Join us to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the MFA with free admission for all Massachusetts residents. Enjoy gallery tours, family art-making activities, and more! Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes and honors the heritage of Native Americans and Indigenous peoples and the histories of their many nations and communities.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the MFA is part of the Fenway Alliance’s Opening Our Doors festival, a celebration of the Fenway Cultural District.
Community
Meet Our Community Partners
10 am–4 pm
Shapiro Family Courtyard
Connect with community partners, discover the resources and services they offer, and learn about the work they are leading across Boston and Massachusetts.
Shop Local Artists
11 am–4 pm
Shapiro Family Courtyard
Explore artwork for sale by guest Nipmuc artist and historian Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley and Choctaw-Apache artist and designer Sebastian Ebarb.
Drop-In Art Making and Activities
Miniature Baskets
10 am–4 pm (last entry 3:45 pm)
Shapiro Family Courtyard
Create a small basket of your own while you learn about traditional New England basketmaking. Skill, imagery, and surprising material choices can elevate these primarily functional objects into art. Activity created in collaboration with traditional Penobscot basket maker Erica Nelson Menard. Join her artist talk—see below for details.
Clay Pots
10 am–4 pm (last entry 3:45 pm)
Druker Family Pavilion
Learn how to create your own clay vessel, inspired by the many traditions of pottery making in Native North America! Activity created in consultation with Mashpee Wampanoag artist H Peters.
Beading with Sebastian Ebarb
11 am–2 pm (last entry 1:45 pm)
Riley Seminar Room
Join Choctaw-Apache artist and designer Sebastian Ebarb to learn about flat beading, including the tradition’s Indigenous history and basic techniques. Ebarb is a designer, artist, writer, educator, and enrolled member of the Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb. He currently teaches at Northeastern University and is founder of the design studio Nahi (“we” in Apache).
Performances
The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers
12:15–12:45 pm
Shapiro Family Courtyard
Dance with the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers, a group of musicians, educators, and artisans from the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod, Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, and Herring Pond in Bourne. Experience eastern social songs performed on water drum and handcrafted rattles and accompanied by traditional dancing.
Poetry and Song with Hartman Deetz
3 pm
Gallery 168
Experience a one-of-a-kind performance by Mashpee Wampanoag artist Hartman Deetz. Blending spoken-word poetry and traditional songs, Deetz reflects on Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the 250th anniversary of the United States.
ASL interpreter available
Drop-In Storytelling
Story Time with Katherine Santos
11:15–11:45 am and 1:15–1:45 pm
Gallery LG36
Join art historian, artist, and collections professional Katherine Santos (Choctaw-Apache) for readings of the children’s books 47,000 Beads by Koja Adeyoha and Angel Adeyoha and I Am Not a Costume by Maria DesJarlait. Afterward, head to Riley Seminar Room to learn more about flat beading—see above for details.
ASL interpreter available at 11:15 am
Tours and Talks
Guided Tours
11 am and Noon
Meet at Sharf Visitor Center
Wondering where to start your visit? Experience the MFA on a 60-minute guided tour. Led by knowledgeable guides, look closely at artwork across the Museum’s collection. Learn more about old favorites and discover something new! Participants of all ages and experiences welcome.
ASL interpreter available at noon
Twining Across Time: Local Indigenous Intergenerational Weaving
11:30 am
Gallery 128
Join Nipmuc artist and historian Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley as she traces Northeastern weaving, from precontact textiles to colonial response and adaptation to contemporary practice. Walley draws on historic baskets and her own art to show how Indigenous makers carry traditions forward while transforming them to assert continued presence.
ASL interpreter available
Artist Talk with Erica Nelson Menard
12:30 and 2:15 pm
Gallery 133
Meet Penobscot artist Erica Nelson Menard and learn about her work as a traditional basket maker. Drawing on generations of family knowledge, Nelson Menard weaves ash and sweetgrass baskets, including braided sweetgrass baskets, using her grandmother’s molds and preserving her family’s distinctive traditions.
ASL interpreter available at 12:30 pm
Spotlight Talk: In the Middle of Forever
1:30 pm
Gallery 133
What makes you feel at home? Join Mashpee Wampanoag artist Hartman Deetz and Layla Bermeo, Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of Paintings, Art of the Americas, for a conversation about the making of “In the Middle of Forever,” Deetz’s deeply personal installation of old and new Native art.
ASL interpreter available
Artist Talk with Sebastian Ebarb
3:30 pm
Gallery 234
Hear from Choctaw-Apache artist and designer Sebastian Ebarb as he discusses Native American beading—a living craft shaped by community knowledge, materials, and creative tradition. Learn how it’s used for decoration, cultural expression, and storytelling, and how it continues today as both heritage practice and contemporary art.
ASL interpreter available
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) is in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, stands on the historic homelands of the Massachusett people, a site that has long served as a place of meeting and exchange among different nations. As a museum, we acknowledge the long history of the land we occupy today and seek ways to make Indigenous narratives more prominent in our galleries and programming. We can all learn more about the Massachusett people, who continue to be the stewards of this land, by visiting massachusetttribe.org.
Wheelchair accessible
Accessibility
The Museum is committed to accessibility for all visitors. If you need accommodations for you to attend, please reach out to [email protected] or 617-267-9300.
Bag Checks
All bags are subject to inspection by Museum staff. Backpacks, large bags, all liquids including hand sanitizer and sunscreen, and outside food or drink are not permitted. Exceptions are made for medical or religious needs. All bags are strongly discouraged, and any bags larger than 11” x 15” must be checked in the Coat Room upon entry. Read our full bag check policy.