Treat yourself first | Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market & Festival welcomes all to celebrate Native culture in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 100 American Indian, Alaska Native and First Nations artists will gather at the 34th annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market & Festival this summer. 

Native artists from across the U.S. and Canada who specialize in multiple mediums — jewelry, pottery, basketry, beadwork, carvings and innovative art — will sell their works from booths inside and outside the museum.

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Many of which will also compete in the market's juried art competition. The works are judged in several categories and artists receive ribbons and cash prizes awarded during the Eiteljorg Market Morning Breakfast before the festival opens on Saturday, June 27.

Some of the artists will even be featured in the museum permanently. 

“I entered several pieces and I was very fortunate to win. In 2019, I won the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Prize (Award). The prize is a very prestigious prize for Native artist because you work becomes a part of the permanent collection,” said Monica Jo Raphael.

Raphael is the hoback curator of Great Lakes Native Art at the museum, but she began at the Eiteljorg as a juried artist. The Eiteljorg was the first museum her art was displayed at. It led to her full-time career and success as an artist with her works now featured all over the world. 

This year, the festival also includes a mix of entertainers new to Indianapolis, as well as returning favorites. 

The world renown dance troupe, Indigenous Enterprise, will return for the second year, bringing a high-energy performance to the festival. It features champion powwow dancers from multiple tribes and nations that blend traditional dance with contemporary hip-hop. 

The festival will also feature the Native Haudenosaunee tribe story of creation, called “Turtle Island. ” It’s a term that Indigenous people use to refer to North America; it’s the story of the world being founded atop of a turtle’s back. 

Producers of the show described it as, “the story that resonates across cultures as a symbol of resilience and interconnectedness.”

The performance will feature a multicolored, parade-sized tethered balloon, the Turtle, floating above stage as eight dancers from the Skywoman Dance Theater present a moving visual and musical representation of the Haudenosaunee story. 

While browsing artists' booths, shopping for Native art and enjoying onstage performances, marketgoers can enjoy art-making demonstrations in the museum's studios, and enjoy Native food and drinks. That includes frybread, a traditional Native American flatbread that’s deep fried and made both sweet or savory.

All ages can also join in a scavenger hunt and try out temporary tattoos. Marketgoers can tour the museum's exhibits, such as “Cowboy Couture: The Fashion of Jerry Lee Atwood,” which are included with admission.

The exhibit is the first solo exhibition for the Indiana native. It features his famous custom creation of western suits worn by many celebrities like Post Malone and Lil Nas X. The suits feature colorful chain-stitched embroidery and fringe that mix 20th century western-wear with American pop culture. Even more impressive as Atwood is colorblind. 

While mainly Indigenous run and operated, the festival manager emphasizes that everyone, regardless of if you’re Native or not, can find a place here. 

“Treat yourself first but beyond that, I want them to walk away knowing that when they purchase something or even if they didn’t and they go out and tell these stories after they leave, they’ve helped spread the word. They’ve helped become an ally,†said Conner Richberg, Eiteljorg festival manager.

Museum members have free admission, as do American Indian, Alaska Native and First Nations members with tribal ID. Tickets obtained through the Access Pass program are $5 and regular tickets are $22. 

If visitors park in the White River State Park underground garage, the Eiteljorg can validate their parking.

Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market & Festival is from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on June 27 and June 28. Tickets are available for purchase online here. 

The festival and market will also be featured on the June episode of WTHR’s streaming show, “Around the Circle.”