CATOOSA, Okla. – “It is through our artistic expression that we can express our highest aspirations…our greatest concerns and worries, our greatest hopes, our greatest memories about where we came from, and great pride about where we’re going,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskins Jr. (Cherokee Nation) as he addressed artists and guests at Cherokee Art Market awards reception on October 11, 2024. The juried market showcases the work of more than 150 artists representing more than 50 federally recognized tribal nations. This year marks its 19th year at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, located in Catoosa, Oklahoma, on…
Author: Stacy Pratt
Norman, OK – First American Art Magazine is proud to introduce the first recipient of the FAAM Alaska Native Art Writing Fellowship, Kariel Galbraith. Galbraith is a Tlingit scholar, writer, and artist. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2024 with a dual major in English (with honors) and American Indian Studies. Galbraith has worked closely with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle with collections, staff, and visiting artists to research a variety of Indigenous artistic media along the Northwest Coast. She leads weaving workshops and says that building skills and knowledge in Tlingit cultural art forms…
CATOOSA, Okla. – Speaking at the 2023 Cherokee Art Market awards dinner on October 13, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. addressed the artists, saying, “What you do reflects in so many ways the highest aspirations of the Cherokee people. In some ways, it reflects some of our great concerns, but it reflects what a great Cherokee society can be and should be.” The juried market showcases the work of more than 150 artists representing more than 50 federally recognized tribal nations. This year marks its 18th year at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, located in Catoosa,…
TAHLEQUAH, OK — Emcee Robert Lewis (Cherokee Nation/Navajo/Apache) announced the winners of the 2023 Cherokee National Holiday Art Show on Friday, Sept. 1, at the Chota Conference Center of the Cherokee Casino. Artists received their awards from newly crowned Junior Miss Cherokee Addison Rouse (Cherokee Nation) amid the sound of Cherokee hymns being sung in an adjoining room. It was a fitting start to the nation’s popular Cherokee National Holiday weekend, which features a wide variety of cultural and artistic activities. Best of Show: Let’s Picnic at the Holiday, Vivian Cottrell Vivian Cottrell (Cherokee Nation) received Best of Show for…
Santa Fe, NM — Laughter, music, and happy reunions marked the 2023 Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival at Buffalo Thunder Casino, August 18 to 20, 2023. The festival showcases hundreds of artists, crafters, and vendors — from painters and potters to Indigenous makeup and skincare brands. In addition to vibrant indoor and outdoor market spaces, the event features two stages of music and an Indigenous film festival. “It’s been so lovely to be back in Santa Fe, especially at this market,” said accessories designer Delaney Keshena (Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin), who traveled from Minnesota for the festival. “The setup was so…
Tulsa, Okla. — After a successful inaugural year in 2022, the Mvskoke Art Market returned to the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Friday, April 21, Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill welcomed artists and guests to the awards reception in advance of the market, which takes place on April 22 and 23. This year, more than 80 artists filled the River Spirit ballroom, representing a wide variety of styles, media, and tribal nations. Best of Show: Starr Hardridge, Under the Oaks Starr Hardridge (Mvskoke) won Best of Show for his painting Under the Oaks (2023). The artist was…
“It’s been a long time coming.” Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill was among those who shared that sentiment at the Mvskoke Art Market awards ceremony on Friday, April 22, 2022, at River Spirit Casino and Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. More than 60 artists representing several tribal nations will fill the ample market area over the weekend of April 23 and 24. At the awards ceremony, artists and guests expressed that they hope the market will become a long-standing institution. The First Annual? Metalsmith and designer Kenneth Johnson (Mvskoke/Seminole Nation) won Best of Show for his Star Woodpecker Triple Gorget.…
“It’s a museum, but it’s for regular Indians.” I overheard that at the opening of the First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City. Perhaps among all the praise heaped on the museum during its opening weekend of Sept. 18 and 19, that offhand statement suggests FAM is succeeding at its mission. FAM represents the first-person history of Oklahoma’s Indigenous peoples and provides a place for that history to continue being made. On Saturday, Sept. 18, hundreds of masked guests with timed-entry tickets were the first to experience exhibitions, demonstrations, performances, and more on the vast FAM grounds. The weekend began…
After decades of planning, challenges, and changes, First Americans Museum (FAM) opens this weekend, Sept. 18 and 19, in Oklahoma City, with music, poetry, dance, and much more. FAM is a magnificent 175,000 square-foot museum focused on the cultures, histories, and current stories of Oklahoma’s Native peoples. Executive Director James Pepper Henry (Kaw/Muscogee) leads the museum’s all-Native curatorial team and primarily Native staff. Saturday’s opening ceremonies begin with a procession of representatives from all of Oklahoma’s 39 tribes — 38 federally recognized nations and the Yuchi people. Remarks from tribal, state, and museum leaders conclude with a reading by US…
Two Native American writers, novelist Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) and poet Natalie Diaz (Mojave/Pima), won Pulitzer Prize winners in 2021. In a first for Indigenous comic artists, another Native storyteller was a finalist for the prize. Oglala Lakota artist Marty Two Bulls Sr. was nominated for a Pulitzer in Editorial Cartooning “for innovative and insightful cartoons that offer a Native American perspective on contemporary news events.” Ultimately, the committee did not select a nominee in the category for 2021. This is the sixth time the committee has not selected a winner for the award. The last time was 1973.…