Indigenous Peoples' Day Open House at MFA

Free Admission for Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Massachusetts

to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the MFA. This year, we’re offering free admission—including access to “Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore”—for Massachusetts residents. Enjoy gallery tours, engaging family art-making activities, and more! Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes and honors the heritage of Native Americans and Indigenous peoples and the histories of their many nations and communities.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the MFA is part of the Fenway Alliance’s Opening Our Doors festival, a celebration of the Fenway Cultural District.

Events and Activities

Meet Local Partners

  • 10 am–3 pm
  • Shapiro Family Courtyard
  • Stop by to talk with representatives from the North American Indian Center of Boston, United American Indians of New England, Indigenous Peoples’ Day Massachusetts, and Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples’ Day about their organizations and the work they do.

Drop-In Art Making: Pottery

  • 10 am–4 pm (last entry 3:45 pm)
  • Druker Family Pavilion
  • Create your own pottery inspired by the many traditions of Native North America! Activity created in consultation with Mashpee Wampanoag artist Haley Peters.

Guided Tours

  • 11 am, Noon, 1 pm, and 2 pm
  • Meet at Sharf Visitor Center
  • Wondering where to start your visit to the MFA? Experience the Museum on a free 60-minute guided tour. Led by knowledgeable guides, look closely at artwork across the MFA’s collections. Learn more about old favorites and discover something new! Participants of all ages and experiences are welcome.

Zenni Optical Vision Screenings

  • 10 am–3 pm
  • Riley Seminar Room
  • Come by for free vision screenings and pick up some exclusive Zenni swag. Zenni Optical believes that clear vision is a right, not a privilege, and is committed to making high-quality eye care accessible to every individual, especially the youngest members of our community.

First Light Foundation

  • 11 am and 1 pm
  • Shapiro Family Courtyard
  • Meet Annawon Weeden, a proud member of the Mashpee Wampanoag, Pequot, and Narragansett tribes and a cultural instructor for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Cultural Resource Department. Born and raised in Charlestown, Rhode Island, Weeden passionately shares his tribal culture with the public. Alongside his cultural work, Weeden is an artist and environmental educator, promoting Indigenous art and education through the First Light Foundation.

Art-Making Demo by Haley Peters

  • Noon and 3pm
  • Gallery 168
  • Haley Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag) utilizes traditional techniques of pinching and coiling clay and traditional tools of bone and shell to create forms that reference historic Eastern Woodland vessels. While being inspired by the making of historical vessels, they often find joy in exaggerating and pushing these forms and methods to extremes.

Community Perspective: Nipmuc Baskets

  • 12:30 pm
  • Gallery LG34
  • Gather with Kim Toney (Nipmuc), coordinating curator for Native American and Indigenous collections at the John Carter Brown Library, to learn more about the MFA’s Nipmuc collection.

Community Perspective: Ancestors and Place

  • 1 pm
  • Gallery LG26
  • Join Elizabeth Solomon and Jenny Oliver (both Massachusett at Ponkapoag) as they share their experiences working on the exhibition “Ancestors and Place: Indigenous North American Prints,” which features more than 30 works—most of them recent acquisitions—by Indigenous artists from the United States and Canada

Community Perspective: Art of Attire

  • 2 pm
  • Gallery 234
  • Join Layla Bermeo, Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of American Paintings, and Marina Tyquiengco (CHamoru), Ellyn McColgan Associate Curator of Native American Art, as they discuss “Art of Attire,” a recent installation centering Indigenous clothing and cultural exchanges.

Hawk Henries

  • 2 and 3:15 pm
  • Shapiro Family Courtyard
  • Hawk Henries is an artist, composer, and flute musician of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuc. He expertly crafts Eastern Woodlands flutes through ancestral and contemporary techniques. His transformative performances create contemplative spaces for unity and meaningful reflection on how we each have the capacity to make change in the world. Through music, discussion, and a note of humor, he weaves a calm, engaging, and thought-provoking experience.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) is in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, stands on the historic homelands of the Massachusett people, a site that has long served as a place of meeting and exchange among different nations. As a museum, we acknowledge the long history of the land we occupy today and seek ways to make Indigenous narratives more prominent in our galleries and programming. We can all learn more about the Massachusett people, who continue to be the stewards of this land, by visiting massachusetttribe.org.

When: 
Monday, October 14, 2024 10am-5pm
Prices: 
FREE
Phone: 
617.267.9300
Landmark Summer Experience at Landmark School in Beverly Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

 Maudslay in Bloom self guided walk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts.
Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School in Hmailton Massachusetts hosts their annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture exhibit each Fall. Sculpture: Phoenix by Robin Tost.
Pingree School hosts the 16th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts .
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

Learn about the true reality of the Salem Massachusetts Witch Trials Salem Massachusetts on a self guided walking tour with Essex Heritage
This self-guided walking tour is designed to help explain the true history behind the Salem Witch Trials. After more than three centuries of storytelling through countless books, movies, and television shows, the line between historical fact and dramatic fiction has become increasingly blurred....
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Crescent Farm Corn Maze

Crescent Farm corn maze in Haverhill Massachusetts
Imagine the biggest puzzle you’ve ever seen. Now imagine a day in the sunshine with your friends or family. Now add an adventure that takes teamwork and memory skills. All these things and more can be found at Crescent Farms Corn Maze. Crescent Farm Corn Maze trails cut into 9 acres of corn. Inside...
9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10am for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Saugus Iron Works House Tours

Free Ranger guided tours of the Saugus Iron Works House in Massachusetts
Join National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a 30-minute tour of The Iron Works House.
11:00 am

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts
Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.
2:00 pm

The Backyard Growcery

Join Backyard Growers at Burnham's Field in Gloucester Massachusetts for a weekly Farmer's Market
Stop by Gloucester’s new weekly farmers market, the Backyard Growcery, managed by Backyard Growers. The Backyard Growcery is located at Burnham's Field, an urban park near Gloucester’s thriving waterfront, and features small-scale North Shore farmers, bakers, a seafood vendor, an artisanal pizza...
2:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Topsfield HomeGrown Market

Come to Topsfield Massachusetts Common for a homegrown market on the Wednesdays through July
The mission of the HomeGrown Market is to provide the Topsfield community with a series of family-friendly events that emphasize supporting local and offer the opportunity for Topsfield and surrounding North Shore farmers, gardeners, artisans, creators, performers, musicians, nonprofits, young...
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Stargazing at Mendel Observatory

Mendel Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night
The Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night (weather permitting) starting at dusk or 7:30 pm, whichever is later.  When special astronomical events of interest occur (total lunar eclipses, etc.) the Obs
7:00 pm

Thursday, September 11

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

 Maudslay in Bloom self guided walk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts.
Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School in Hmailton Massachusetts hosts their annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture exhibit each Fall. Sculpture: Phoenix by Robin Tost.
Pingree School hosts the 16th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts .
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

Learn about the true reality of the Salem Massachusetts Witch Trials Salem Massachusetts on a self guided walking tour with Essex Heritage
This self-guided walking tour is designed to help explain the true history behind the Salem Witch Trials. After more than three centuries of storytelling through countless books, movies, and television shows, the line between historical fact and dramatic fiction has become increasingly blurred....
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Crescent Farm Corn Maze

Crescent Farm corn maze in Haverhill Massachusetts
Imagine the biggest puzzle you’ve ever seen. Now imagine a day in the sunshine with your friends or family. Now add an adventure that takes teamwork and memory skills. All these things and more can be found at Crescent Farms Corn Maze. Crescent Farm Corn Maze trails cut into 9 acres of corn. Inside...
9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Kidleidoscope

Kidleidoscope at Maudslay State Park is a chance for preschoolers to explore the park, enjoy a story and make a craft!
Maudslay State Park has created this program for their youngest crowd! The park interpreter will lead a weekly nature themed preschool aged program that involves a story time and outdoor exploration of Maudslay trails and gardens! 
10:00 am to 11:00 am

Saugus Iron Works House Tours

Free Ranger guided tours of the Saugus Iron Works House in Massachusetts
Join National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a 30-minute tour of The Iron Works House.
11:00 am

Good Harbor Beach Cleanup

Annual COASTSWEEP Good Harbor Beach Fall cleanup hosted by Seaside Sustainability in Gloucester Massachusetts
Join  a COASTSWEEP clean up of Good Harbor Beach!  What to Bring: Appropriate clothes for being on the coast, hat, sunscreen, water, snack, thin gloves optional, hand sanitizer, and a friend or two!
1:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts
Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.
2:00 pm