Eiteljorg Indian Market & Festival Celebrates Indigenous Artists
Last month, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art hosted its 33rd annual Indian Market & Festival, drawing more than 140 prestigious Indigenous artists and nearly 4,000 attendees to downtown Indianapolis. The two-day event, which has been a cornerstone of the city’s cultural calendar since 1993, showcased the vibrant traditions and contemporary innovations of Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations artists.
By: Darren Thompson
“Seeing the Native community come together in Indianapolis was incredible, and you could feel the energy from the very start,” said Eiteljorg Indian Market & Festival Coordinator Conner Richberg. “The art, performances, the food – every part of the weekend reflected us as Native peoples and our stories. The success wasn’t just about the numbers, though I am grateful to have had so many people come to experience and support Native artists and cultures.”
Competition and Recognition
The festival’s centerpiece remains its juried art competition, featuring 10 divisions and 44 categories where artists compete for prize money and recognition. The competition includes divisions for Beadwork/Quillwork, Cultural Items, Weavings and Textiles, Basketry, Pottery, Jewelry, Carvings and Dolls, Sculpture, Paintings/Drawings/Photography/Prints, and Innovative Arts. Expert judges, carefully selected by event staff, evaluate hundreds of submissions to award first, second, and third place ribbons across all categories.
A youth competition runs alongside the main event, recognizing emerging talent in two age groups: 13-17 years and 12 years and younger, with ribbon awards for first, second, and third place in each category.
This year’s “Best of Show” recipient was Wade Patton, an Oglala Lakota artist from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. His micron ink drawing “Red Cloud” first won the “Best of Paintings, Drawings, Photography and Prints” division, qualifying it for the prestigious Margot L. Eccles Best of Show Award worth $7,500.
“Receiving an award at the Eiteljorg Indian Art Market was a surreal experience, especially since it was my first time attending, and I was surrounded by so many incredibly gifted indigenous artists,” Patton said. “It was an honor to be recognized among such an impressive group of talents.”
Patton’s “Red Cloud” also received additional recognition through the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award. Museum curators selected the piece, priced at $3,400 by the artist, for permanent addition to the Eiteljorg’s collection, one of the most prestigious repositories of American Indian art in the world.
Division Winners and Cultural Programming
The Friends of Indian Market & Festival sponsored the division awards, recognizing excellence across all categories. Winners included Cyndy Milda (Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community) for Beadwork/Quillwork, Tim Blueflint Ramel (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) for Cultural Items, and Della BigHair-Stump (Crow Nation) for Weavings and Textiles with her “MMIW Red Dress.” Other division winners were Don Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin) for Basketry, Amanda Lucario (Pueblo of Acoma) for Pottery, Ernest Benally (Diné/Navajo) for Jewelry, Kevin Horace Quannie (Hopi, Diné) for Carvings and Dolls, Troy Sice (Zuni Pueblo) for Sculpture, and Rain Scott (Pueblo of Acoma) for Innovative Arts.
Beyond the competition, the festival featured rich cultural programming including performances by Indigenous Enterprise, a powwow dance group, storytelling by Amy Bruton Bluemel (Chickasaw Nation), flute music by Darren Thompson (Ojibwe/Tohono O’odham and author of this story), and beading demonstrations by Hollis Chitto (Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo).
Impact and Community
“My overall experience at the Eiteljorg was positive because of the care each staff member showed and their ability to take care of their artists, volunteer staff, as well as their invited judges,” said MaryAnn Guoladdle Parker, assistant curator at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, who served as one of three judges. “It was a great weekend of making new connections, friendships, and supporting Indigenous artists.”
The festival distributed $73,300 in total cash prizes, along with ribbons and special awards including the Margot L. Eccles Youth Award and Helen Cox Kersting Award. Five works received Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Awards for inclusion in the museum’s permanent collection.
“The weekend was about the pride felt, the stories shared, and the impact on those now and generations to come,” Richberg reflected. “Above all, it was a celebration of Native resilience – the way these artists and performers continue to create, connect, and thrive. I am proud to be a Mohawk woman and have been part of Indian Market & Festival.”
