Native American Art

Terrance Guardipee and Terran Last Gun will share their perspectives and work in Riverton and Jackson as part of Central Wyoming College’s Native Voices week.

On June 25th, 1876, Northern Arapaho, Cheyenne and Lakota warriors defeated the U.S. 7th Cavalry in southeast Montana. The exhibit brings together artwork from survivors of the battle as well as contemporary depictions of the event.

Brendan Basham was the first-ever culinary resident at the Ucross Foundation ranch outside Buffalo. He was also the foundation’s inaugural Native American writing fellow in 2020.

In “Tonto’s Dream” by David Bradley, the TV hero sleeps amid shards of pottery, Santa Fe traffic and casinos, with images of legendary cowboys floating above him.

How do different cultures record their histories? For hundreds of years, many Plains Indian tribes created pictorial calendars called winter counts. Every year, a keeper of the history drew an image on an animal hide to record the most important event that had taken place from one winter to the next.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) recently announced a new program that waives the cost of admission for all enrolled tribal members. The Indigenous Access Program was launched in November in honor of Native American Heritage Month. The initiative is part of the museum’s broader commitment to amplifying Native voices in the worlds of art and education.

The second season of Native America arrived this fall with some fanfare. Native Public Media has done some polling about the series and says it shows the reaction in polled states has been extremely positive.

Sarah Ortegon High Walking will be the first woman artist to represent Wyoming in a national exhibit. The National Museum of Women in the Arts formed the Wyoming Committee last year in order to nominate artists from the state to display their work in Washington D.C.

"Grounded: Restoring our world through a Sacred Harmony with the earth and each other" is currently on exhibit at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper. If features the work of 15 Native American artists from several tribes from the Great Plains. It will tour six locations in communities throughout the state before heading out-of-state, including Washington, D.C. and internationally for the next two years.

Yellowstone Revealed was planned for and by Indigenous people. The week will include guided tours of Indigenously significant areas in the park as well as art and live musical performances. Yellowstone National Park is helping host the event for its 150th anniversary.