Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month with musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers from North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes at the 14th Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. This lively festival is the museum’s largest annual event. Admission and parking are free, so all you need to spend is your time.

You'll find activities for all ages at the festival, which is so large that it flows outside to Bicentennial Plaza and the State Capitol grounds. The celebration is a firsthand opportunity to learn about the state’s Indian culture, past and present and its eight state-recognized tribes: the Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan.


During the Call of Nations at noon, see dancers in colorful regalia move to the rhythm of the drum groups Southern Sun and Red Wolf. Throughout the day, watch a dugout canoe take shape, or talk with artisans at work, such as John Blackfeather Jeffries, a member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, who crafts traditional weapons. Other artists will carve gourds and stone, make pottery, create ribbon work and feather art, and more. (This is a great opportunity to get an early start on holiday shopping.)

Hands-on crafts, traditional games and workshops provide interactive experiences galore. You can play a game of corncob darts, shoot a blowgun, grind corn or join a beadwork workshop, among other things. Hear storytellers from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and the Lumbee tribes share tales of long ago, or join a presentation by Dr. Malinda Lowery, a Lumbee tribe member and an assistant professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has produced several documentary films about American Indians, including “In the Light of Reverence,” which aired on PBS in 2001.

Stay for lunch and make a day of it. Vendors will sell fry bread, sweet potato fries, Sappony salsa, buffalo burgers, fried pies and other tasty treats. Speaking of food, explore the museum’s gardens to see plants that were grown by American Indians in North Carolina before the first European contact, such as a Cherokee flour corn variety, the Seminole pumpkin, and the Hidatsa Shield Figure bean.

For a complete schedule or more information, call 919-807-7900. 
* The eight state-recognized tribes are Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan.