Inside Indian Market: Art, Identity & Legacy with Nocona Burgess

The Santa Fe Indian Market is more than an art show—it's a cultural phenomenon 103 years in the making. In this special episode, Bunny Terry sits down with acclaimed Comanche painter Nocona Burgess to explore the heart and soul of this iconic event. With deep roots in Native history and a vibrant, modern artistic style, Nocona shares his insider perspective on what makes Indian Market so powerful—for collectors, artists, and the Santa Fe community.

From practical tips for first-time visitors to reflections on how contemporary Native art continues to evolve, this conversation covers it all:
 🎨 What it’s like to exhibit at Indian Market for 23+ years
 📍 Why Indian Market is a global event with local heart
 🧠 The history and philosophy behind Nocona’s vivid, soulful portraits
 💡 How to truly engage with Native artists and their work
 ✨ Why your home is a sacred space—and how art honors that

Whether you're a seasoned collector or simply curious, this episode will leave you inspired to experience Indian Market with new eyes—and a deeper appreciation for the stories behind the art.

Santa Fe Indian Market takes place August 16–17, 2025, from 8AM–5PM at the downtown Santa Fe Plaza. Free and open to the public.
Find Nocona at Booth #728 on Lincoln Avenue and at his gallery show Friday night at Manitou Gallery.

Links - 

Nocona's website: https://www.noconaburgess.com/

Santa Fe Indian Market: https://www.swaia.org/

Bunny Terry's website

Bunny Terry Instagram

Bunny Terry Facebook

Original Music by: Kene Terry

Transcript

Bunny (00:02.51)
Welcome everybody to the Real Santa Fe Show. This is a special episode for me because my favorite event in Santa Fe is coming up and we have somebody who I consider a local expert to talk to us about it and a guest that we've had at least once before, if not twice, Nikona Burgess. Thanks for giving us some time on the show.

Yeah, happy to be here.

So we are going to talk a little bit about Nikona's background in art, but I really wanted for you to give us sort of the insider's view of Santa Fe Indian Market, which is on August 16th and 17th in 2025, but this certainly isn't the first year. It looks to me like we're the 103rd iteration of Indian Market.

Yeah, yeah. It's pretty, pretty big. You know, I always say that Indian market kind of made Santa Fe. If you think about 103 years ago, what was going on out here? And yeah, I mean, I feel like it's really helped create what Santa Fe is known for. So.

Well, I read, you know, I always have this sort of peripheral idea of what the history is. And so today, before we talked, I did a little deeper dive. so this is the largest Native American art show in the country, in the world.

Nocona (01:33.198)
Probably in the country. mean, there's not gonna be a bigger one in the world, but yeah, in my world. I don't know if there's other indigenous art shows that are bigger, but featuring Native Americans, yeah, this is a, it's a Super Bowl, so.

It is, it is a thousand artists from over 200 tribal nations.

Yeah, I think there's more artists than that. I've read that there's up to 1200, you know. Wow. Because there's a lot of small, you know, a lot of people are sharing booths. So it could be, it could be between one and 12. So 1200. So yeah, I mean, it's a big deal. And then, you know, they estimate 150,000 people come to Santa Fe for this, you know, so it's a big deal. I mean, I appreciate that it's a big deal, you know, and I never take for granted that people

save their money, save their leave, make plans for this, to come out and do this year after year. People from around the world, it's not just kind of a local thing, kind of like some of the other events and stuff like that. It's a lot of locals. This is a big deal worldwide. And it really, when that pebble hits the pond, it just goes everywhere. And so it's impactful, not only here locally, worldwide. And a lot of artists, this is it.

this is their moneymaker. yeah, so that's important. And like I said, I'll never take for granted the fact that, you know, this was, this is what it is. So.

Bunny (03:02.21)
Well, you just said it. made an interesting statement. So this is the moneymaker for a lot of artists. Talk about that for a minute. I mean, people prepare for years and it's juried, right? Is this a jury?

Yes. yeah. yeah. Yeah. And that's why it's the best. There's a lot of other shows kind of locally that kind of go along and kind of latch on to Swyia, but Swyia is juried. And it's juried by the expert, people that know, people that are museum collectors, galleries, people like that. And so your jury is real knowledgeable. And so, and I think that that's what sets it apart is people know that, people that are real collectors,

people that are big into Indian art know that it's a juried show and it's pretty, it kind of makes them feel good about their selection, I guess. know, cause it's, collecting art is, it's personal, but I think sometimes when the experts tell you that it's really good, it, you know, it kind of helps, helps your decision making a little bit.

Well, that's a whole different conversation because I have friends who are serious collectors. Especially people I serve with on the board at the Cancer Foundation and they go to every event. They're at every paid, every ticketed event. They're at the gala, they're at the best of show event. And we'll talk about that a little bit later, but I do think that there's...

There's there's something for every taste at this show, right?

Nocona (04:36.622)
Yeah, yes. Yeah, every type of collector, every financial background, you know, there's there is there's surely something for everyone here. You know, and I always kind of joked that it doesn't matter what kind of art you like. There's probably a Native American doing that. I mean, we have stuff that's super contemporary. You know, people are using computers and lasers and printers and things like that. And then you have stuff.

that people have been doing since the dawn of time, clay and materials and traditional materials. And so we cover the board. And so every kind of thing you can think of, it's out there. And that's what I really commenced Wion is like the inclusion of new technologies and new ideas and also new imagery. doesn't have to always be what we think of native art has to be. And it's why it's really been open.

to let Native artists kind of express that and not say, you have to do this or you have to do that. It's really open and I really commend them for that.

So how long have you been doing this?

This will be my 23rd year. So I started in 2002. Yeah.

Bunny (05:50.644)
Is that bit of a record? mean, there are lot of artists. Who do you think is the longest-attending, the longest-admitted artist right now?

Man, I don't know. You'd have to ask why that, because I know there's artists there that probably have been there for 40, 50 years. there's artists. I mean, you figure if you're in your early 70s and you started in your 20s, you've been there quite a while. I know a lot of artists that have been doing art that long. And so, yeah, there's probably somebody in there that's probably looking at 50 years at least. So maybe ask why. I have to ask why.

Yeah, we'll see if we can find out. We'll see if we can find that out. let's break it down first. Say you're a first time attender and you don't have any idea of what to expect. I mean, I think people who are moving here, because that's what I help people do is move here is they're like, is it a big deal? And I'm like, it is so difficult to describe, but certainly every street radiating from the plaza.

except maybe, well, Washington, part of Washington Street. But can you physically describe it for somebody that hasn't ever been here before? What to expect when they come to town?

Yeah.

Nocona (07:13.838)
It's overwhelming, but in a good way. I mean, just visually, I think it breaks down people's expectations of what they think Indian art is because it's a mix. They don't put people in categories or groups. So you could walk down my street, for example, Lincoln, and there's carvers and jewelers and painters and everything in between. so I think it's just, it's a lot to kind of take it all in the first time, but it's a good overwhelming.

And you'll see kind of the magnitude, because it is the biggest moneymaker for the state of New Mexico. It's bigger than Balloon Fiesta. It makes more money for the state than that. so, you know, so there's a lot of implications that result from Indian market. You know, there's people coming in and just, it's, you know, there's just people, lots of people, lots of, there's food and there's fashion and there's film and there's discussions and panel discussions. So.

You know, like you said, your friends that go to all these events. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's kind of a crazy good, you know, and it can be, I wouldn't try to knock it out and do everything the first go around, you know, but it's, there's a lot of good stuff. And I would suggest really getting the, the magazines and the materials to understand what, what's happening. So you can kind of plan it. Cause if you don't plan it, then it can kind of get, you know, get crazy. Yeah. You get lost kind of in the shuffle in the crowd.

And so I think the best approach would be like, you know, get all the publications out. I think some of them are already out and then Fridays will be out and find the booths and kind of, you know, if you have a general idea of what you think you might want to see. I know that all the magazines and stuff, categorize art. So if you want to see painters, if you want to see sculptors or jewelry, well, then you can kind of look and see where the booths are. And the booths are all just labeled on the streets like Lincoln and old Santa Fe trail and Opecos trail and you know, things like that.

So it's pretty easy to kind of figure it out.

Bunny (09:11.904)
You'll be on Lincoln Street sort of over there in the middle on the west side. Is that right?

Yeah, yep, 728.

Okay, okay, so everybody who's listening, I would say the first place to go is go to Nikona's booth and take a look. And you're right, don't try to do it all. If this is the first time you've been to Indian Market, don't try to do it all in the first weekend because it happens every year. You can come back next year. And I think the other cool thing is that

This is one of those events. It's not like going to a gallery. This is an event where you get to talk to the artist at the moment that you see their work. mean, talk about how cool that is for you as an artist to get to meet your work.

It is because I don't hardly do any shows anymore. I do maybe two. I do Indie Market and Winter Indie Market. So I used to do a lot of shows. I rely mostly on sales out of my studio and galleries. yeah, it is. It's just a good way to talk to the artists. It's a good way to kind of get to know them and see them and see what's happening. I love Swyde because it helps me cultivate new collectors.

Nocona (10:31.278)
Like I said, you got that many people coming into town and sometimes they stumble on you or they've seen you in the magazine or just like, yeah, like pure coincidence, they just kind of show up and they're like, and I'm sure this happens with all artists, like, wow, I've never seen anything like this before or they're not familiar with it. So it's a good opportunity to kind of talk to people. A lot of times gallery openings are only like two hours long and so you don't really have time. I always suggest if you really want to chat with an artist,

and have their ear full a little bit. The best times are probably Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, because Saturday morning is nuts and Sunday afternoon is nuts, because that's the buying times. Saturday morning, everybody's in a rush. They saw it at the preview. They saw the work that they liked at the preview. They're trying to get to the booth. They're trying to buy it before it goes. After about one, it kind of settles down a little bit. And then Sunday in the morning, it's kind of quiet.

But then in the afternoon, everybody kind of in his panic mode and going, we better get back over there and buy that before it's closed. So those are the best times. If you really meet an artist and you see them, you want to talk to them a little bit longer, or even if you're with an organization and you want to kind of talk to them, those are the best times because other times they're selling and they're working and it's hard to kind of visit during those times. I know sometimes people want to do that. They want to come in when it's kind of the high time, but it's hard to kind of visit and talk.

So I would suggest if you wanna do that, those are the best times.

Well, that's a really great insider tip. Sunday morning is my favorite time.

Bunny  (12:05.262)
Absolutely. And it's open both days at eight o'clock. you got to know that everybody who went to the gala on Saturday night is going to be at home nursing a little bit of a hangover on Sunday morning. So go down, go get down there and have a visit, right?

Yeah, yeah, you know, grab some coffee and, you know, hang out a little bit.

Right, right. That was one of the things on my list is how to engage. So I think everybody has an idea of what traditional Native American art looks like. You're a contemporary artist, right? I mean, some of your stuff feels really, because it's so soulful. And we've interviewed Nikona on this show before.

Everybody should feel free to go back and look for this really in-depth look into the way that you create your art. But give people just a little idea of how you create. And then let's talk about contemporary Native

Yeah, know, my art is, my subjects are like historical photographs. So I've just always been coming from a historically significant background being, you know, the Senator Quentin Parker. I think always just growing up, always reading and researching history. And, you know, you go to art school and then, you know, when you get an advanced painting, you're finally done painting still lifes and stuff and popping other work. Then it's like, okay, well, who am I? am I about?

Nocona (13:38.03)
And so it kind of happened that way. Like I've always read history books. I've always done research. I have the complete collection of the time life books that look like the leather bound, you know, great, cheese. Oh, I love those, you know, and my grandfather gave me a partial set when I was a kid and it just something along the way with that and history. then like the way I paint and the way I kind of grew into painting.

You know, my influences were like TC Cannon and TC Cannon looking at like the Bay Area artists in the 1950s, like James Weeks and Nathan Olivares and Wayne Thiebaud. So TC was looking at that and it made me look at that. And then all of a sudden, you know, I'm looking at people like John Nieto and, you know, so those are kind of like the input. And then by the time, you know, I really liked that contemporary style. And then, yeah. And then by the time I got a hold of it and twisted it and adjusted it,

then I have my own style. But those are kind of the guys that I was kind of looking at, that contemporary stuff. But I always still love the historical photographs. mean, to this day, I just love looking at those or researching and finding them. And also, people send them to me. hear people's personal stories. Or sometimes I'll do a piece and someone's, they'll say, that's my great grandfather or my great uncle. And I'll learn more about that person because they recognize that image.

And so just somewhere along the way, just the love of history, the love of those images, and then the love of kind of a contemporary painter style kind of happened along the way. And then one thing was we've always seen them in black and white, you know, so kind of painting them and putting color to them kind of adds a little bit to it. So yeah, so it kind of keeps the soul of that image that we see in all the books and everything, but also adding kind of a contemporary flair to it, I think is what the appeal is.

Your color is one of, mean, not that your skill and your portraiture isn't amazing, but I do love the color that you use. I, we talked about that before. Can you tell people a little bit about that, where that comes from?

Bunny (15:41.858)
Yeah, just, know, my wife thinks I'm a little bit colorblind. So that may be the reason, but you know, I, I, I mix a lot of color. like, I'm not, I like color. I like bright color, but I always kind of want to bring it down a notch, you know? So I had a lot of neutral grays and like a Payne's gray and then also like some burnt umber.

you know, kind of some bright, even though it's like, looks like an orange, like it might be a bright orange. It's really not, it's just brought down just a notch, you know, so it's not straight out the tube. And, you know, I play with a lot of colors and I mix a lot of colors. Heck, I even taught color theory, you know, at the college. And so, yeah, so I just always played with color. And that's one thing that people have said since the beginning. And I never really understood that. You know, I always said, oh, it's

nice thing to say, you it's not a great painting, but it's great color. you know, over the years, I've come to understand and seeing how I work and I just, I mix a lot of color in, play with like, complimentary colors, I play with grays and neutrals and things like that. And so yeah, so I'm always messing with color. And, if you see, like, if I showed my palette, you just see all the colors that are mixed. And so that's one thing I really try to do is kind of play with that idea and kind of subtle colors. So

colors, because there's a weird color combination that I have. It's like this bright, bright orange and a neutral gray, and they're about the same value. And I mix them together and the color almost looks like a sage. And so when I mix those two colors together and when you put it on the canvas, it's sage, but it's really like in gray, orange. And so sometimes I think the brain and the eyeballs aren't, you know, and I think that's what people, that's intrigues people. And so I kind of play with those color combinations.

I play with values. say that this purple and this blue might be the same value. So if I took a black and white picture of it, you wouldn't see the difference, but to see it on canvas. So I'm always kind of playing with that idea that our cones and our thoughts and what color are we seeing? And sometimes maybe not being able to describe a color is kind of funny. I want people to kind of go, is that sage? What the hell is that? And so yeah, so I'm always just kind of playing with the idea of using color.

Nocona (18:03.406)
things like that. So it's fun for me, just kind of this little formula. And it really does, I really feel like it sets my artwork apart, because I get a lot of people that say that. It does. You know, and so, yeah, so I kind of take pride in that.

Well, the style is so unique anyway. And if somebody's not familiar with contemporary Native art, I mean, how do they know what they're looking at? How do they, what do you tell people about contemporary art?

You know, it's fairly young. you talk about, you know, like I did my master's research on Native arts and kind of the evolution of it from like boarding school to ledger art to what art is now. And so it's really kind of a young thing. mean, the University of Arizona started kind of this contemporary Native idea. And then they, you know, they set up

IAIA in the 60s. So a lot of the guys that are like the innovators of contemporary art, those guys are mid 70s. And so it's not been around. You talk about even if T.C. Cannon hadn't died so young, he'd probably be in his late 70s. So it's not been a thing. So it's just kind of started in 1962, this idea of contemporary art. then after all the boarding schools closed,

in 1980, while 95 % of them closed, then the Native artists weren't being dictated by the teachers at the art schools that this is what Indian art is. So it really, after 1980, it really boomed. So you had this movement at IIA in Santa Fe, 62, then 1980, all these kids weren't forced to go to boarding school and do the curriculum there. We're in public school, so now we're listening to Kiss and riding skateboards and watching Star Wars, and we're not kind of locked away in these boarding schools.

 (19:55.936)
And so I think that that's kind of where the changes came from. So if you look at all the kind of contemporary painters and who they're looking at and it's not being dictated to them. And then that evolves into everybody else sculpting beadwork. You look at someone like Jamie Okuma's beadwork, it's kind of a traditional style beadwork, but it's like in this cool format and anything. Yeah. And so I think that all kind of came, kind of started in 1960s and by 1980,

you know, it really kind of moved from there. And so and it can be anything. I mean, you have Pat Pruitt, that's using laser technology and computers to make jewelry, you know, that's contemporary and then you have

these names. Go find Pat Pruitt. Who? Jamie to cool it? How did you?

Say her name. Jamie Okuma. OK, you ma she's beadworker.

Okay. And that still goes back to buy what you like, right?

 (20:55.596)
Yeah, yeah. That's kind of what it comes down to.

Yeah, yeah, we do. We have this really eclectic mix of art, a lot of Native American art in our house. And people will say, such an interesting collection. I say, it's not a collection. It's just when we see it, we know that we love it.

Right, right. And that's how we are. I we collect, I mean, you can see my studio wall, you know, our house is the same way. I mean, we've, we get everything from, you know, of course we have a lot of native artists because we buy and trade and, and commission and, we also have a lot of art around the world. So whenever we travel, you know, we go to Africa or we go to Japan or something, we always try to buy art from like actual artists. And so, yeah, we have a wild kind of eclectic next to, but yeah, it is. I mean, you just like what you like, you know, I mean,

there's kind of this theory that people buy names and some people do, but I mean, you're not really just going to buy a name. I mean, you really want it connected, you know, and I, my theory and philosophy is always like, you know, people buy art because like you said, you like it, you're attracted to it. And I always feel good because it's like, that's your most sacred space is your home. And so for someone to take a piece of my artwork and be in their home, cause I know what my art collection means to me and you know, the stories behind it. And so it's always,

Because I'm like, that's where you love, that's where you cry, that's where you eat, that's where you rest. And so those are the things that are in your home. And to kind of have these items in your home is really a big deal. I really think about that whenever I'm selling art to people.

 (22:26.99)
That is that statement really pugs at my heart when you said your home is a sacred space. Yeah. And you invite that artwork into your house. remember years ago when I couldn't buy anything, I bought something at a show where a guy was 120 bucks and the guy let me pay him $10 a month for 12 months. And what he said to me was, don't buy anything

that isn't gonna make you happy when you get up in the morning and see it on your wall. And that really was my first initiation into buying art. I was a single mom with a four-year-old, but I had to have that piece. what a great way to state it, Nakona, to say your home is a sacred space and you feel honored when people take your art into their...

Right, yeah.

(23:20.904)
yeah, yeah. And I love when they send me pictures of it. Like they'll hang it and they'll send me an email or something and go, we've the piece up or we got it. And it's really nice to see where it's going to live because I have that connection with art that I have in my house. There's times where I pull it off the wall and stick it in front of me and watch and look at it while I'm maybe having breakfast or everyone's out of the house working and I'm at home alone. I'll take something off the wall.

be it a flute, be it a sculpture, paint or I touch it, I have stone sculpture and bronze and I'll feel it and things like that and really kind of look at it. And so, yeah, and so that's what I mean. It's just, like I said, everything about your life is in your home. You raise your kids there and you've had your best times and worst times in your house. so, yeah, so it's a big deal.

Wow, that's a nugget. So we did not even get to your art specifically. So please, please folks go back and listen, because we covered this a lot in depth before. if you, I mean, I always wanna talk about, why have you on the show? you are so.

You're such an iconic figure to me in Santa Fe because you're not just an artist. You're a member of the community. Your son is doing our, you're involved in the community and you're teaching and you're giving a lot back. So I want people to know that about you. And you're approachable. mean, you're an easy guy to stop and visit with is your boost.

I hope so. It me sell a few more paintings if you're approachable. Yeah. Right. know, it's just, you know, I grew up with a dad that's, you know, he's an educator and he's super smart, but, know, he's always been a teacher for us. But even though he's been a superintendent, president of a college, you know, chairman of the tribe, he's always been kind of a teacher for us. And so he'd always be involved in education. My mom was a social worker.

(25:35.234)
you know, even now that she's retired, she still works for the elder program at the tribe and helps take care of other elders. And she's actually been chairman of the command team. was vice chairman and then the chairman was removed. So for a short time, she was like the first female chief of the command cheese. so both my parents, you know, were, yeah, they're so, but you know, they've always been servants. They've always given, you know, they've, you know, they've had successes in their lives, but they've always kind of given back. And that's kind of something that

you know, I want to do my, my philosophy is simple. You got to send the elevator back down, you know, when you get, when you get up there, you know, you got to help, help other people, reach their goals. And so it's, like I said, it's not, you know, what, what's the thing where it's, it's not pie, you know, if you have more, doesn't mean other people get, have less. And so, you know, it's just, you know, it's just a thing, you know, being raised by those guys and seeing how they, they went about it. And even now, you know, my, my dad and

Mom are very hands-on with the tribe. My dad, he goes to all the meetings and things like that. And my mom works for the elder centers. She's also on the elder council. So they're still very involved. My dad's 75, my mom's 76, and they're still involved. mean, every day they're kind of working with the tribe or working with people and trying to make it better for other people. so that's kind of what I've grew up with that philosophy. So even when we were poor, they were helping other people.

Right, right, me too. Those are important stories to tell over and over again. And I want to say quickly, I didn't want to gloss over this because I think it's a really important piece about who you are, but you are a member of the Kofanchi Tribe. And I'm sorry, was Kwonah Parker your great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather?

Two greats. Yeah, two greats. He's my grandfather's grandfather. So yeah. And so, and he's, I'm a descendant of him from my mother's side. So my mom's the Parker. So her name is Lenora Parker. And so then her dad was Simmons Parker. His dad was Baldwin and his dad was Quanah. And so, yeah. So people always think it's from my father. I'm like, no, my mom's the Parker. So she still carries the name. Yeah. So yeah. Cool.

(27:54.286)
Cool. So everybody, we've given you some really great tips and you don't want to, mean, go to the website, swya. don't know if it's dot order or order.com. We'll figure that out. It works. So S W A I A. Can you tell folks what swya stands for?

Southwest Indian Arts Association. I think that's right. I have to write it down.

American Indian artists. I mean, it's a bunch of bunch of vowels.

Yeah. S W a I South West American Indian art or something like that. So yeah, I've only been involved with them for 20 something years. One thing too, I would say is like, if you don't buy a ticket for the preview at some point it's open. think after five, didn't know that. Yeah. I think it's just open to the public and it's free after some point. So I would look that up. So if you don't have an idea.

That's so funny.

Speaker 1 (28:51.566)
of what you want to see or what you're going to look at, go to the preview. Because everybody like, you know, they have your name up there. And so if you go to the preview, you can walk through and look through all the categories that pottery, jewelry, painting, sculpting, beadwork, and you can kind of get an idea and, you know, write it down, you know, when you when you see the artist or things like that, write that down and then go find their booth. Because, you know, if you're just kind of walking around with no idea.

you know, you can, time goes by fast and there's so much to look at. So if you go to the preview when it's open and free, then you can really kind of get an idea. wow, I'd like to see more of this or more of that or something, you know. And so that kind of gives you an idea of kind of, kind of target your area.

And I know that's Friday afternoon, right? Friday evening, 5.30 ish. The other cool thing that I want people to know about that's happening is that Native American art isn't just art you can hang on the wall or put on a pedestal or wear. There's also a Native fashion show on Sunday. And holy mackerel, those designers are doing the coolest stuff.

Right, right. And it's really nice because I feel like they're kind of keep putting it back in their control because so many other designers from around the world have always been knocking off native designs and native influence. And I think that Swyat allows the native designers to kind of be in control of that situation now because it's gotten international and it's gotten international acclaim. so people can kind of, you know, and I think

Swaya's helped that. think social media has helped that because so many artists have kind of been ripped off or taken advantage of, especially in fashion in the past. And so now I feel like native designers being able to kind of control their product and their ideas.

(30:45.592)
Well, it's also exciting and it's happening on the 16th and 17th. Actually, if you can come early, what I've noticed is that this almost has become a week long event because so many galleries are having events Wednesday night, Thursday night. There's so much going on apart from what's happening on the plaza.

Yeah, yeah, it happens. It starts, you know, mostly Wednesday because I have a gallery opening. I show at Manitou Gallery. So I have my opening on Friday night from five to seven at Manitou. I think it's called Indigenous Artists Open House or something. And so, yeah, so a lot of shows like Blue Rain and Manitou. So they have artists, you know, they have a lineup of all their artists. So Wednesday night will be something and Thursday night and then Friday night. So, yeah, there's a lot going on. If you can get there early and

There's a lot to do and it's fun. It's exciting to kind of see everything and it's kind of the calm before the storm right now.

It is, it is. Well, I know you've got work to do. You're still getting ready. So thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (31:54.772)
I love that one. Okay, so if you're listening to this online, be sure and go to YouTube because Nakona just showed us what a studio looks like. What's gonna be on the wall next week. So that's so exciting. I want every listener to take time to explore, support and really celebrate Native art.

BAM!

Speaker 2 (32:23.214)
If you're not familiar with it, this is the best way to do it.

It is. It's a competition, it's people making money, but it's also a celebration. You think of all the kind of stuff we've been through as a Native community for 103 years, it's a lot. And for us to kind of still be doing what we're doing and it's still being celebrated is a big deal. And so, yeah, it's just kind of an authentic voice. It's our voice. I feel like we as Natives,

are kind of dictating more about our own identity rather than outside organizations and a place like Swiah in Santa Fe and this art market really helps. You know, it's us saying what we're about and what we're doing rather than kind of an outsider. So it's a good chance to really get a real read and, you know, understanding from like a contemporary Native perspective. know, contemporary Natives doing traditional stuff. It's always been done in contemporary Natives doing contemporary things like that and art and

film and fashion and everything in between. can think of my son's doing photography and filmmaking now. And yeah, and it's fabulous to see. So it's nice to see the growth.

Well, I can't add anything to that. I'll see you Friday night. Okay, take care.

Speaker 1 (33:39.374)
All right.