Visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The visual arts created by Indigenous peoples across North, Central, and South America, including distinct historical and contemporary traditions shaped by community, place, materials, and cultural practice.

Connect

Indigenous peoples of the Americas: The diverse peoples whose histories and communities originate in the Americas. Their distinct nations and communities are the makers of these varied art traditions.
Indigenous architecture of the Americas: Built environments and structures created by Indigenous peoples across the Americas. Architecture joins visual design with settlement, ceremony, climate, and community life.
Maya art: The visual arts of the Maya peoples, including architecture, sculpture, painting, and ceramics. Maya works show how writing, political life, and religious practice shaped visual forms.
Pre-Columbian art: Art produced in the Americas before sustained European contact and colonization. It provides a broad historical frame for many Indigenous artistic traditions.
Cultural heritage: Practices, places, objects, and knowledge inherited and maintained by communities. Indigenous artworks can embody heritage that communities continue to steward.
Indigenous sovereignty: The inherent authority of Indigenous peoples to govern their communities, territories, and affairs. Sovereignty shapes who controls cultural expression, heritage, and the terms of representation.
Indigenous textiles of the Americas: Woven, dyed, embroidered, and otherwise constructed textiles made by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Textiles bring regional materials, technical knowledge, and visual pattern together.
Aztec art: The visual arts of the Mexica and other peoples of the Aztec Empire. Its sculpture, precious materials, and codices reflect imperial and religious worlds.
European colonization of the Americas: The conquest and settlement of the Americas by European powers beginning in the late fifteenth century. Colonization disrupted communities and transformed materials, commissions, and artistic institutions.
Repatriation of Indigenous cultural property: The return of cultural objects or human remains to Indigenous peoples and communities. Repatriation debates concern works removed from communities and held by institutions.