Naropa University honors Native American Heritage Month this year by drawing attention to ENCODED, an Indigenous Augmented Reality Art Intervention at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
This month, we encourage the Naropa community to experience ENCODED as ceremony towards right relationship with Native Americans and Indigenous People: let museum walls dissolve, let new stories surface, let the unsanctioned creativity of Indigenous artists guide praxis for Landback, regeneration, and deeper interrelatedness. We recognize that this statement itself is part of a larger movement, one that extends gratitude, amplifies inspiration, and invites every member of our community to encode new futures through art, action, and remembrance.
As we simultaneously proclaim land and labor acknowledgments that honor the original stewards of the stolen land and the unrecognized, coerced labor that our nation was built upon, let us also transform this practice to reimagine narratives beyond acknowledgement which center past, present, and future relations bending the arch towards healing and repair. Let us begin by coming into relationship with the names of the Native Lands on which we reside, study, and receive nourishment. Do you know whose land you are on? If not find out here: native-land.ca
Naropa’s physical campus resides on the ceded lands of the:
About ENCODED:
“Launched on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025, 17 Indigenous artists from across North America, installed their own exhibition in a takeover of the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City… The exhibition was unsanctioned. The Met did not know it was coming.
ENCODED, is not a protest, or a demand for inclusion, it is a ceremonial act of remembering and reimagining; it is a portal inviting us to see what happens when new narratives enter old frames.”
“It is not a response to power. It IS power.”
The exhibit intentionally amplifies the vision and courage of the Indigenous artists who reclaimed and transformed museum space into a living, ceremonial portal for remembrance and futurism. Their unsanctioned takeover redefines heritage as an active “encoding” of ancestral wisdom and disruptive, liberatory imagination, renewing our own inspiration to reframe and revitalize Native American Heritage Month.
Attributions and Collective Inspiration
We offer deep gratitude and recognition to the creators of the ENCODED experience, a collaboration between Amplifier.org X Pop Culture Collaboration, and Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, making visible what has been long obscured.
“Through this collaboration, the American Wing became a living site of Indigenous presence, creativity, and storytelling. ENCODED is a celebration, a ceremonial act of remembering and reimagining that transforms how we experience history itself. …reinterpreted twenty-six works from the museum’s permanent collection through augmented reality (AR) and immersive sound, reclaiming space and expanding narratives…”
“Grounded in artistic practice and dialogue, ENCODED invites visitors to slow down, look deeper, and engage with the museum’s collection in new ways. It is more than an exhibition, it is a movement of many movements, extending beyond the museum as a reminder of what has always been here and a vision of what’s possible when we come together to shape a shared future.”
Naropa stands with this vision, by broadcasting the “encoded” approach and invite our community into a renewed sense of belonging and responsibility to witness this takeover yourself.
Ways to Experience ENCODED:
Explore from anywhere (it’s easy, just click)
Visit the new ENCODED virtual experience to explore the artworks and hear directly from the artists about their visions of reclamation, belonging, and future memory.
The slightly more techy but still moderately easy experience, we recommend you download the free Amplifier AR app and scan the images in the same ENCODED Virtual Experience. You will need two devices to manage this experience.
If you happen to be New York, join a guided tour – Amplifier is hosting intimate tours throughout November and December, led by community guides and collaborators. Space is limited, reserve your spot here →
Then come back and engage as Naropapians, by sharing your reflections and creativity on our Naropa Encoded Portal:
Engage in dialogue on campus and online about how these works deepen our understanding of history, representation, and belonging. Submit inspired responses, questions, or creative works to Naropa’s Encoded Portal: for collective visibility and ongoing remaking of community memory.
Resources:
The Exhibition Zine – more about the ENCODED works and artists
