A homecoming and fine art show at the Tesoro Powwow and Indian Market

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The Tesoro Cultural Center’s 23rd Annual Indian Market and Powwow hosted Native American artists, singers and dancers for a weekend of fun, commerce, education and celebration.

The event took place June 1 at The Fort in Morrison, and for many of the vendors, performers and attendees, the event was also a homecoming.

According to Jeremy Kinney, co-owner of The Fort and board chairman of the Tesoro Cultural Center, the event has grown over the years.

“When we started this wonderful powwow and our show, we never knew that it would flourish,” he said.

Host for the evening George Curtis Levi spoke during the opening night Patron Party, saying that despite the size, the same faces keep coming back.

Darryl “Max” Bear (left) and George Curtis Levi opened the Tesoro Cultural Center Indian Market and Powwow weekend’s festivities with speeches about the Cheyenne Arapahoe and their struggles when forced out of the land that The Fort now stands on. Levi also exhibited his ledger art at the market. Credit: Photo by Jo Davis

“It’s not just an art show, is not just a powwow,” he said. “To my Cheyenne people, this is a homecoming. Our people call this ‘Ho’honáá’e Tsé’amoo’ėse.’ It means the Rocky Mountains.”

He told the audience that the Cheyenne and other tribes were forced out of the very land that everyone was standing on. He also mentioned the horrors they faced, like the Sand Creek Massacre.

“This is where we resided. This was our land. But you see this mining that’s going on that hillside over here,” he said, pointing to the mountainside visible from the The Fort’s patio. “People that finally found minerals here. The minerals are more valuable than our Cheyenne people’s lives. So, we were forced out through genocide. This is always our home.

“When I came up here earlier, I met some of my relatives, my Cheyenne relatives that I never knew,” he continued. “These guys are my relatives. And I’m glad to be here. My family is here.”

The fine art is another important part of the Powwow and Indian Market, according to Dinè artist Gilmore Scott.

Gilmore Scott is a Diné (Navajo) artist featured at the Tesoro Cultural Center Powwow and Indian Market. Scott said his work carries on the artistry of Diné rug makers who survived by designing and selling rugs and blankets centuries ago.

Credit: Photo by Jo Davis

Scott explained that his art is based on the traditional rug work and stories of the Dinè people.

“In history books, you’ll see prominent leaders from different nations from different tribes wrapped in a blanket,” Scott said. “And a lot of times those blankets were traded from the Dinè people. They became known as the famous chief blankets.”

Scott is a trained artist who merges modern art techniques like the imagery of the Dinè matriarch, The Creator and the Dinè rug technique called “The eye dazzler.”

“While learning about art, I found that the famous pop art movement of the 1950s actually influenced our traditional rugs. Our weavers started to weave a certain style of rug design, and they became known as the Eye Dazzlers (because) they started to show the illusion of movement in their rugs.”

Many others at the event offered information about the art. The powwow’s Master of Ceremonies Darryl Max Bear spoke about Cheyenne ledger art.

“This stuff is hard because it’s called ledger art. But it’s not what it is,” he said, adding that the work is actually the history of his people.

“Because I’ve seen a bunch of 50-year ledger art pieces that you can still read,” he continued. “We can grab those and give that knowledge to our people.”

He added that two new pieces of ledger art have been found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is working to get the art returned to the Cheyenne.

Co-owner of The Fort and Executive Director of the Tesoro Cultural Center Holly Arnold Kinney explained that the event has been a celebration since its inception and cultural meeting place.

“We have a rendezvous in the fall, which is a similar format,” Arnold Kinney said. “But it’s celebrating the Spanish culture and Indian culture.”

She said The Fort was a common ground for mountain men and women encampments, traders, trappers, dancers and even Black settlers.

According to Arnold Kinney, The Powwow and Indian Market is the modern-day version of that common ground.

“They would lay down their arms and come into The Fort to trade,” she explained. “And it was a place of commerce and a place to learn new technology, new cultures and trade. And that’s really what we are today.”

For more information on The Fort and the Tesoro Cultural Center’s next events, visit TesoroCulturalCenter.org.

The Sherwood girls are pictured here with their father Francis Sherwood in the background. From the right they are Mikayla Sherwood, Nellie Sherwood, Victoria Early and Shaylee Sherwood. They credited their mother JoDene Sherwood with making the regalia. Mikayla’s regalia is made up of animal feathers and bone.
A silent auction fundraiser was held to help fund the Tesoro Cultural Center Powwow and Indian Market. This guitar signed by George Strait and emblazoned with the country singer’s image was one of the items up for auction.
Melissa Antonio (center) is a Diné pottery artist who sold her wares at the Tesoro Cultural Center Powwow and Indian Market. Antonio’s work is world-renowned fine art that carries on the design patterns and traditions of her people. Credit: Photo by Jo Davis
The Tesoro Cultural Center Powwow and Indian Market attracted dancers from all over North America. Each dancer wore handmade regalia.