- Details
- By Darren Thompson
SANTA FE, N.M. –– The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) hosted the 101st Santa Fe Indian Market to crowds celebrating American Indian culture, art, fashion and people.
The legendary Indian fine arts market has attracted crowds from all over the world for 101 years and continues to bring talent, tradition, and appreciation for American Indian culture and arts.
Over 900 artists from more than 400 tribes in the United States and Canada traveled to the Santa Fe Indian Market with hopes of selling fine art to collectors and competing in the juried art market. Each event SWAIA organized was sold out and attracted some of Indian Country’s most well-known artists and leaders.
Film festivals, arts and crafts festivals, concerts, gallery openings, fashion shows, and gatherings organized to celebrate Indigenous cultures were organized around the event.
More than 20 artists sold out of their work. Organizers shared with Native News Online that the highlight of the weekend was seeing all the artists set up, and visiting with the many festival goers.
“The whole happy vibe I received from the artists. Hearing their travel stories, success moments, and also being there to help them with obstacles or dilemmas that pop up,” SWAIA’s Artist Coordinator Mona Perea told Native News Online. “We strive to be the best we can and am to provide a seamless opportunity for our artists to enjoy the celebration of the world’s finest American Indian art market.”
Many artists shared with Native News Online that the one thing they enjoyed over the weekend was seeing the happiness from others of their work and contributions to the largest fine Indian arts festival in the world.
Bill Mendoza, who won first place in the Moccasins category, which is in the Beadwork and Quillwork classification of the art competition, said he sold out of most of his inventory. Mendoza is Oglala Lakota from South Dakota and has participated in the Santa Fe Indian Market for several years and is committed to attending Indian Market.
While art is a major draw to the Indian Market, not all attendees purchase from artists. Many travel to see the large crowds and to network with other professionals in the area for the Indian Market.
More Stories Like This
"Your'e No Indian" Examines the Disenrollment IssueAgua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to Open New Exhibition: Section 14 – The Untold Story
Actor Jonathan Joss, Voice of John Redcorn, Killed in Texas Shooting
Celebrate Summer and Father’s Day at the Chickasaw Cultural Center – June 14
After 30 Years, Berkeley's Turtle Island Monument Foundation Will Be Built
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher