Summer Days

Warm weather didn’t stop thousands of people from celebrating Native American art in Santa Fe.

It was sunny and warm on the Santa Fe Plaza during the third weekend in August. So sunny and so warm that the two kids toting an ice chest through the plaza offering water and snacks were seemingly pulling in a decent haul of cash. Some years there’s rain, some years there’s wind and some year’s there’s heat. But no one complains. After all, it’s Santa Fe Indian Market.

A Native American dancer performs on Lincoln Avenue in Santa Fe.

The Oscars unite Hollywood and the Super Bowl unites the NFL, but few days are as monumental to a community the way Santa Fe Indian Market is to Native American artists. More than 900 artists—many more if you count outside of the official market—were in town to present their artwork and greet old friends. There to browse, ask questions and buy art were thousands of collectors. The open and ticketless market is difficult to get a head count for, but it’s generally thought that more than 50,000 people come to the market and as many as 100,000 people are in town for the weekend. Even the inflated numbers from overeager estimators—“250,000 people, without a doubt!”—seem plausible as people stretch far up Lincoln Avenue and down both Palace Avenue and San Francisco Street, with different shows at the ends of all three streets. Art seems to be everywhere, in every window, in every gallery, in every nook and cranny of Santa Fe. The streets could be paved with it and there would still be enough to get you to Albuquerque without touching asphalt.

Best of Show winner Dan Vallo (Acoma Pueblo) holds up his award winning bow and dagger. It was the artist’s first time winning the Best of Show, the top honor at Santa Fe Indian Market.

In the booths are artists from every corner of the United States and Canada. Some make huge trips from Alaska, Maine, Montana and Georgia, or way up from Canada’s Northwest Territories. Others make the morning drive in an hour or two from one of the nearby pueblos, and some just step out their door and walk into the plaza after a 10-minute stroll. They all come for market, a can’t-miss institution in the art world.

At market was Kathleen Wall with her bronze and clay works. She sold so much she started bringing out pieces she never intended to display, just to keep artwork on the tables. Hopi potter Garrett Maho sold out so quickly that many people weren’t even able to see his award-winning pot. Other artists sold everything but didn’t leave, choosing instead to hold court in their booths as they welcomed friends and sold commissions.

Jackie Larson Bread with Native American Art executive editor Michael Clawson. Bread was the cover artist for the August/September 2024 issue of Native American Art.

Over at Dan Vallo’s flintknapping booth, he was still floating three feet above the ground after winning Best of Show for meticulously designed bow, a quiver with arrows and an obsidian dagger. “I’m still in a bit of shock,” he said after winning the award. “You hope they call your name, but you don’t get your hopes up too much because all the work is so good. Just to be considered with these other artists is an honor.” Vallo sold his Best of Show piece almost immediately, but the buyer let him keep it at the booth so others could see it. There was a steady stream of people all weekend.

Painter Hiro Tsosie (Navajo (Diné)) in his booth at Santa Fe Indian Market.

Sales were great for many at this year’s market, but market is also more than just sales. It’s community. It’s education and outreach. It’s fashion and culture. It’s also a fundraiser for SWAIA, the organization that runs Santa Fe Indian Market. This year, the show featured an Indian Motorcycle customized by jewelers Cody Sanderson and Kenneth Johnson. It sold for $80,000. Over at the fashion show, Black Eyed Peas member Taboo and PJ Vegas, son of Redbone (“Come and Get Your Love”) founder Pat Vegas, opened the show with a mini-concert that once again redefined what the fashion show could be—it could be anything it wants.

Chickasaw artist Jennifer Hicks with some of her work.

As soon as market ends, a countdown famously starts for the next one—in this case, August 16 and 17, 2025, for the next Santa Fe Indian Market. Mark your calendars. You don’t want to miss it.

Award Winners

Best of Show / Class VII: Diverse Arts Dan Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), Pueblo Revolt Ensemble, rendition of a set of weapons used by many pueblo warriors during the time of the Pueblo Revolt: obsidian flint knapped dagger, handle made of yucca cord encased in clear resin, juniper bow backed with over 150 wild turkey feathers, handmade twisted bow string, rawhide quiver and red cedar wood arrows, 66 x 14 x 5”

Class I: Jewelry Sarah Aragon (Navajo (Diné)), Back in the Saddle, horse headstall with silver female ring bit: handcrafted sterling silver from Tufa-cast ingots, shaped by chiseling, chasing and filing secured on a leather headstall, stone inlay work of Mediterranean coral, Castle Dome turquoise, Morenci turquoise, Kingman turquoise, Persian turquoise and Carico Lake turquoise, 33 x 9 x 6”

Class II: Pottery Garrett Maho (Hopi), Gentle Rain, hand-built pot: traditional clay, paints and paintbrushes, stones used to polish, outdoor traditional wood and dung firing, all natural pigments, 11” diameter

Class III: Painting, Drawing, Graphics & Photography Johnson Yazzie (Navajo (Diné)), AM 660 Afternoon, acrylic and oil on canvas, 53 x 48”

Class IV: Wooden Pueblo Figurative Carving & Sculpture Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi), Chasing Star – Na-ngashu Katsina, carved from roots of a cottonwood tree, oil paint, 16½ x 5½”

Class V: Sculpture Ryan Benally (Navajo (Diné)), Feathered Prayers, sculpture inspired by the Navajo feather ceremony: Italian marble, black granite, stainless steel base, CNC cut design on the base, carved with hammer and chisel, electric power tools and hand-polished to 8000 grit, 63½ x 24 x 24”Class VI: Textiles Isabel Gonzales (Jemez Pueblo/Walatowa), Untitled, hand-embroidered ladies’ manta with a traditional pattern: cotton monks’ cloth, hand-spun yarn on drop spindle, commercial yarn, 60 x 48”

Class VIII: Beadwork & Quillwork Monica J. Raphael (Grand Traverse Ottowa/Chippewa), Indede Odayi - My Dad’s Horse, bead and quillwork on birchbark displayed on a horse mannequin with a handmade doll: woodland porcupine quillwork on birch bark, otter hide, smoked deer hide, replica dimes and a found horse as a mannequin wearing a miniature saddle, doll constructed with brain-tanned and smoked deer hide, all-natural materials, harvested and prepared by artist, 18½ x 19”

Class IX: Youth Aydrian Day (Ho-Chunk/Anishinaabe/Lakota), HoCak Manape (Ho-Chunk Warrior), otter turban and otter medicine bag: otter pelts, smoked hide, commercial hide and cotton, seed and true-cut bead adornments, 8 x 12 x 6” and 11 x 8”

Class XI: Basketry Caleb Hoffman (Cherokee/Penobscot), Embers, hand-pounded ash point basket with sweetgrass: double-woven, plated-point basket, inspired by teacher Jeremy Frey, 8”