INTRODUCTION

The Contemporary Native American Art Collection honors a living legacy of master craftsmanship and vibrant innovation in the artistic expressions of New York State's First Nations. Building on an initiative begun in 1986 and now numbering more than 130 objects, the collection recently expanded to include 21 new works. The collection offers insight into the endurance and evolution of tradition in tribal communities and a profound determination to survive and express as sovereign nations.

 

These objects speak of Native experience in the first person, forging a respectful partnership between the State Museum and those whose spiritual, economic, and material presence long predates the founding of New York State.

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