Santa Fe Indian Market Archives » Native America Calling

Chugach Sugpiaq jeweler Denise Wallace says she tells stories through her pieces. This year, she’s presenting an elaborate belt she made with her family, featuring ornate, detailed figures, each holding significant meaning, along with intricate designs crafted from ivory, silver, and gold. Wallace has long been a fixture at the Santa Fe Indian Market, now in its 104th year, as nearly a thousand talented Native artists set up to showcase their work. Also among the longtime artists is professional painter Merlin Little Thunder, known for detailed portraits and landscapes that often depict traditional Cheyenne life. For our series of arts interviews, we’ll speak with these artists along with last year’s Best of Show winner Regina Free and event organizers.

We’ll also get an update on the Artist Act that was just signed into federal law. The act prevents states from banning Alaska Native crafts made from materials like walrus ivory and baleen.

GUESTS

Leslie Wheelock (Oneida), board chair of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts

Denise Wallace (Chugach Sugpiaq), artist, jeweler, and storyteller

Merlin Little Thunder (Southern Cheyenne), artist

Regina Free (Chickasaw), interdisciplinary artist and 2025 Santa Fe Indian Market Best of Show winner

Steve MacLean (Iñupiaq), managing director of the World Wildlife Fund U.S. Arctic Program

After 103 years, the Santa Fe Indian Market remains the biggest draw for Native artists, potters, and jewelry makers as well as those who appreciate and collect their work. More than 1.000 juried participants come from hundreds of Native communities, offering a hugely diverse range of inspiring work. We’ll take a small sample of that creativity and check in on the outlook for Native arts and arts education.

GUESTS

Lily Hope (Tlingit), Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver and artist

Jamie Schulze (Northern Cheyenne / Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), executive director of Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA)

Shelly Lowe (Diné), president of the Institute of American Indian Arts

Dan Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), 2024 SWAIA Best of Show winner and multimedia artist

Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe and Sicangu Lakota), quill and beadwork artist

Break 1 Music: C.R.E.A.M. [Instrumental] (song) Wu-Tang Clan (artist) Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers [Instrumentals] (album)

Break 2 Music: The Gift of Life (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album)

Distinctly Native American artwork, fashion, and films converge again for the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, with at least 1,000 booths and somewhere around 100,000 visitors. Native America Calling is live from Santa Fe, hearing from Southwestern Association for Indian Arts representatives, 2023 Best In Show winner Jennifer Tafoya, curators from the Native Cinema Showcase, and others to get a preview of the largest juried Native art market in the world.

GUESTS

JoAnn Chase (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), SWAIA vice chair

Jennifer Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo), artist, potter, and 2023 Best of Show at the Santa Fe Indian Market

Chris Youngblood (Santa Clara Pueblo), potter

Cindy Benitez, program manager for the Native Cinema Showcase for the National Museum of the American Indian

Break 1 Music: Flyer (song) The Zoniez (artist)

Break 2 Music: Our Mother the Earth [Feat. Dr. Duke Redbird] (song) Sultans of String (artist)

Watch previous Santa Fe Indian Market programs

Santa Fe Indian Market, the nation’s oldest and largest celebration of Native arts, draws more than 100,000 artists and collectors from around the world. Native America Calling continues its tradition of bringing a snapshot of the film, fashion, and other creative talent at the event organized by the Southwest Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA).

GUESTS

Dawn Houle (Chippewa Cree from Rocky Boy Montana), President and CEO of Sun Slinger Consulting; Vice Chairman of the SWAIA Board

Mandolin Rain Song (Taos Pueblo), Segment producer for Native America, season 2 on PBS

Jennifer Johns (Diné), Series Producer for Native America, season 2 on PBS

Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), contemporary artist

You can see a trailer for the second season of Native America here.

Break 1 Music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

Break 2 Music: Riders on the Storm [Live] (song) Keith Secola (artist) Grassroots Festival, Trumansburg, NY 7​/​20​/​19 (album)

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation is proud to mention, airing this Fall 2023

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Host: Shawn Spruce

Artists from hundreds of Native nations are tending to their booths in the streets of Santa Fe, selling works they’ve labored for months to prepare. SWAIA’s Santa Fe Indian Market has come a long way in 100 years. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce is live from Indian Market for a second day with Dr. Suzanne Newman Fricke, director of Gallery Hózhó at Hotel Chaco; Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee), Institute of American Indian Arts president, to get a feel for what’s in store for the next century; Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), Indigenous Fashion Show producer for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts and art history professor at the Institute for American Indian Arts; Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), owner of Beyond Buckskin; and Kristin Gentry (Choctaw), artist, photographer, writer, and curator.

Break 1 Music: Anasazi Sun (song) Injunuity (artist) Fight for Survival (album)

Break 2 Music: On the Road Missing Home (Corn Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Host: Shawn Spruce

It survived the Termination Era, The Depression, a World War, and, most recently, a pandemic. The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts marks the 100th Santa Fe Indian Market, a place to buy works directly from artists, to experience the creative vision of Native designers, and watch films by Indigenous filmmakers.

Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce is live from the Market to get a rundown of this year’s schedule and reflect on the evolution of this major achievement of Native creativity and commerce with Cindy Benitez, program manager for the Native Cinema Showcase by the National Museum of the American Indian; film director Fritz Bitsoie (Diné);Stephine Poston (Pueblo of Sandia), board chair for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts; and Leah Salgado (Pascua Yaqui), Chief Impact Officer for Illuminative.

Plus, click here to learn about our Day Two live show

Break 1 Music:  Santa Fe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) You (Understood) (album)

Break 2 Music: On the Road Missing Home (Corn Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Normally this week, thousands of Native artists would be setting up for the annual Santa Fe Indian Market by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts. Instead, the event—in its 99th year—is taking place only online. Organizers are appealing to potential market buyers with virtual tours of artists’ studios, concerts, panel discussions, films, fashion shows and auctions. We’ll hear from artists and organizers about moving this popular event to a virtual space.

Guests:

Hillary Kempenich (Anishinaabe) – artist

Kevin Horace Quannie (Hopi and Navajo) – artist

Kim Peone (Colville Confederated Tribes / Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) – executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts

Molina Jo Parker (Oglala Lakota) – beadworker

Reggie Mitchell (Navajo) – traditional tufa sand caster

Break 1 music: Eagle Dance REMIX (song) Decontie & Brown (artist) Ancestors (album)

Break 2 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

We’re packing up Studio 49 and heading to the largest gathering of Indigenous artists in the world. The Santa Fe Indian Market, put on by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, is in its 97th year. It brings in an estimated 100,000 visitors to the city. The event has grown over the years to include events like Native Art Week and the Haute Couture Fashion Show. We’ll talk with some of Native America’s notable artists about how this juried arts market elevates their work.

Guests:

Ira Wilson (Diné) – executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts

Pat Pruitt (Pueblo of Laguna) – metal smith

Sho Sho Esquiro  (Kaska Dene and Cree) – fashion designer

Break 1 Music: “Sovereign Land” – Summit Dub Squad (song) The Native Movement Native Music Compilation (artist) Written In Blood (album)

Break 2 Music: Happy Sundance (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)