show to display Indigenous art. Later in the 1900s, as the Civil Rights Movement grew, more Indigenous art began to appear in museums.

Even though Indigenous art was shown, the way it was displayed wasn't always respectful. Sometimes, Native American art was shown with dinosaur bones, making it seem like it belonged only to the past. Native American remains were also displayed in museums until the 1960s.

Since 1992, there has been a big increase in the number and quality of Native American art and artists. Museums like the Heard Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian focus specifically on Native American arts, helping many artists share their work. In 2017, three Native American artworks were shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for five months.

Museums have a big responsibility to represent Indigenous artists correctly. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 stops non-Indigenous artists from pretending to be Native American. Museums must carefully decide which artists to show and why, helping to share these important cultures and stories with the world.