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All-woman drum group to perform in celebration of Women's History Month.

In celebration of Women's History Month, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian will host "The Mankillers," an all-woman drum group from northern California whose members represent numerous tribes from throughout North America, including Apache, Cherokee, Hupa, Karuk, Muskogee Creek, Jemez and Taos Pueblo, and others. Performances will be held on March 16 at 6:30 p.m., and on March 18 at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m., at the museum's George Gustav Heye Center, One Bowling Green, in lower Manhattan. Admission is free.

The Mankillers' name pays homage to Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The group remains one of the few all-woman Native American drum groups to release a professional recording (1997 Anya Music). The women sing in the northern style of Native American pow wow music in the same manner as men, dividing leads, chorus, and calls among each other. Formed in 1992 as a women's support group and mentoring circle, the Mankillers are comprised of community activists, teachers, and mothers who act as role models for youth. The group inspires and motivates women of all ages with their songs and also through educational workshops. "The group promotes the path of the drum in place of drugs, alcohol, and other forms of self-destruction," said group member and manager Irma Amaro-Davis (Chicana/Yaqui).

The Mankillers are comprised of Irma Amaro-Davis, Carrie Dunn Anderson, Michon Eben, Maggie Escobedo-Steele, Danielle Estrada, April Frank, Genevieve Markussen, Kristi Orona-Ramirez, Tina Rizzo, Geneva Shaw, Fawn White, and Sawar Young-Tripp.

The Heye Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, call the museum's 24-hour public program line at (212) 514-3888 (recording).