Here’s What’s Going On In Indian Country: Indian Market edition

This weekend, the eyes of Indian Country are focused on Santa Fe.

The 99th Annual Santa Fe Indian Market is back after last year’s all-virtual installment, and ready to rule Santa Fe Plaza with a weekend of swanky arty parties, live entertainment, fabulous fashion shows, live and silent auctions and ample opportunities to get acquainted with market artists and purchase pieces directly from them.

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Folks who can’t make it to Santa Fe for the festivities don’t need to feel left out. Plenty of events, including the Indigenous Fashion Show, are also being live-streamed. Check out swaia.org for info on where and how to watch the events

And Indian Market is far from the only game in town. An array of other exciting Indigenous art shows are also taking place adjacent to Indian Market or just a few miles away.

[RELATED:  Q&A with Kim Peone, executive director of SWAIA]

Hit up Native News Online’s guide to Indian Market highlights and cultural events coinciding with it, to create your own weekend art adventure.

This piece by Shoshone Bannock and Luiseño artist and fashion designer Jamie Okuma will be auctioned off at the 2021 Indian Market Gala Reception, Fashion Show, and Auction on Saturday, Aug. 21. (Photo/Jamie Okuma)Santa Fe Indian Market

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 21 and Sunday, Aug. 22, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

WHERE: Santa Fe Plaza. Tickets: General admission for Saturday is $20, $15 for Sunday, or for Sunday, or $35 for both days; Admission for Tribal members is $10 per day; Children 12 and under are free.  Purchase tickets here or at the market.

The official market — with around 630 Indigenous artists from the U.S. and Canada hosting booths on Santa Fe Plaza and the surrounding downtown area — happens on Saturday and Sunday.

Market-goers can interact with and buy directly from market artists, observe artist demonstrations, and enjoy performances from dancers and more entertainers throughout the day.

Check out the artist directory and booth map here.

Fashions by Delina White of I Am Anishinaabe will be on display during the 2021 Indian Market Gala Reception, Fashion Show, and Auctions on Saturday, Aug. 21 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. (Photo/Jason S. Ordaz) Indian Market Gala Reception, Fashion Show and Auctions

WHEN: Saturday, Aug, 21, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

WHERE: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe. Tickets: $200. Purchase here.

A sophisticated and stylish setting for people-watching, art-buying and cocktail-sipping, this year’s Indian Market Gala reception, fashion show, and auction will take place in the Santa Fe Convention Center’s outdoor courtyard.

The Fashion Show will feature an array of new collections by Indigenous designers Delina White (Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) of I Am Anishinaabe, Yolanda Skelton (Gitxsan Nation), and Loren Aragon (Acoma Pueblo) of ACONAV.

During the  auction portions of the reception, collectors will have a chance to bid on items from award-winning artists Jamie Okuma (Shoshone Bannock and Luiseño),  Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy), Eugene Tapahe (Navajo), Jason Brown (Penobscot), James Ebelacker (Santa Clara Pueblo) Marietta and Melvin Juanico (Acoma Pueblo) and Maria Samora (Taos Pueblo).

Fashions by Himiklas/Pamela Baker (Musgamakw Dzawada'enuxw/Tlingit/Haida) will hit the runway during Santa Fe Indian Market's Indigenous Fashion Show on Sunday, Aug. 22 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. (Photo/Jason S. Ordaz)Indigenous Fashion Show and Trunk Show

WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 22, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

WHERE: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe. The show will also be livestreamed. Check swaia.org for details.

The Indigenous Fashion Show is the hottest ticket of Indian Market Weekend.

Produced by Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), the Eighth Annual Indigenous Fashion Show will be a head-turning, ultra-chic showcase  of the best of  North American Native style.

“Indigenous fashion represents our identity, our culture, our personality and our artistry,”  Bear Robe told Native News Online.  “ It's an art form and a creative expression.”

The runway will rock with new collections by Jamie Okuma (Luiseño and Shoshone-Bannock), whose work is worn by Regan Wells of Peacock TV’s Rutherford Falls and can currently be seen on U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on the cover and inside of  InStyle Magazine,  Lauren Good Day (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet and Plains Cree), who was featured last summer  in Vogue, Himikalas / Pamela Baker (Musgamakw Dzawada'enuxw/Tlingit/Haida), and Orlando Dugi (Diné).

The show will be full of surprises for both the audience and the folks behind the scenes.

“I have no idea what the designers have planned and that's part of the excitement,” Bear Robe said.  “We will also be having a very exciting opening performance, which is a secret, and won't be revealed until the day of.”

For the first time in Indian Market history, an exclusive trunk show will follow the fashion show. Limited to Indigenous Fashion Show ticket-holders, the trunk show will be a rare and valuable opportunity to meet the designers and purchase pieces directly from them.

"Be Fierce," Ojibwe artist Patrick Collins' tribute to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, will be auctioned off during the Pathways: Native Arts Festival at the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino near Santa Fe. (Photo/Patrick Collins)Pathways: Native Arts Festival

WHEN: Friday, August 20, Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22, 2021

WHERE: Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, 20 Buffalo Thunder Trail, Santa Fe; Event website

Just fifteen minutes north of Santa Fe, on the Pueblo of Pojoaque,  more than 300 Indigenous artists will be selling their work at the Pathways: Native Arts Festival.

The fest will also feature food trucks and entertainment throughout the weekend, plus free and plentiful parking.

On Friday, Aug. 20, there will be a ticketed VIP Preview Event complete with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment by critically acclaimed a cappella singing group Ulali, a silent auction, and a special presentation by the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW). Click here to participate in the silent auction. Tickets for the VIP Preview Event are $20 and can be purchased here.  A portion of the proceed from the event will benefit CSVANW)

Among the pieces that will be auctioned off is “Be Fierce MMIW,” a painting of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland by Patrick Collins (Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.)

Prints of Lazy at the Longhouse by Yakama and Comanche artist Carmen Selam will be on sale at the Institute of American Indian Arts Recent Graduate Art Market at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. (Photo/Carmen Selam)Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Recent Graduate Art Market

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 22, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. (MDT)

WHERE: IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe; For more information click here.

If you’re wandering around Indian Market, don’t miss the chance to catch another awesome art show in the exact same area.

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) is presenting the annual Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Recent Graduate Art Market under the museum's portal in downtown Santa Fe.

Twenty IAIA graduates from within the last six years, will have pieces on display and for sale at the market.

Participating artists include Carmen Selam (14 Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation) Anangookwe Wolf (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe, Fort Peck Assiniboine), Beau Tsa-Toke (Kiowa), Brenda Hill (Tuscarora) , Chad Yellowjohn (Shoshone-Bannock, Spokane)  Charine Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo)  Charletta Yazzie (Navajo)  and Donna Martinez (Acoma Pueblo, Taos Pueblo).

About the Author: "Tamara Ikenberg is a contributing writer to Native News Online. She covers tribes throughout the southwest as well as Native arts, culture and entertainment. She can be reached at tamara@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: tamara@nativenewsonline.com