Native Market Days in Lehi offers chance to support Indigenous students, vendors

Navajo fry bread, a hoop dance competition, a fashion show and Indigenous made goods — Lehi's native Market Days has it all.

The event is organized by Lehi-based nonprofit American Indian Services, which provides scholarships for Native American students across the country. All are welcome to attend the event at Electric Park at Thanksgiving Point Friday and Saturday.

Chauma Kee-Jansen, the nonprofit's executive director, said the event is both a fundraiser and an opportunity to bring Native and non-Native communities together.

"This event is so important because growing up in Utah as a Native American, you never saw events that focused solely on Native American art and culture and brought the two communities together. It was kind of separate," she said. "This kind of opens up that space to Native and non-Natives where they could share and learn."

Kee-Jansen, who received an American Indian Services scholarship as an undergraduate student, said nonprofits hope the proceeds will help 20-30 students.

"When a student has to worry about what they're going to eat or their housing, if they're going to have a bed to sleep in — I think it impacts them greatly. (With a scholarship), they can focus more on getting the schooling done and completing their degree in a timely manner, instead of taking time off, which statistics show that if any student takes time away from college, they're more likely not to finish their degree and more so I think with Native Americans."

According to data published by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2021, only 36% of Native American students in 2014 were able to complete their degrees in six years, compared to 60% of all other students. A number of Utah colleges have recently announced tuition waivers for Native students in an attempt to close that gap; however, Indigenous students still face a number of unique barriers to higher education, with a 2022 study finding that 72% of Native students reported running out of money at least once in the previous six months and almost 50% of respondents saying they served as the primary source of income for their household during college.

Receiving scholarships from American Indian Services made the difference for Mapleton resident Brandon Benally and his wife as undergraduates at Brigham Young University.

"It helped me tremendously. ... I was really grateful for their services. It actually really helped us graduate from college," he said. "I would like to see more people come out, like more of the community. I think it's a great opportunity to enrich and teach the community more about Native American culture. Let people know that there are Native Americans here in Utah. They're everywhere, the culture is live. It's still thriving, and there's tons for us to share with the community."

Kelina Anderson, a 22-year-old hoop dancer from Spanish Fork, is excited at the opportunity to share the dance with Utahns. She began dancing at age 6 after watching her dad perform and continued dancing with BYU's Living Legends group.

"The hoop dance is a healing dance and it's really special to our people and our cultures. It really is spiritually uplifting. We have a saying that we dance for those who don't or those who can't. And so that's always something that's been really important to me," she said. "I do believe that when we dance, we do it with a good heart and good intentions and then we are really uplifting a community."

Britney Tourangeau, along with her two sisters, owns Ozaawigwane. Native Market Days is the trio's first time selling a number of Native-inspired handmade items and bead-work jewelry. Tourangeau, who is of Navajo and Saulteaux descent, grew up in Lehi and said the event is unique.

"Growing up, it was hard to really be involved with the Native community because we're a very small community out here. I think it's really neat that more people are setting up these events," she said. "I think it's a good opportunity to learn about the culture of Native Americans of Utah, and you'll be able to see all the hard work that everyone has put into making their crafts and everything."

Rebekah Jarvey, the producer for the event's fashion show, said the show will feature designers from the Southwest and Canada.

"I hope people just get more familiar with the Indigenous fashion industry. It's a new industry. We're building it and it's been growing in popularity through the past couple of years," she said. "It's just something new and exciting that we're doing. I hope people just enjoy it and get good feelings and hopefully support the artists that designers with their work and respect it."

More information about the event, including a schedule and ticket fees, is available on American Indian Services's website.