EVENTS
Find all our upcoming and past events, and discover the diversity of our Native American collections through conferences, exhibitions and meetings. These gatherings are opportunities to explore native cultural heritage with experts, researchers and representatives of source communities, creating a space for dialogue and the transmission of knowledge.
EVENT
EXHIBITION
1725. Native American Allies at the Court of Louis XV
The exhibition offers an immersive exploration into the little-known world of Native American societies in the Mississippi Valley at the turn of the 18th century, just as the French began settling in this vast region they named «Louisiana.» The French, in turn, had to adapt to Native American diplomatic norms, and over time, their presence in the region came to rely on an economic, military, and political alliance with several Indigenous nations.
One of the most emblematic and spectacular moments of this alliance was the journey to France of Oto, Osage, Missouri, and Illinois chiefs in the autumn of 1725, arranged jointly by the Compagnie des Indes and the young King Louis XV. This episode will be recounted in the exhibition
Castle of Versailles
November 25, 2025 - May 4, 2026
Current and Past Events
Exhibition "Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy" in the McCord Stewart Museum, Montréal
L’exposition « Wampum, Perles de Diplomatie » au Musée McCord Stewart révèle la richesse des wampums – colliers de perles de coquillage – utilisés comme instruments diplomatiques entre nations autochtones et européennes du XVIIème au XIXème siècle. Présentant plus de 40 pièces issues de collections internationales et des œuvres contemporaines d’artistes autochtones, elle invite le public à découvrir la portée culturelle et politique de ces objets, porteurs de messages…
Read more
The Seneca language today
Jamie Jacobs, a specialist in the Seneca language and culture, will present the history of its documentation and the current programmes for teaching this North American Iroquoian language to future generations.
Read more
Native American nations today and their relationship with France
Nous avons l'honneur d'accueillir des représentants des nations Choctaw, Quapaw, Miami et Peoria, avec lesquelles nous partageons une histoire commune, souvent méconnue. Aux XVIIème et XVIIIème siècles, ces nations exerçaient leur souveraineté sur différents territoires de la vallée du Mississippi, à l'époque où le Royaume de France revendiquait cette région sous le nom de « Louisiane ». Leur puissance politique et militaire a conduit le projet colonial français à s’appuyer…
Read more
Exhibition « Wampum / Otgoä »
The Wampum / Otgoä exhibit is the culmination of three hundred years of relationship building and the past four years of collaboration. This unique and unprecedented partnership between Ganondagan, the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac (Paris) and the McCord Museum (Montreal) will weave a friendship between peoples and across time. Perhaps more importantly, it will pave the way for future collaborations between European and Native American Indigenous museums that are mutually…
Read more
The Haudenosaunee tatoo. A living tradition
This meeting, which is part of the CROYAN Project, celebrates the practice of tattooing, which combines traditional and contemporary artistic aspects. Michael Galban and Jamie Jacobs will discuss the role of Haudenosaunee tattooing as an artistic practice and a mark of identity in northeastern North America.
Read more
Helping people to see. The art of Peter Jemison
Peter Jemison, a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, is a politically active artist and a pillar of Haudenosaunee culture. He will discuss his artistic career and his commitment to preserving and transmitting his people's heritage.
Read more
Exhibition « Wampum. Beads of Diplomacy in New France »
Shell beads from North America known as wampum are more than just a raw material transformed into beads. Polished, strung and woven, exchanged and gifted, coveted and imitated, they are a valuable witness to a chapter in the history of New France (1600-1763).
Read more
Exhibition "An Inquisitive Prince"
In 1806, the Versailles Public Library received an extraordinary collection of objects from around the world, most of which can be found today in the musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. The collections expanded considerably during the nineteenth century, due to the generosity of a number of Versaillais donors. When the musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro in Paris took over the collection in 1934, it comprised roughly 534 items from Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas.
Read more
