Indigenous Peoples' Day Open House at MFA

to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the MFA. This year, we’re offering free admission—including access to “Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore”—for Massachusetts residents. Enjoy gallery tours, engaging 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.

Events and Activities

Meet Local Partners

• 10 am–3 pm
• Shapiro Family Courtyard
• Stop by to talk with representatives from the North American Indian Center of Boston, United American Indians of New England, Indigenous Peoples’ Day Massachusetts, and Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples’ Day about their organizations and the work they do.

Drop-In Art Making: Pottery

• 10 am–4 pm (last entry 3:45 pm)
• Druker Family Pavilion
• Create your own pottery inspired by the many traditions of Native North America! Activity created in consultation with Mashpee Wampanoag artist Haley Peters.

Guided Tours

• 11 am, Noon, 1 pm, and 2 pm
• Meet at Sharf Visitor Center
• Wondering where to start your visit to the MFA? Experience the Museum on a free 60-minute guided tour. Led by knowledgeable guides, look closely at artwork across the MFA’s collections. Learn more about old favorites and discover something new! Participants of all ages and experiences are welcome.

Zenni Optical Vision Screenings

• 10 am–3 pm
• Riley Seminar Room
• Come by for free vision screenings and pick up some exclusive Zenni swag. Zenni Optical believes that clear vision is a right, not a privilege, and is committed to making high-quality eye care accessible to every individual, especially the youngest members of our community.

First Light Foundation

• 11 am and 1 pm
• Shapiro Family Courtyard
• Meet Annawon Weeden, a proud member of the Mashpee Wampanoag, Pequot, and Narragansett tribes and a cultural instructor for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Cultural Resource Department. Born and raised in Charlestown, Rhode Island, Weeden passionately shares his tribal culture with the public. Alongside his cultural work, Weeden is an artist and environmental educator, promoting Indigenous art and education through the First Light Foundation.

Art-Making Demo by Haley Peters

• Noon and 3pm
• Gallery 168
• Haley Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag) utilizes traditional techniques of pinching and coiling clay and traditional tools of bone and shell to create forms that reference historic Eastern Woodland vessels. While being inspired by the making of historical vessels, they often find joy in exaggerating and pushing these forms and methods to extremes.

Community Perspective: Nipmuc Baskets

• 12:30 pm
• Gallery LG34
• Gather with Kim Toney (Nipmuc), coordinating curator for Native American and Indigenous collections at the John Carter Brown Library, to learn more about the MFA’s Nipmuc collection.

Community Perspective: Ancestors and Place

• 1 pm
• Gallery LG26
• Join Elizabeth Solomon and Jenny Oliver (both Massachusett at Ponkapoag) as they share their experiences working on the exhibition “Ancestors and Place: Indigenous North American Prints,” which features more than 30 works—most of them recent acquisitions—by Indigenous artists from the United States and Canada

Community Perspective: Art of Attire

• 2 pm
• Gallery 234
• Join Layla Bermeo, Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of American Paintings, and Marina Tyquiengco (CHamoru), Ellyn McColgan Associate Curator of Native American Art, as they discuss “Art of Attire,” a recent installation centering Indigenous clothing and cultural exchanges.

Hawk Henries

• 2 and 3:15 pm
• Shapiro Family Courtyard
• Hawk Henries is an artist, composer, and flute musician of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuc. He expertly crafts Eastern Woodlands flutes through ancestral and contemporary techniques. His transformative performances create contemplative spaces for unity and meaningful reflection on how we each have the capacity to make change in the world. Through music, discussion, and a note of humor, he weaves a calm, engaging, and thought-provoking experience.