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Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery
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Museums
Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.
Plan your visit
Renwick Gallery Stairwwell
Renwick Gallery
Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.
Plan your visit
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Explore Art
  • Collection Highlights
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  • New Acquisitions
Explore Artists
  • Search Artists
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Something Fun
  • Which Artist Shares Your Birthday?
  • Comics
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Art Conservation
  • Lunder Conservation Center
Museum Services
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  • Artwork Loans
  • Traveling Exhibition Program
Collection Highlights
African American Art
Media - 2011.16 - SAAM-2011.16_1 - 75736
20th Century
Media - 1986.6.92 - SAAM-1986.6.92_3 - 135150
19th Century
Media - 1978.126 - SAAM-1978.126_1 - 5245
Time-Based Media
Media - 2006.20 - SAAM-2006.20_1 - 66616
Contemporary Art
Media - 2015.34 - SAAM-2015.34_1 - 116878
Sculpture
A round grey sculpture with a hole in the center  by Isamu Noguchi
Latinx Art
Media - 2020.25.1 - SAAM-2020.25.1_1 - 138936
Photography
A portrait of a man with goatee contained in a brooch
Asian American Art
Media - 1984.92 - SAAM-1984.92_1-000001 - 7823
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Research Resources
  • Research and Scholars Center
  • Nam June Paik Archives
  • Photograph Study Collection
  • National Art Inventories Databases
  • Save Outdoor Sculpture!
  • Researching Your Art
  • Library
Publications
  • American Art Journal
  • Catalogs and Books
  • Scholarly Symposia
  • Publication Prizes
Fellows and Interns
  • Fellowship Programs
  • List of Fellows and Scholars
  • Internship Programs
Featured Resources
A painting of an eye seen in the reflection of a mirror
How Do I Research My Art?
Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.
Read more
A conservator examines a work of artwork on a drafting table
How to Care for Your Collections
Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.
Read more
Skip to the next menu
For K-12 Teachers
  • Teachers Guides and Resources
  • Field Trips and School Tours
  • Professional Development
  • Classroom Videoconferences
  • Summer Institutes for Teachers
  • Student Artwork Showcase
For Lifelong Learners
  • Adult Learners
  • Group Tour Request
Learn from Home
  • Resources for Learning at Home
  • Family Activities
Featured Resources
A black and white photograph of a two story home, a person is seen waving an American flag from the window
Recording a Changing Nation
This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.
Read more
A colorful marble orb
Critical Thinking in Action
These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.
Read more
Skip to the next menu
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  • Volunteer
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  • Sign up for our Newsletter
Shop Online
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Featured SAAM Stories
Detail of brown ceramic jar with writing and the signature "Dave" inscribed around the top.
David “Dave” Drake: Potter and Poet
Craftsman David “Dave” Drake, enslaved for most of his life, produced uncommonly large ceramic jars in 19th-century South Carolina adorned by his poetic verses
Read more
Artist Tanya Aguiñiga wearing a suit made of glass elements while standing next to the U.S./Mexico border wall
Exploring Border Stories with Artist Tanya Aguiñiga
Curator Mary Savig details an artist’s journey to create the powerful performance work Metabolizing the Border that explores the physical and psychological experiences migrants face while crossing the borderlands.
Read more
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Donate
  • Support the Museum
  • Corporate Patrons
  • Planned Giving
  • Donating Artworks
Join
  • Join the Director's Circle
  • Join SAAM Creatives
Become a member
A couple dances while a string band plays music
Director’s Circle
A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.
Join now
A group of young people pose for a photograph
SAAM Creatives
A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.
Join now
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  1. Home
  2. /
    Exhibitions
  3. /
    Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists

Online Gallery for Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists

The Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists exhibition is multilingual with descriptive text presented in both the artist’s Native American or First Nations languages, as well as English, aiming to present the works in the context of each artist’s own culture and voice.

An artwork made of small beads depicting plants and flowers.
Christi Belcourt’s The Wisdom of the Universe
A red tablecloth with a circle in the middle and different designs around it.
Sisíthuŋwaŋ Dakhóta’s Tablecloth
A textile work depicting a landscape with water, land, and mountains.
D. Y. Begay’s Winter in the North
A basket made of black and white materials.
Elizabeth Hickox’s Lidded container
Two high heel shoes made fro beads, sequins, feathers and other items.
Jamie Okuma’s Adaptation II
A woven basket in the shape of a female figure.
Cherish Parrish’s The Next Generation–Carriers of Culture
Jewelry made of glass, beads, gold, silver, shells, pearls, and other materials.
Keri Ataumbi and Jamie Okuma’s Adornment: Iconic Perceptions
A woven bag with diagonal designs in orange, light blue, and turquoise.
Nimi’ipuu (Nez Perce) artist’s Bag
A mask of a figure with a labret.
Freda Diesing’s Mask, Old Woman with Labret
A painting of five figures and a small child talking to one another.
Joan Hill’s Women’s Voices at the Council
An abstract tapestry of red, yellow, orange, green, and blue.
Ramona Sakiestewa’s Nebula 22 & 23
A painting of two scenes. On the left is a moutain in brown and green and on the right is a brown canvas with a line down the middle.
Kay WalkingStick’s Venere Alpina
A figure laying on it's side with a diagonal line down it's back with red thread.
Rebecca Belmore’s Fringe
A blue dress handing on a stand with sleeves made of white and blue material depicting wings.
Dorothy Grant’s Hummingbird Copper Dress
A green dress with beads and red highlights.
Apsáalooke Crow artist’s Dress
A oval artwork with green and gold material woven into it.
Kelly Church’s Sustaining Traditions–Digital Memories
A traditional dress in white, blue, red, and black
Joyce, Juanita, and Jessa Rae Growing Thunder’s Give Away Horses
A white parka with red details.
Central Yup’ik, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska artist’s Parka
A blue suitcase made of beads with designs of people, a teepee, and animals.
Nellie Two Bear Gates (Gathering of Clouds Woman)’s Valise
A white coat with red details.
Innu (Naskapi) artist’s Hunting coat
An artwork made with paint, colored pencils, and graphite depicting many different scenes.
Andrea Carlson’s Sunshine on a Cannibal
An installation shot of Hearts of Our People
Installation Photography from Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
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Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Hours
Mon - Sun:
11:30 am‑7:00 pm
Renwick Gallery
Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Hours
Mon - Sun:
10:00 am‑5:30 pm
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Visit
Visit Planning
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Event Calendar
  • Current Exhibitions
  • Tours
  • Family Activities
  • Guidelines and Policies
Access Programs
  • Accessibility
  • ASL Tours
  • Dementia Programs
  • Verbal Description Tours
Museums
Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.
Plan your visit
Renwick Gallery Stairwwell
Renwick Gallery
Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.
Plan your visit
Skip to the next menu
Art + Artists
Explore Art
  • Collection Highlights
  • Search Artworks
  • New Acquisitions
Explore Artists
  • Search Artists
  • Search Women Artists
Something Fun
  • Which Artist Shares Your Birthday?
  • Comics
Exhibitions
  • Current Exhibitions
  • Upcoming Exhibitions
  • Traveling Exhibitions
  • Past Exhibitions
Art Conservation
  • Lunder Conservation Center
Museum Services
  • Rights and Reproductions
  • Artwork Loans
  • Traveling Exhibition Program
Collection Highlights
African American Art
Media - 2011.16 - SAAM-2011.16_1 - 75736
20th Century
Media - 1986.6.92 - SAAM-1986.6.92_3 - 135150
19th Century
Media - 1978.126 - SAAM-1978.126_1 - 5245
Time-Based Media
Media - 2006.20 - SAAM-2006.20_1 - 66616
Contemporary Art
Media - 2015.34 - SAAM-2015.34_1 - 116878
Sculpture
A round grey sculpture with a hole in the center  by Isamu Noguchi
Latinx Art
Media - 2020.25.1 - SAAM-2020.25.1_1 - 138936
Photography
A portrait of a man with goatee contained in a brooch
Asian American Art
Media - 1984.92 - SAAM-1984.92_1-000001 - 7823
Skip to the next menu
Research
Research Resources
  • Research and Scholars Center
  • Nam June Paik Archives
  • Photograph Study Collection
  • National Art Inventories Databases
  • Save Outdoor Sculpture!
  • Researching Your Art
  • Library
Publications
  • American Art Journal
  • Catalogs and Books
  • Scholarly Symposia
  • Publication Prizes
Fellows and Interns
  • Fellowship Programs
  • List of Fellows and Scholars
  • Internship Programs
Featured Resources
A painting of an eye seen in the reflection of a mirror
How Do I Research My Art?
Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.
Read more
A conservator examines a work of artwork on a drafting table
How to Care for Your Collections
Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.
Read more
Skip to the next menu
Education
For K-12 Teachers
  • Teachers Guides and Resources
  • Field Trips and School Tours
  • Professional Development
  • Classroom Videoconferences
  • Summer Institutes for Teachers
  • Student Artwork Showcase
For Lifelong Learners
  • Adult Learners
  • Group Tour Request
Learn from Home
  • Resources for Learning at Home
  • Family Activities
Featured Resources
A black and white photograph of a two story home, a person is seen waving an American flag from the window
Recording a Changing Nation
This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.
Read more
A colorful marble orb
Critical Thinking in Action
These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.
Read more
Skip to the next menu
About
Latest News
  • SAAM Stories
  • Press Room
  • Videos
About the Museums
  • About Us
  • Museum History
Host an Event
  • Event Venues and Space Rental
Connect with Us
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
  • Sign up for our Newsletter
Shop Online
  • Museum Store Online
Featured SAAM Stories
Detail of brown ceramic jar with writing and the signature "Dave" inscribed around the top.
David “Dave” Drake: Potter and Poet
Craftsman David “Dave” Drake, enslaved for most of his life, produced uncommonly large ceramic jars in 19th-century South Carolina adorned by his poetic verses
Read more
Artist Tanya Aguiñiga wearing a suit made of glass elements while standing next to the U.S./Mexico border wall
Exploring Border Stories with Artist Tanya Aguiñiga
Curator Mary Savig details an artist’s journey to create the powerful performance work Metabolizing the Border that explores the physical and psychological experiences migrants face while crossing the borderlands.
Read more
Skip to the next menu
Donate
Donate
  • Support the Museum
  • Corporate Patrons
  • Planned Giving
  • Donating Artworks
Join
  • Join the Director's Circle
  • Join SAAM Creatives
Become a member
A couple dances while a string band plays music
Director’s Circle
A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.
Join now
A group of young people pose for a photograph
SAAM Creatives
A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.
Join now
Close menu
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