Author: FAAM Staff

Best of Show for the 104th annual Santa Fe Indian Market went to Sergio Youngblood Lugo (Santa Clara Pueblo) for his 4-Sided Floating Melon Bowl, an extraordinary blackware pot that is a miracle of engineering design—and persistence. Lugo described how he had to recreate the pot and its lid after the first versions failed, over the span of months. “A lot of people don’t see what artists go through,” Lugo said, “especially when you’re doing something that has never been done before.” He continued, “Failure is just part of pottery-making.” What makes a successful artist is the willingness to try…

Making the Most of Santa Fe Native Art Week 2026 Whether you call it Native Art Week, Indigenous Celebration, Indian Market Week or simply the busiest week of the year in Santa Fe, one thing is certain: there is nowhere else in the world quite like it. Each August, thousands of artists, collectors, curators, gallery owners, museum professionals and art enthusiasts and advocates gather in Northern New Mexico for an extraordinary celebration of Indigenous art. Dozens of exhibitions, artist receptions, markets, demonstrations and cultural events unfold across the city, creating an unforgettable experience that can also feel overwhelming for first-time…

Issue No. 50, Spring 2026 (April–June) Click here to purchase a digital copy for $7.00 from Issuu. To purchase a print copy, click below: Features Reweaving the Raven: The Return of Yéil Koowú By Mandy Yeahpau (Comanche/Cherokee/Tarahumara descent), 24–33 Maya Eccentric Flints By Florence Wanjuri, 34–41 Nuts and Bolts: Appraisals for Estate Planning, Donations, Deductions, and More By Reilly Clark, 42–47 The Living Archive: Dress, Dance, and Drumming in Garifuna Culture By Ahmadu Abubakar Ndakogarba, 48–55 Artist Profiles Michael Chiago Sr.: Tohono O’odham/Pima-Maricopa Painter By Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD, 58–63 Grace Rosario Perkins: Diné/Akimel O’odham Painter By riel bellow,…

Carnegie, OK – Celebrating its third year, the Huntinghorse Tsatoke Kiowa Tribe Art Show showcased artworks across media at the Red Wolf Community Center. Running from July 1 through 3, 2026, the exhibition coincided with the annual Kiowa Gourd Clan Ceremonials and was open to all Kiowa citizens and descendants with kids, youth, adult, and senior/master divisions. This approach encourages young, emerging artists while honoring accomplished elders. A. Monroe Tsatoke, a minister and an established painter who taught art at Riverside Indian School, and Toni Tsatoke, executive director of the Kiowa Education Agency, organized this exhibition. Today, the Kiowa Tribe,…

Santa Fe, NM – As fine art collectors and enthusiasts from around the world gather in Santa Fe this August, they will have the unique opportunity to experience the sixth official Sovereign Santa Fe 2026 (SSF2026) group art expo at La Fonda on the Plaza in the Lumpkins Ballroom and Mezzanine. Organized by FaraHNHeight Fine Art, Sovereign Santa Fe is a free-admission contemporary Indigenous arts exhibition, showcasing cutting-edge creativity. Sovereign’s mission is to create a platform to highlight New School Indigenous arts and the relationship between collective culture and individual innovation. Established to give vibrant Native American artists and artists…

Salamanca, NY – The 2026 Ohi:yo’ Art Market Best of Show was awarded to Katsitsionni Fox (Akwesasne Mohawk, Bear clan), for The Little Girl Inside, a mixed-media ceramic pot with porcupine quills. Samantha Jacobs (Seneca) won the Juror’s Choice award for You’re On Native Land. The second annual Ohi:yo’ Art Market took place on Saturday, May 16, at the luxurious Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino. Most of the artists are from Haudenosaunee nations in New York and Ontario, but some artists came as far away as New Mexico to participate. Hosted by the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, the market was supported…

Phoenix, AZ – On Friday, June 5, 2026, painter and muralist Thomas “Breeze” Marcus will open the doors of his new art gallery, Earth Maker Gallery. Breeze (Salt River Akimel O’odham/ Tohono O’odham/Ponca), a painter and muralist who has been creating since his teens, beginning with abstract graffiti that became renowned and was featured in murals not only in Phoenix but across the country. He was part of the Neoglyphix street art team. The inaugural exhibition also features artwork by Latine and Indigenous painters, muralists, and tattoo artists, including Douglas Miles (White Mountain Apache/San Carlos Apache/Akimel O’odham), Gloria Martinez-Granados, Micah…

By Joel Southall (Chippewas of Rama First Nation) The scent of sage and frybread lingers in the light-filled atmosphere of Eugene’s Farmers Market Pavilion, where sunlight filters through tall glass walls and open roll-up doors onto tables of beadwork, paintings, and cornhusk dolls. Amid discreet speakers, the gentle notes of Indigenous flute music drift through the room, mingling with laughter that echoes softly against the pavilion’s timber beams. For board member and volunteer coordinator Doug Ford, who also teaches welding at Lane Community College (LCC), the Native American Arts and Crafts Makers Market is less a marketplace than a homecoming.…

April 27, 1937–November 18, 2025 Always gracious, elegant, and kind, Mary Jo Watson loved Native art and wanted to share her passion with others. Through her teaching at the University of Oklahoma and out in communities, her curation, and her advocacy, she made lasting impacts in a region where support for Native artists has often been missing. “Mary Jo was the reason I returned to Oklahoma for graduate school,” writes Amber Shaples, executive director of the Oklahoma Arts Council. “Her creation of the first PhD program in Native American art history fundamentally reshaped the academic and scholarly landscape, positioning Oklahoma…

The 5th Annual Mvskoke Art Market takes place April 18 and 19 at the River Spirit Casino and Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. More information. Best of Show: Kenneth Johnson (Seminole/Mvskoke) Mvskoke Heritage Award: Jimmie Carole Stewart (Mvskoke) Mary Smith Traditional Award: Talisha Lewallen (Cherokee Nation) Basketry 1st place: Vivian Cottrell (Cherokee Nation) 2nd place: Vivian Cottrell (Cherokee Nation) 3rd place: Ronda Moss (Cherokee Nation) Beadwork/Quillwork 1st place: Yonavea Hawkins (Caddo/Delaware/Kickapoo) 2nd place: Beth Bush (Pokagon Potawatomi) 3rd place: Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota) Digital Art 1st place: Destiny Green (Chickasaw) 2nd place: Raven Kemp (Mvskoke/Euchee/Choctaw/Diné) 3rd place:…