RALEIGH, N.C. --  Alongside leaders from North Carolina’s eight Indian tribes, Gov. Roy Cooper recently proclaimed November as American Indian Heritage Month.

  • More than 100 different musicians, dancers, artists, scholars, and storytellers will be at the fun, family-friendly festival
  • The free festival takes place after the Raleigh Christmas parade this Saturday, November 17 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • For more information visit their website

The recognition leads up to a very important festival at the North Carolina Museum of History, the 23rd annual American Indian Heritage Festival. The museum’s Emily Grant sat down with Spectrum News anchor Caroline Blair to explain the significance of the festival, and why it’s such an important learning experience.

More than 100 different musicians, dancers, artists, scholars, and storytellers will be at the fun, family-friendly festival as they share their art, history, and culture. Members of all eight of the state’s recognized tribes will also be on hand.

Here’s a list of ways the NC Museum of History says you can celebrate at this year’s festival:

  • Take in the Grand Entry as it features a roll call of NC’s tribes and organizations, accompanied by drum groups and dancers, dressed in colorful regalia.
  • Dive into hands-on activities for children, such as a bow-and-arrow shooting range, finger weaving, and corncob darts 
  • Participate in archeology digs and imprinting designs onto pottery.
  • Enjoy food and beverages from American Indian owned businesses and organizations.
  • Take home souvenirs from select local artists and vendors.
  • Watch a Native fashion show and see how clothing designer Tabatha Jacobs Polanco incorporates traditional native elements into everyday fashion for the 21st century.
  • Engage with authors and educators, including Lena Epps Brooker (Hot Dogs on the Road: An American Indian Girl’s Reflections on Growing Up in a Black and White World) and Dr. Malinda Maynor Lowery (The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle).
  • Discover UNC Chapel Hill’s virtual museum, a collection of 3D models of archaeological artifacts, and learn about the NC Archives and State Library’s efforts to digitize documents relating to American Indian communities.
  • Watch a short film that documents the efforts of Robeson County residents who oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Afterward, talk with the creators of the film.
  • Observe exciting demonstrations of weapon making and dugout canoe burning.  
  • Learn how to make cough syrup using the medicinal and nutritious elderberry with Ricky Bratzof the Conservation Fund.

The free festival takes place after the Raleigh Christmas Parade this Saturday, November 17, from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the North Carolina History Museum. For more information visit their website