SANTA FE — For Seneca artist Mary Jacobs and her daughters Kathryn Hopkins and Samantha Jacobs, beadwork is a family tradition passed through generations. The three award-winning artists shared a booth at the Santa Fe Indian Market this month: Mary, who has exhibited at the Market for decades, presented bags, earrings, and other adornments made in the traditional style of Iroquois raised beadwork, while Samantha earned a first-prize ribbon for her richly embellished “Once Upon a Story” box, decorated with birds and other flora and fauna of the Northeast over a lush blue velvet backing.
Also on display were Hopkins’s beadwork earrings aimed at Gen Z, featuring oversized rabbit-fur puffs and intricate patterns inspired by coral reefs. “Younger girls really love these big earrings that are back in style now,” she said.
Each first weekend in August, thousands gather in New Mexico’s capital for the Santa Fe Indian Market, presented by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA). The 104th edition, held August 15–16, brought together more than 1,000 Native artists from over 200 Tribal Nations. Many attendees are non-Native collectors, museum curators, and tourists looking to buy or browse distinctive textiles, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, paintings, and other arts and crafts created by Indigenous artists recognized as masters in their fields.
Competition for a booth at the largest Indigenous art market in the United States is intense, and the longer an artist has participated in SWAIA, the greater the chance of earning a major prize. Most of the artists who spoke to Hyperallergic this year said they had maintained a regular, ongoing presence at the event, with some attending for as many as 26 consecutive years.
Still, the Market continues to make room for emerging artists, who bring fresh approaches and energy to the event. Nikyle Begay (Diné), appearing for the first time, took first place in the traditional textiles category for a saddle blanket with a signature curly sheep hair fringe. “It’s a particular type of honor,” Begay said of having a booth at the Santa Fe Indian Market. “Only the best of the best converge here.”
For many emerging artists at Indian Market, family legacies of craft and artistry provide a foundation, though not the only path forward. Myron Denetclaw (Diné), an MFA student in interdisciplinary arts at the University of Nevada, Reno, comes from a long line of weavers. His proud parents, speaking to Hyperallergic, shared photographs and stories of Myron’s great-grandmother Ruth Yabeny, grandmother Lucy Whitehorse, and great-aunt Marie Plummer, all master weavers in the Teec Nos Pos style.
“Myron just always made his own art and looked for mentors himself that he wanted to learn from. He’s entered art contests and won them since he was young,” said Milton Denetclaw, Myron’s father.
