Native creatives bring their stories and skills to Yellowstone and Grand Teton

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

The Yellowstone Tribal Heritage Center at Old Faithful is up and running for its fifth season, and Grand Teton National Park will be hosting its annual Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program at the Colter Bay Visitor Center again this summer.

Through programs at the two locations, rotating lineups of Native educators share their art and insights with park visitors throughout the season. This summer’s lineup includes quillworkers, ledger artists, poets, metal workers, historians, musicians, dancers and beadworkers.

The Tribal Heritage Center first opened its doors in 2022 to create a dedicated space for celebrating and teaching about Indigenous presence in Yellowstone.

The National Park Service formally recognizes 24 tribal nations with connections to what is now known as Grand Teton National Park and 27 tribal nations with connections to what is now known as Yellowstone National Park. The process of creating both parks back in the 1800s and 1900s involved the forced removal of many of those communities.

National Park Service

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Jacob W. Frank

Blackfeet enrolled tribal member Jack Gladstone is this week’s presenter in Yellowstone and will be at the center through June 6, sharing songs, stories and lessons about the Blackfeet and other tribes in the area.

The Tribal Heritage Center is located between the Old Faithful Lodge and the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Residencies run through Oct. 3.

Eastern Shoshone artist Rachel Ynostrosa will be at Colter Bay through June 8, teaching about beadwork using Shoshone beading terms. She’ll also be joined by guest Robyn Rofkar. Both women have helped to run the Eastern Shoshone Cultural Center in Fort Washakie in recent years.

The Colter Bay Visitor Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Residencies run through Sept. 21 and also include live performances and talks at the Colter Bay Amphitheater most Saturday nights.

Below is the full list of presenters for the 2026 season in both parks:

Yellowstone National Park

• 5/25-5/30 | Carrie Moran McCleary | Little Shell Chippewa | Fierce One Doll construction and the cultural history of dolls with an explanation of the meaning of the Fierce One Doll Collection, a statement of our Survival.
• 6/1-6/6 | Jack Gladstone | Blackfeet | Interweaving of singing, storytelling and lecture about the Blackfeet and other regional Tribes
• 6/8-6/13 | Travis Ridesatthedoor | Blackfeet, Northern Arapaho, Jemez Pueblo | Arapaho Wolf Dance Songs and the Art of Contemporary Drumstick Making
• 6/15-6/20 | River Webb | Nez Perce, Meskwaki | Beadwork, Sewing, Basketry, Natural Plant Uses, Stories tied to the land
• 6/15-6/20 | Red Miskozi Mair | Little Shell Chippewa | Beadwork, Sewing, Basketry, Natural Plant Uses, Stories tied to the land
• 6/22-6/27 | Debbie Lamere | Shoshone-Bannock | Beadwork, storytelling, sign language, and quillwork
• 6/22-6/27 | Willy Lamere | Assiniboine and Sioux, Blackfeet, and Shoshone-Bannock | Flintknapping, magic, storytelling, and sign language
• 6/29-7/4 | Joseph Pichardo | Blackfeet, Chippewa & Cree | Traditional Indigenous Games, Storytelling
• 6/29-7/4 | Rachel TwoTeeth Pichardo | Little Shell Chippewa | Ledger Art, Beadwork showcase, Dancing, Native American Flute
• 7/6-7/11 | Loren Henderson | Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa, Chippewa Cree, Snake Hills band of Saddle Lake Cree First Nation | Wood burning paintings
• 7/13-7/18 | Tim Ryan | Salish and Kootenai College | Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation | Cultural art and history
• 7/20-7/25 | Jeff Reddoor | Assiniboine and Sioux | Indigenous music (flute, drums, guitar), (woodcarvings, woodwork, beading, sandstone) and storytelling
• 7/27-8/1 | Kelly Lookinghorse | Oglala Lakota | Hand drums, moccasins, dream catchers
• 8/3-8/8 | Jeremy Red Eagle | Sisseton Wahpeton | Metal work: cuffs, bracelets, earrings and rings from silver, brass, copper and traditional design elements
• 8/3-8/8 | LaVerne Whitebear | Assiniboine Sioux | Moccasin making, using quillwork and beads
• 8/10-8/15 | Mason Runs Through & Joseph Runs Through | Assiniboine and Sioux | Storytelling, drumming, singing, contemporary art, photography, poetry, beadwork
• 8/17-8/22 | Tawny Cale, Tashal Axtman, Tarah Trottier | Spirit Lake, Standing Rock Sioux, Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa | Contemporary fashion beadwork, history and supplies for beadwork, limited regalia making/creation
• 8/24-8/29 | Evans Flammond Sr. | Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux | Ledger art history/symbolism and hide painting
• 8/31-9/5 | Della Big Hair-Stump | Crow | Bridge across traditional attire to contemporary fashion
• 9/7-9/12 | Gwendolyn Carter & Deanna Teasley | Nez Perce | Nez Perce Traditional lifeways
• 9/14-9/19 | Rose Abrahamson | Shoshone Bannock-Lemhi Shoshone | Indigenous history of Yellowstone and the Tribes who called it homeland, traditional artforms
• 9/14-9/19 | Lacey Bacon | Coeur d’Alene, Colville Reservation, Shoshone Bannock-Lemhi Shoshone, Spokane | Indigenous history of Yellowstone and the Tribes who called it homeland, traditional artforms
• 9/21-9/26 | Chris LaTray | Little Shell Chippewa | Storytelling, Education, Language revitalization
• 9/28-10/3 | Ryan Littleeagle | Cheyenne River Lakota, Taino | Storytelling, Dancing, Cultural Display, & Flute Playing

Grand Teton National Park

• 5/19-5/25 | Samuel Jaxin Enemy-Hunter, with guest Ramona Medicine Crow | Crow | Beadwork
• 5/26-6/1 | Laine Thom | Shoshone Goshute Paiute | Shoshonean beadwork
• 6/2-6/8 | Rachel Ynostrosa, with guest Robyn Rofkar | Eastern Shoshone | Beadworking using Shoshone Beading Terms
• 6/9-6/15 | Carolyn New Holy | Oglala Lakota | Beadwork, Ribbon Skirts, Star Quilts
• 6/16-6/22 | HarmonyStar Straub | Oglala Lakota / Northern Cheyenne | Quillwork and Beadwork
• 6/23-6/29 | Diane Trahant, with guests Juan and Josie Broncho | Shoshone-Bannock | Beadwork and Crafts
• 6/30-7/6 | Kelly Looking Horse | Oglala Lakota | Traditional Lakota-style hand drums, Parfleche, Historical artwork
• 7/7-7/13 | Andrea Two Bulls | Oglala Sioux | Painting and Beadwork
• 7/14-7/20 | Amanda Coby | Shoshone-Bannock | Beadwork
• 7/21-7/27 | DG House | Cherokee Tribe of NE Alabama | Contemporary painting and printmaking
• 7/28-8/3 | Tina Williams, with guest Dominic Williams | Blackfeet | Beadwork and Ribbon Skirts
• 8/4-8/10 | Antonia His Law, with guest Kimberly Ferris | Eastern Shoshone | Beadwork
• 8/11-8/17 | Christopher Weddell, with guest Kimberlee Selwyn | Yankton Sioux | Rawhide wrapping, Porcupine quillwork, Poetry
• 8/18-8/24 | Nancy Nacki, with guests Hovia Edwards, Pete Yellowjohn, Clyde Hall | Shoshone-Bannock | Beadwork and Jewelry
• 8/25-8/31 | Paul Hacker | Choctaw | Hand-carved Knives, Ledger Art, Native Flute Music, Handmade Red Cedar Flutes
• 9/1-9/7 | Beau Tsatoke | Kiowa | Ledger Art and History Written
• 9/8-9/14 | Willy and Debbie LaMere | Shoshone-Bannock | Beadwork and Quillwork
• 9/15-9/21 | Monte Yellow Bird, Sr. / Black Pinto Horse | Arikara/Hidata/Crow | Ledger Art and Painting, Traditional Art