DC | Service and Sacrifice: Veterans Day 2026

About this event

Venue: American Indian Museum DC Location Icon: Washington, DC,Online Event Location: Level 1: Potomac Atrium, Rasmuson The ater, Level 3: imagiNATIONS Activity Center, Outdoors: Welcome Plaza, National Native American Veterans Memorial Online Link: https://www.americanindian.si.edu/livestream Cost: Free Categories: Films,Kids & Families,Lectures & Discussions,Webcasts & Online Accessibility : ASL-interpreted program,Captioning Link: https://americanindian.si.edu/livestream

Join the National Museum of the American Indian in honoring the enduring and distinguished service of Native Americans in every branch of the US military. Throughout the day, visitors of all ages can learn more about Native military service and honor veterans through presentations, a short film, hands-on activities, various informa tion tables, and more.

The Native America n Women Warriors (NAWW) will present the colors to begin the day's programming with a welcome from museum leadership. Tak e in the exhibition Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces and watch the short film that complements the exhibition. Hear about the history and design of the National Native American Veterans Memorial on our grounds. Learn about the significance of tobacco in Indigenous cultures and make prayer ties to honor veterans. Meet with members of the Native American Women Warriors and learn about their service. Color your own Lakota star quilt as you learn about the history and significance of quilts in Plains cultures. Representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs will be on hand to share information and resources available for veterans and their families. Dr. Christine Sims (Acoma Pueblo), Associate Professor in the Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural S tudies in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of New Mexico (UNM) will share the stories of Pueblo men who served as Code Talkers in World War II. Ryan S. Flahive, archivist at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), will discuss the life and legacy of Native fashion designer, co-founder of IAIA, and veteran Lloyd "Kiva" New (Cherokee. 1916-2002 ). The lighting of the flame of the National Native American Veterans Memorial will feature an Honor Song and drum by Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/Isanti Dakota/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) and Ralph Zotigh (Kiowa/Isanti Dakota/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo). The Native American Women Warriors will retire the colors to conclude the day's events.

Portions of the day's events (marked with * below) will be livestreamed, watch at AmericanIndian.si.edu/livestream .

Full schedule of events to be announced.

Photo by Matailong Du

Major funding provided by The Boeing Company