Events

High demand for art at weekend event; art prizes awarded to artists

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS — The 33rd annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market & Festival was celebrated June 28-29, with guests shopping for exceptional art from American Indian, First Nations and Alaska Native artists. With a national reputation for excellence, Indian Market & Festival is one of the major cultural events in downtown Indianapolis each summer.

Nearly 4,000 people attended the market, where more than 140 artists showed and sold works in multiple divisions, including jewelry, pottery, basketry, beadwork, carvings, paintings, weavings and cultural items. Visitors could meet the artists at their booths at the museum, purchase their art and enjoy performances, storytelling and music.

“From the exceptional artwork by talented artists to the thrilling performances and Native-inspired food, the 33rd annual Eiteljorg Indian Market & Festival was a truly memorable experience,” said Eiteljorg Museum President and CEO Kathryn Haigh. “We are deeply grateful to the artists, performers, vendors, volunteers, Board members and Eiteljorg staff who made this vibrant celebration of Native arts and cultures possible in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.”

Artists entered their works into a juried competition. A panel of experts in Native art judged the entries in 10 divisions and 44 categories; and a total of $73,300 in cash prizes was awarded, along with ribbons. The museum presented top awards June 28 during the Market Morning Breakfast, held under The Sails, joined by artists and a group of supporters, the Friends of Indian Market.

The annual Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award was presented for five works the museum acquired during Indian Market to add to its permanent collections:

• Gathering Basket by Kandi McGilton (Ts’msyen [Tsimshian])

• Butterfly Frill Basket by Kandi McGilton (Ts’msyen [Tsimshian])

• “Floral Autonomy” Beaded Medicine Bag by Hollis Chitto (Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo)

• Red Cloud 2025 by Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota)

• Alluring by Don Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin).

 

This year, the Margot L. Eccles Best of Show Award went to Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota), for his print Red Cloud 2025. Supported by The Margot L. Eccles Arts and Culture Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, the Best of Show award is named for the late Margot Eccles, a civic leader, philanthropist, art collector, Eiteljorg Board member and past chair of Indian Market & Festival. The winning artist received a $7,500 prize.

Here are other annual awards presented at the 33^rd annual Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival:

The Helen Cox Kersting Award is presented to artists whose work exemplifies the highest quality of execution and innovation within a traditional Native art medium. Presented by Donnarae and Paul Freyermuth, this year’s Kersting award carries a $1,000 prize and went to two artists for a collaboration:

• Tim Blueflint Ramel (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) and Glenda McKay (Ingalik-Athabascan) for “Tunghak”, Keeper of the Game.

The Margot L. Eccles Youth Award encourages the next generation of young artists, with awards presented in two age categories:

• Ages 13 to 17: Xavian Suazo (Santa Clara Pueblo), Mountains of Life

• Ages 12 and younger: Josey Cirullo (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma), Sturgeon

The Friends of Indian Market & Festival sponsored the awards. Artworks by these artists received Best of Division awards:

Beadwork/Quillwork: Cyndy Milda (Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community), Matriarchal Resilience

Cultural Items: Tim Blueflint Ramel (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), Prayers of Wind and Wood

Weavings and Textiles: Della BigHair-Stump (Crow Nation), MMIW Red Dress

Basketry: Don Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin), Seal Hunters

Pottery: Amanda Lucario (Pueblo of Acoma), Olla Jar

Jewelry: Ernest Benally (Diné / Navajo), 14k gold butterfly ring

Carvings and Dolls: Kevin Horace Quannie (Hopi, Diné), Eagle Boy Katsina

Sculpture: Troy Sice (Zuni Pueblo), Red Corn Mother

Paintings, Drawings, Photography and Prints: Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota), Red Cloud 2025

Innovative Arts: Rain Scott (Pueblo of Acoma), Transcending Lifetimes.

The signature image for the 33rd annual Indian Market & Festival was Wawatso, a bronze with lost-wax casting by artist Pahponee (Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas / Citizen Potawatomi Nation). This piece was acquired and donated to the museum’s permanent collection by Dr. John Timothy, Jr. (Muscogee [Creek] Nation) and his sister Charlene Timothy, through the Ella Kay and John W. Timothy, Sr. Family Memorial Fund. The image of Wawatso also appeared on commemorative Indian Market & Festival T-shirts.

Market-goers also enjoyed performances by the acclaimed intertribal dance troupe Indigenous Enterprise, storytelling by Amy Bruton Bluemel (Chickasaw Nation), flute music by Darren Thompson (Ojibwe / Tohono O’odham), and a beading demonstration by Hollis Chitto (Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo).

The 33rd annual Eiteljorg Indian Market & Festival was sponsored by the Friends of Indian Market, Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Margot L. Eccles Arts & Culture Fund (a Central Indiana Community Foundation fund), Indiana Soybean Alliance, Penrod Society and PNC Bank. Performances by Indigenous Enterprise were made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation.

About the Eiteljorg
For more than 35 years, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of Indianapolis and scenic White River State Park. The Eiteljorg Museum explores the intersection of the arts, histories and cultures of the past and present by sharing the diverse stories of the American West and the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Located on the Central Canal at 500 West Washington St., the Eiteljorg is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

 

 

 

Media Contacts

Bryan Corbin
Public Relations Manager
317.275.1315
bcorbin@eiteljorg.com

Katie Warthan
Director of Communications and Marketing
317.275.1317
kwarthan@eiteljorg.com