05/30/2026
Bozho/hello, The Kwek Society sewists and friends — check out these quilting patterns commissioned by NMAI from Indigenous artists!
The design of each block is inspired by a different era of United States history, as seen through a Native lens. You are invited to sew your own blocks at home, at your own pace.
By the end of the quilt along, you will have created a commemorative wall hanging that honors Indigenous stories, perspectives, and histories that shape this country.
“Whenever you miss home, open the quilt and place it on your bed or wrap it around you. The quilt was made with love, given with love, and all the love I sewed into the quilt will comfort you,” said a mother to her daughter who was preparing to leave the Hawaiian Islands for the mainland. The quilt featured a pattern, known as Kanani O Ka Home, that reflected the beauty of their island home.
Quilting, though not a traditional Native art, became part of community gatherings, in the wake of Western expansion. Long before the founding of the United States, many Native cultures used buffalo hides not only for clothing and shelter, but also for ceremony and storytelling. In the late 1800s, bison and buffalo hides grew scarce as herds were hunted nearly to extinction in a campaign to subdue the Plains tribes. Christian missionary women began teaching quilting techniques to Native women as a form of assimilation during forced relocations and displacement of Native communities. Despite its forced origin, quilts became a way to maintain traditions of gift-giving and bestowing honor on individuals in Native communities from the Woodlands to the Plains and from Alaska to the Hawaiian Islands. Today, quilting remains a vibrant tradition in Native communities, bridging generations and cultures.
Now, you’re invited to be part of that tradition. Join the museum as we launch our first-ever Quilt Along! In recognition of 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we’ve invited five Native designers to create quilt patterns that reflect on the relationship between Indigenous communities and what is now the United States of America. Our featured artists are Lauren Good Day (Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet/Plains Cree), Cissy Serrao (Native Hawaiian), Emma Alcazar (Chickasaw), Nikki Corbett (Yup’ik), and Margaret Wood (Diné/Seminole). At the end, you will have created a commemorative wall hanging that honors Indigenous stories, perspectives, and histories that shape this country.
Learn more and sign up for updates on our site. Each month from June to October, we’ll reveal a new pattern and instructions online. with us! https://americanindian.si.edu/quilting/
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Image credit: Individual quilt squares commissioned by the National Museum of the American Indian and assembled into a single quilt for the 1997 “To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions” exhibition. 26/9621
This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: 250,” a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.
