This New York City Teach-In is a MINI version of our flagship annual Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In. This is a more intimate, limited-capacity gathering designed to bring the same rich content and hands-on approach to educators in the NYC metro area who might not otherwise be able to attend the main event in D.C. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.
Schedule
10:00 AM: Registration Check-In 10:30 AM: Keynote Streaming 11:00 AM: Exhibit Tours and Resource Fair 12:00 PM: Book Reading with Native American Authors 1:00 PM: Hispanic Heritage Musical Performance
Keynote
The Lands that We Love, The Lands that We Are: Tribal Cultural Sovereignty at the 250th
Native peoples center profound, balanced kinship relationships with life sources embedded in their lands. Cultural sovereignty is the inherent right to practice and shape their tribal values, traditions, and knowledge systems across time. As we commemorate the 250th year since the United States declared independence, contemporary American Indian communities show how links to the past strengthen resilience for the future. In this talk, Dr. Gabrielle Tayac will connect you to teaching frameworks, sources, and inspirations gathered with Indigenous knowledge keepers who carve a path forward for the next 250 years. *Note the keynote will be streamed live from our D.C. event.
About the Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker, Dr. Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway Indian Nation), is a community-engaged public historian, scholar, and museum curator. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University. She served as an inaugural curator, historian, and educator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Now as a professor at George Mason University, she oversees the CoCreative History Space to train new generations of public historians in their pursuits to understand and interpret histories, near and far, ancient and modern. She is rooted in the tidewater lands, caring for places especially along Nanjemoy Creek, with family, striving always to be a good relative and ancestor.
This is a collection of eighteen essays edited by José Barreiro, exploring how Native American traditions and governance have shaped modern democracy.
Subject: The book looks at the roots of U.S. founding documents and the wisdom of Native American ways of living. The Great Law of Peace: It highlights the unifying code of governance used by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. This code united tribes into a democratic league of nations. Authors: The book features contemporary Haudenosaunee leaders, elders, and scholars sharing their lived experiences and political philosophy.
Authors attending the reading: José Barreiro, Katsi Cook, Tom Cook, and Louise McDonald Herne. Additional contributors may also join the event.
Hispanic Heritage Musical Performance with Pasatono Trio
Celebrate the revitalization of traditional Oaxacan folk music with the Pasatono Trio! Founded in 1998, Pasatono Trio has focused its efforts on researching, performing, composing, and promoting the musical culture of the Mixtec community. After a long journey of many years of exploration throughout the states of Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, and the transnational community, Pasatono Trio has been nourished by “living treasures”: luthiers, bass players, banjo players, violinists, and composers, among others, who possess a great knowledge of their musical culture, being considered cultural ambassadors of the new Oaxacan music. The trio are not only ethnomusicologists but seasoned performers. Performances begin at 1 PM, and 3 PM.
Event Goal
The annual Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) Teach-In will bring together an intimate group of teachers from the New York City metropolitan area to enlighten and inform teaching about American Indians. Teachers will explore classroom-ready lessons for K-12 students that center on Native voices and histories. Participants will learn how to bring the museum’s exhibitions and the resource-rich NK360° education initiative into their teaching practices.
This tenth annual Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in partnership with Teaching for Change, will highlight the connections between Indigenous history and current cultural sovereignty efforts. The Teach-In is an opportunity for educators to convene in person with NMAI’s educators and scholars and discuss how to engage students with compelling questions and explorations of new ideas. What does teaching about Indigenous people look like on the 250th anniversary of the United States? How can teachers inspire and empower their students to preserve our shared history?
This event will be hosted IN PERSON in New York City at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. We encourage participants to bring a reusable water bottle. Bring your lunch and stay to celebrate Hispanic Heritage celebration featuring a musical performance at 1:00 PM.
Participants who attend will receive a book and are eligible to get CTLE credits.
Additional Events
Hosted in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
2026 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In
Hosted at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 9:00AM – 2:30PM ET National Museum of the American Indian 4th Street SW, Washington, D.C.
The tenth annual Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) Teach-In will bring together hundreds of teachers from across the country to enlighten and inform teaching about American Indians. Through interactive workshops, teachers will explore classroom-ready lessons for K-12 students that center on Native voices and histories. Participants will learn how to bring the museum’s exhibitions and the resource-rich NK360° education initiative into their teaching practices. Learn more and register.
2026 ONLINE Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In
Online Event
Saturday, November 7, 2026 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (ET) / 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (PT) Online Via Zoom
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change deliver a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a short keynote presentation. Participants will have the chance to attend two rounds of workshops and engage with each other virtually via Zoom. Registration coming soon!
NYC Native Knowledge 360° Mini Teach-In
Hosted at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City
NYC Native Knowledge 360° Mini Teach-In
Cultural Sovereignty on the 25Oth
Saturday, September 26, 2026
10:00AM
National Museum of the American Indian
1 Bowling Green, New York, NY, 10004
This event will be hosted IN PERSON in New York City at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
This New York City Teach-In is a MINI version of our flagship annual Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In. This is a more intimate, limited-capacity gathering designed to bring the same rich content and hands-on approach to educators in the NYC metro area who might not otherwise be able to attend the main event in D.C. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.
Schedule
10:00 AM: Registration Check-In
10:30 AM: Keynote Streaming
11:00 AM: Exhibit Tours and Resource Fair
12:00 PM: Book Reading with Native American Authors
1:00 PM: Hispanic Heritage Musical Performance
Keynote
The Lands that We Love, The Lands that We Are: Tribal Cultural Sovereignty at the 250th
Native peoples center profound, balanced kinship relationships with life sources embedded in their lands. Cultural sovereignty is the inherent right to practice and shape their tribal values, traditions, and knowledge systems across time. As we commemorate the 250th year since the United States declared independence, contemporary American Indian communities show how links to the past strengthen resilience for the future. In this talk, Dr. Gabrielle Tayac will connect you to teaching frameworks, sources, and inspirations gathered with Indigenous knowledge keepers who carve a path forward for the next 250 years. *Note the keynote will be streamed live from our D.C. event.
About the Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker, Dr. Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway Indian Nation), is a community-engaged public historian, scholar, and museum curator. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University. She served as an inaugural curator, historian, and educator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Now as a professor at George Mason University, she oversees the CoCreative History Space to train new generations of public historians in their pursuits to understand and interpret histories, near and far, ancient and modern. She is rooted in the tidewater lands, caring for places especially along Nanjemoy Creek, with family, striving always to be a good relative and ancestor.
BOOK READING
American Indigenous Democracy: A Call for Interdependence
This is a collection of eighteen essays edited by José Barreiro, exploring how Native American traditions and governance have shaped modern democracy.
Subject: The book looks at the roots of U.S. founding documents and the wisdom of Native American ways of living.
The Great Law of Peace: It highlights the unifying code of governance used by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. This code united tribes into a democratic league of nations.
Authors: The book features contemporary Haudenosaunee leaders, elders, and scholars sharing their lived experiences and political philosophy.
Authors attending the reading: José Barreiro, Katsi Cook, Tom Cook, and Louise McDonald Herne. Additional contributors may also join the event.
Hispanic Heritage Musical Performance with Pasatono Trio
Celebrate the revitalization of traditional Oaxacan folk music with the Pasatono Trio! Founded in 1998, Pasatono Trio has focused its efforts on researching, performing, composing, and promoting the musical culture of the Mixtec community. After a long journey of many years of exploration throughout the states of Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, and the transnational community, Pasatono Trio has been nourished by “living treasures”: luthiers, bass players, banjo players, violinists, and composers, among others, who possess a great knowledge of their musical culture, being considered cultural ambassadors of the new Oaxacan music. The trio are not only ethnomusicologists but seasoned performers. Performances begin at 1 PM, and 3 PM.
Event Goal
The annual Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) Teach-In will bring together an intimate group of teachers from the New York City metropolitan area to enlighten and inform teaching about American Indians. Teachers will explore classroom-ready lessons for K-12 students that center on Native voices and histories. Participants will learn how to bring the museum’s exhibitions and the resource-rich NK360° education initiative into their teaching practices.
This tenth annual Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in partnership with Teaching for Change, will highlight the connections between Indigenous history and current cultural sovereignty efforts. The Teach-In is an opportunity for educators to convene in person with NMAI’s educators and scholars and discuss how to engage students with compelling questions and explorations of new ideas. What does teaching about Indigenous people look like on the 250th anniversary of the United States? How can teachers inspire and empower their students to preserve our shared history?
This event will be hosted IN PERSON in New York City at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. We encourage participants to bring a reusable water bottle. Bring your lunch and stay to celebrate Hispanic Heritage celebration featuring a musical performance at 1:00 PM.
Participants who attend will receive a book and are eligible to get CTLE credits.
Additional Events
Hosted in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
2026 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In
Hosted at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 26, 2026
9:00AM – 2:30PM ET
National Museum of the American Indian
4th Street SW, Washington, D.C.
The tenth annual Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) Teach-In will bring together hundreds of teachers from across the country to enlighten and inform teaching about American Indians. Through interactive workshops, teachers will explore classroom-ready lessons for K-12 students that center on Native voices and histories. Participants will learn how to bring the museum’s exhibitions and the resource-rich NK360° education initiative into their teaching practices. Learn more and register.
2026 ONLINE Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In
Online Event
Saturday, November 7, 2026
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (ET) / 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (PT)
Online Via Zoom
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change deliver a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a short keynote presentation. Participants will have the chance to attend two rounds of workshops and engage with each other virtually via Zoom. Registration coming soon!
Posted: July 1, 2026