Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program

 
a Native artist paints a large face
Lyle Miller paints at Colter Bay

NPS Photo/BK Appleby

 

About the Program

Each summer, Grand Teton National Park hosts Indigenous artists at the Colter Bay Visitor Center to share their traditional and contemporary art with park visitors. This annual summer program will run from mid-May through late-September at the Colter Bay Visitor Center and is proudly supported by the Grand Teton Association.

Visitors are invited to learn about Indigenous cultures through demonstrations where participating artists share the cultural traditions of their tribes through painting, weaving, pottery, beadwork, musical instruments, and more. Artists will offer their finished items for purchase. The Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program is available when the Colter Bay Visitor Center is open.

Most Saturday nights at 7 p.m. throughout the summer, visiting artists will offer live performances and talks at the Colter Bay Amphitheater, available to the public. See below for the current artist and speaker series schedules (each summer's schedule will be posted by May 1).

Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway are the homelands of 24 Associated Tribes with ancestral and cultural connections.

Program History

This program has been underway since the mid-1970s, when the Colter Bay Visitor Center was also home to the Indian Arts Museum and the extensive Vernon Collection. Although the official start date of the program is unknown, Grand Teton National Park feels confident that artists have been demonstrating their crafts and sharing their cultures for more than 40 years. Since it was first created, this program has been called the “American Indian Guest Artist Program.” With the exception of 2020 (due to the global COVID-19 pandemic), the program has proudly been in operation every year since the mid-1970s. We estimate that 2024 will be the 45th year of this engaging and rewarding program, now known as the Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program.

 

Interested in Participating?

Each February, Grand Teton National Park begins accepting applications for the upcoming summer's Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program. The application period will be open from mid-February to mid-March (approximately four weeks). Interested artists will need to apply by submitting a program application. First time applicants and artists who have applied before and not yet been admitted to the program must be from the 24 Associated Tribes. Read through How to Apply completely to ensure all necessary qualifications have been met.

 
 

2024 Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program Summer Schedule

At the Colter Bay Visitor Center.

Date Artist Tribe Art Form
May 20 - 26 Austin Kasto Standing Rock Sioux Hairbone Breastplate Demo
May 27 - June 2 Mary Amber Martinez Yellow Horse Oglala Lakota Sioux Dreamcatcher Making
June 3 - 9 Samuel Enemy-Hunter Crow Beadwork
June 10 - 16 Monte Yellow Bird, Sr. Black Pinto Horse Arikara / Hidatsa-Crow Ledger Art, Painting, Sculpture, Crafts: Leather, Beads
June 17 - 23 Debbie Rattling Leaf with Guest, Jeff Gloyd Northern Arapaho Beading and Painted Skulls
June 24 - 30 Evans Flammond, Sr. Sicangu, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Hide painting, Ledger Art
July 1 - 7 Kelly Looking Horse Sioux Hand Drums, Moccasins, Dreamcatchers
July 8 - 14 Amanda Teton-Coby Shoshone-Bannock Beadwork
July 15 - 21 Bonnie Woodie Navajo Diné Finger Weaving
July 22 - 28 DG House Cherokee Tribe of NE Alabama Original Fine Art Paintings, Hand Pulled & Reproduction Prints
July 29 - August 4 Josie and Juan Broncho, with Guest, Diane Trahant Shoshone-Bannock Beadwork, Crafts
August 5 - 11 Marlene Harris with Guest, Jeff Reddoor Assiniboine Portraits, Jewelry, and Carving
August 12 - 18 Iris Sully Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) Doll Making, Beading
August 19 - 25 Laine Thom Shoshone / Goshute / Paiute Beadwork
August 26 - September 1 Paul Hacker Choctaw Native American Flute
September 2 - 8 Clyde Hall and Nancy Nacki with Guest, Wendy Hall Shoshone-Bannock Bead Work, Silver Work, Trade Bead Necklaces
September 9 - 15 Andrea Two Bulls Oglala Sioux Painting, Beadwork
September 16 - 23 Willy and Debbie Lamere Shoshone-Bannock Arrowheads, Beadwork, Parchment Jewelry, Quilts
 

2024 Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program Speaker Series Schedule

At the Colter Bay Amphitheater, Saturdays at 7 p.m.

Date Artist Tribe Program
May 25 Austin Kasto Standing Rock Sioux Parfleche Art
June 1 Mary Amber Martinez Yellow Horse Oglala Lakota Sioux Cultural preservation & Native American Culture
June 8 Samuel Enemy-Hunter Crow History of 1924 Indian Citizen Act
June 15 Monte Yellow Bird, Sr. Black Pinto Horse Arikara / Hidatsa-Crow Storytelling & Traditional Teachings through Art
June 22 James Rattling Leaf Northern Arapaho Indigenous Star Knowledge: Explorations of the Indigenous Universe
June 29 Evans Flammond, Sr. Sicangu, Rosebud Sioux Tribe History of Ledger Art and Hide Painting
July 6 Kelly Looking Horse Sioux Native American Dancing & Drumming
July 13 Amanda Teton Coby Shoshone-Bannock Beadwork as a Way of Life
July 20 Bonnie Woodie Navajo Diné Fingerweaving
July 27 DG House Cherokee Tribe of NE Alabama Painting Bears with Indigenous Artist DG House
August 3 No Speaker Series
August 10 Marlene Harris Assiniboine My Grandfather's Story
August 17 Iris Sully Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux) History of Lakota Attire
August 24 Laine Thom Shoshone / Goshute / Paiute Shoshonean Beadwork
August 31 Paul Hacker Choctaw Native American Flute
September 7 Hovia Edwards Yellowjohn Shoshone-Bannock Native American Flute Performance
September 14 Andrea Two Bulls Oglala Sioux Storytelling and Family History
September 21 Willy and Debbie Lamere Shoshone-Bannock Native American Sign Language & Magic Performance by Wilbur the Coyote Trickster!

Last updated: July 9, 2024

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 170
Moose, WY 83012

Phone:

307-739-3399
Talk to a Ranger? To speak to a Grand Teton National Park ranger call 307–739–3399 for visitor information Monday-Friday during business hours.

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