“Go big or go home” is the saying that is batted around playfully by the artists prior to Santa Fe Indian Market. In 2025, they meant it.
Among the winners at this year’s market was an 8-foot bison bust made of paper, an 8-by-15-foot weaving so big you could (although shouldn’t) park a car on top of it with room to spare, and a 48-inch katsina carving that was so perilously carved and constructed that it seemed to defy gravity.
Chickasaw artist Regina Free with her paper sculpture Windswept (Bison), which won best of show.
But this is how market goes, year after year: the artists bring their biggest and their best for this time-honored market, one of the most important art events in the country. Santa Fe Indian Market, which celebrated the 103rd year in August, features more than 800 artists, so competition is tough. It’s that spirit of competition, and also the artists’ desire to improve themselves and represent their tribes and nations, that produces timeless and important art in Santa Fe.
Northern Arapaho basket weaver Carol Emarthle Douglas holds her frog basket at market. The piece won the Native American Art Award of Excellence
The top winner this year was Chickasaw sculptor Regina Free, who brought Windswept (Bison), a mixed media sculpture made with foam, felt, plaster and wood. But the primary material is what had people talking: paper towels. Free takes two-ply paper towels, separates the layers and dyes them, all in the name of her art. “I’m still trying to take it all in… I feel very honored and yet it still feels not real,” she said after the win. “It has been a long road, but a very fast two years [to get here]…It’s been a lifetime that culminated at the right time. It had to be right because too many things fell into place. It’s tiring and wonderful. It’s like when you finish a project and you’re at ease and then you get really exhausted and tired and relaxed. [It’s] wonderful and unreal. I hear myself saying that I won best of show and it takes my brain a moment to realize I’m saying that.”
Designer Jamie Okuma, right, during the fashion show with model Nolan Hall.
Another top winner, from the textiles classification, was Diné weaver Lola Cody, who brought that massive 8-by-15-foot weaving. The weaving had no dyes. Cody used natural churro sheep wool that she would separate based on their colors. Weavings of that size, made under those conditions, are incredibly rare. And Cody would know—a similar weaving she made won best of show at Santa Fe Indian Market in 2014.
In addition to the awards and best of show ceremony, market also featured a fashion show, a traditional regalia showcase, and a star-studded gala that included a fashion component, live and silent auctions, music and performers.
Clouds hang over Lincoln Avenue during the 2025 Santa Fe Indian Market.
While SWAIA’s programming is top notch, it is out in the Santa Fe Plaza and surrounding streets where the beating heart of Santa Fe Indian Market can be felt. And this year was no exception with high turnout from visitors and collectors, and exceptional work from more than 800 artists.
Next year’s dates have already been announced, so mark your calendar: August 15 and 16, 2026. —
1. A model wearing designs by Jontay Kahm (Plains Cree) during the fashion show. 2. Diné potter Jared Tso has a crowd lined up prior to the opening market. He would sell out. 3. Fashion designers Penny Singer, left, Osamuskwasis, Lauren Good Day, Jamie Okuma and Jontay Kahm. 4. Basket weaver Vivian Garner Cottrell (Cherokee) at her booth under the Palace of Governors. 5. Artist Naiomi Glasses models during the runway show for Lauren Good Day (Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet/Plains Cree).
6. Dylan Cavin (Choctaw Nation) with ledger paintings on Lincoln Avenue. 7. A model walks the runway during the Osamuskwasis show. 8. Painter Monty Singer (Navajo (Diné)) with one of his bigger works in his booth. 9. Jeweler and flute maker Tim Blueflint Ramel (Bad River Chippewa/Comanche) in his booth. 10. Sheldon Harvey at Santa Fe Indian Market. Harvey had several shows in Santa Fe, including his booth. 11. Lily Hope (Tlingit) in her booth on Old Santa Fe Trail. Behind her is an unfinished Chilkat weaving. 12. The fashion runway during the Osamuskwasis show. 13. Ramona Morrow (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) in her booth. 14. Actor Eugene Brave Rock, left, Native American Art co-publisher Wendie Martin, executive editor Michael Clawson, senior account executive Anita Weldon, writer Chelsea Koressel and actor Zahn McClarnon.
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