Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program

 

Lyle Miller paints at Colter Bay

NPS Photo/BK Appleby

 

About the Program

Each summer, Grand Teton National Park hosts Indigenous artists at the Colter Bay Visitor Center to share their traditional and contemporary art with park visitors. This annual summer program will run from mid-May through late-September at the Colter Bay Visitor Center and is proudly supported by the Grand Teton Association.

Visitors are invited to learn about Indigenous cultures through demonstrations where participating artists share the cultural traditions of their tribes through painting, weaving, pottery, beadwork, musical instruments, and more. Artists will offer their finished items for purchase. The Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program is available when the Colter Bay Visitor Center is open.

Most Saturday nights at 8 p.m. throughout the summer and 7 p.m. in the fall, visiting artists will offer live performances and talks at the Colter Bay Amphitheater, available to the public. See below for the current artist and speaker series schedules (each summer's schedule will be posted by May 1).

Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway are the homelands of 24 Associated Tribes with ancestral and cultural connections.

Program History

This program has been underway since the mid-1970s, when the Colter Bay Visitor Center was also home to the Indian Arts Museum and the extensive Vernon Collection. Although the official start date of the program is unknown, Grand Teton National Park feels confident that artists have been demonstrating their crafts and sharing their cultures for more than 40 years. This program had been called the American Indian Guest Artist Program, now known as as the Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program.

 

Interested in Participating?

Each February, Grand Teton National Park begins accepting applications for the upcoming summer's Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program. The application period will be open from mid-February to mid-March (approximately four weeks). Interested artists will need to apply by submitting a program application. First time applicants and artists who have applied before and not yet been admitted to the program must be from the 24 Associated Tribes. Read through How to Apply completely to ensure all necessary qualifications have been met.

 

 

2026 Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program Summer Schedule

At the Colter Bay Visitor Center.

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

 

2026 Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program Speaker Series Schedule

At the Colter Bay Amphitheater.

• May - September 5 / Saturdays at 8 p.m.
• September 12 & 19 / Saturdays at 7 p.m.

Date	Artist	Tribe	Program
May 23	Samuel Jaxin Enemy-Hunter Guest: Ramona Medicine Crow	Crow	History of Beads and Beadwork within the Plains Tribes
May 30	Laine Thom	Shoshone / Goshute / Paiute	Shoshonean, Columbia River Plateau, and Crow Style Beadwork “Far More Than Beauty”
June 6	Rachel Ynostrosa Guest: Robyn Rofkar	Eastern Shoshone	Shoshone Language Terms for Beadwork Items
June 13	Carolyn New Holy	Oglala Lakota	Techniques of Beadwork
June 20	Harmony Star Straub	Oglala Lakota / Northern Cheyenne	Function to Fashion
June 27	Diane Trahant Guests: Juan and Josie Broncho	Shoshone-Bannock	Shoshone Storytelling
July 4	Kelly Looking Horse	Oglala Lakota	Lakota Song and Dance: Celebration of Life
July 11	Andrea Two Bulls	Oglala Sioux	Family History
July 18	Amanda Coby	Shoshone-Bannock	My History of Beading: Family Togetherness
July 25	DG House	Cherokee Tribe of NE Alabama	Painting Bison with DG House
August 1	No Speaker Series Event / Please Join the Regularly Scheduled Ranger Program
August 8	Antonio His Law Guest: Kimberly Ferris	Eastern Shoshone	Beading
August 15	Christopher Weddell Guest: Kimberlee Selwyn	Yankton Sioux	Porcupine Quillwork: Techniques and Connections to Nature
August 22	Hovia Edwards	Shoshone-Bannock	Native American Flute Performance
August 29	Paul Hacker	Choctaw	Native American Flute Performance
September 5	Beau Tsatoke	Kiowa	Kiowa History in Jackson Hole
September 12	Willy and Debbie LaMere	Shoshone-Bannock	Native Sign Language with Debbie LaMere & Magic Performance by Wilbur the Coyote Trickster!
September 19	Monte Yellowbird Sr. / Black Pinto Horse	Arikara / Hidatsa / Crow	Historic Art and Storytelling