High demand for art at market and festival; art prizes awarded to artists

Peter Boome (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe), center, received the Margot L. Eccles Best of Show Award for his sculpture, First Woman, during the 32nd annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival. The award was presented by Indian Market co-chair Cindy Hoye, left, during the Market Morning Breakfast on June 22.

Thursday, June 27, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — The 32nd annual Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market and Festival was celebrated June 22-23, with guests shopping for exceptional art from 140 Native artists from 64 tribes, nations and pueblos from across the U.S. and Canada. With one of the largest groups of artists to participate in the event in a decade, Indian Market and Festival enjoys a national reputation for excellence and is one of the major multicultural events in downtown Indianapolis each summer.

Artists showed and sold works in multiple disciplines, including jewelry, pottery, basketry, beadwork, carvings, paintings, weavings and cultural items. Visitors could meet the artists at their booths inside the Eiteljorg Museum and on the grounds, purchase their art and enjoy music, dance and cultural performances during the weekend. The Indiana Soybean Alliance was the 2024 presenting sponsor of Indian Market and Festival.

“As a celebration of Native arts and cultures, this year’s Indian Market and Festival featured longtime artists who are sought out by collectors each year, as well as 40 exciting new artists who participated in the Eiteljorg market for the first time,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said. “As the Eiteljorg Museum marks 35 years serving the community, the Indian Market and Festival is one of its foundational annual programs. Museum staff, Board members and 80 volunteers worked together to make the 32^nd annual market a success for artists and market-goers alike.”

Many artists entered their works into a juried competition. A panel of experts in Native art judged the entries; and a total of $52,500 in cash prizes was awarded, along with ribbons. The museum presented awards for Best of Show and other divisions June 22 during the Market Morning Breakfast, held under the Eiteljorg’s outdoor shade structure, The Sails, with artists and the market’s most loyal supporters as guests.

The annual Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award is presented for works the museum acquires during Indian Market to add to its permanent collections. This year, four artists received the purchase award:

Beth Bush (Potawatomi / Odawa) of Cleveland, Ohio, for a beadwork bag, Nanabush Shkemot

Samantha Jacobs (Seneca Nation) of Irving, New York, for a beadwork piece, ReConnection: Land Back, more than a #

Rain Scott (Pueblo of Acoma) of Sanders, Arizona, for a contemporary art piece, Water Protector

Benjamin West (Otoe Missouria [Buffalo Clan] / Southern Cheyenne [Bow String Society] / Mvskoke [Panther Clan]) of Pembroke Pines, Florida, for Abothada Manyi = (OTOE ) Walks Above (Augmented Reality Print).

This year, the Margot L. Eccles Best of Show Award went to Peter Boome (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe) of University Place, Washington state, for a sculpture, First Woman, for which Boome received a $7,500 cash prize. 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 and Festival, who brought passion, vision and generosity to the annual event.

Here are other annual awards presented at the 32^nd annual Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival:

The Helen Cox Kersting Award is presented to an artist whose work exemplifies the highest quality of execution and innovation within a traditional Native art medium. This year’s award, which carries a $1,000 prize, went to Ernest Benally (Navajo) of Gallup, New Mexico, for a beaded necklace titled Born Again.

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

Ages 13 to 17: Noelle Collins-Ziviski (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians ([Gun Lake Tribe]), The crown of creative eternity

Ages12 and younger: Tsionenhariio Swamp (Kanien’kehaka [Mohawk]), Squash Flower.

The Friends of Indian Market and Festival sponsored the awards, which included cash prizes for the best entry in each division, as well as for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entries in multiple categories comprising a division. The 2024 Indian Market and Festival Best of Division award recipients in each medium are:

Beadwork/Quillwork: Della BigHair-Stump (Crow Tribe) of Hardin, Montana, for a beaded dress, Indigenous Couture

Cultural Items: Robert Johnson (Navajo) of Moriarty, New Mexico, for Royston Horse Bridle

Basketry: Carrie Hill (Akwesasne Mohawk), of Akwesasne, New York, for The Gentle Jelly

Pottery: Karin Walkingstick (Cherokee Nation) of Claremore, Oklahoma, for Pink Coral

Jewelry: Ernest Benally (Navajo) of Gallup, New Mexico, for Born Again

Carvings and Dolls: Penelope S. Minner (Seneca Nation) of Salamanca, New York, for Corn Pounder

Sculpture: Peter Boome (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe) of University Place, Washington state, for First Woman

Weavings and Textiles: Gloria Fain (Navajo) of Phoenix, Arizona, for Hazy Butterfly

Paintings, Drawings, Photography and Prints: Benjamin West (Otoe Missouria [Buffalo Clan] / Southern Cheyenne [Bow String Society] / Mvskoke [Panther Clan]) of Pembroke Pines, Florida, for (Otoe) IWARE = Gone From Here 1/1 Lenticular Print

Innovative Arts:  Rain Scott (Pueblo of Acoma) of Sanders, Arizona, for Water Protector.

The signature image for the 32nd annual Indian Market and Festival was a Northwest Coast thunderbird serigraph, Recharge by Peter Boome (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe). The image appeared on commemorative Indian Market and Festival T-shirts and signs.

During the Market Morning Breakfast, visitors, artists and organizers paused to remember a longtime Indian Market and Festival jewelry artist, Grant Dial (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina) of Red Springs, N.C., who died June 3.

First held in 1993, the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival has grown into one of the top Native art markets in the nation. To participate in the market, artists must be enrolled members of a federally or state-recognized tribe or of a First Nation. Artworks entered into the market must have been created within the past two years and be available for purchase during the market. Entries must be in compliance with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

In addition to presenting sponsor the Indiana Soybean Alliance, the 32nd annual Indian Market and Festival was sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis; the Margot L. Eccles Arts and Culture Fund, a CICF fund; and the Penrod Society. Raymond James and Associates sponsored both Indian Market and Festival and the Market Morning Breakfast. Additional support came from Renewal by Andersen, the museum’s Mrs. Robert S. Eccles Fund, the Indy Arts Council and Indiana Arts Commission.

The Native artists who won top awards and division awards at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival during the Market Morning Breakfast on June 22. Eiteljorg photo.

About the Eiteljorg
For 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.

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