Cynthia Chavez Lamar, Director of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), delivers remarks at the opening of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on June 26, 2024.

Chavez Lamar, a citizen of the Pueblo of San Felipe, is the first Native woman to lead the NMAI. She spoke at the museum in Washington, D.C.

The theme of the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival is “Indigenous Voices of the Americas: Celebrating the National Museum of the American Indian.” The event showcases Indigenous peoples throughout North, Central and South America, along with commemorating the 20th anniversary of the NMAI, which opened to the public in September 2004.

The festival runs from June 26 through July 1 on the National Mall. For more information, visit festival.si.edu.