Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program

 

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	Jola Fay LaBeau	Eastern Shoshone	Beadwork and other American Indian arts and crafts
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 Summer 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	TBD
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	Jola Fay LaBeau	Eastern Shoshone	Eastern Shoshone Natural Foods
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	Josie Broncho	Shoshone-Bannock	Different Native American Regalia
August 10	Marlene Harris	Assiniboine	My Grandfather's Story
August 17	Iris Sully	Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux)	TBD
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!