First American Art Magazine

01/06/2026

Call for artists. Open to all tribes!

The Trail of Tears Art Show has celebrated the artistic expression of Native American heritage since 1972. We welcome artists from all federally recognized tribes. Applications to be juried into this show are now open. To be considered, artists must submit their application by Friday, February 27.

Learn more and apply online at: https://bit.ly/TrailofTearsArtShow2026

01/05/2026

Cherokee Nation sculptor and installation artist Brenda Mallory is featured in our Fall 2025 issue. Mandy Yeahpau (Comanche/Cherokee/Tarahumara descent) writes, "This instinct to revisit, reshape, and infuse materials with personal and ancestral meaning continues in Mallory’s more recent work. For 'To Touch a Wide Span (ᎠᏟᎢᎵᏙᎲ ᎠᏍᏒᏂᏍᏗᎢ),' a commissioned piece for Jacob’s Pillow, a dance organization in Western Massachusetts, she turned again to beeswax, not just for its material properties but for its capacity to hold memory and bridge place." Keep reading about Mallory in the print issue.

Pictured: Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation), "To Touch a Wide Span (ᎠᏟᎢᎵᏙᎲ ᎠᏍᏒᏂᏍᏗᎢ)," 2025, encaustic, cloth, felt, oil paint, hog rings, welded steel. Photo: Mario Gallucci.

01/03/2026

Native artists, apply for the Walker Youngbird Foundation grant, deadline: January 9th

The Walker Youngbird Foundation’s Emerging Native Arts Grant supports early-career Native artists in completing a proposed project that bridges tradition and innovation. Recipients receive $15,000 in funding, mentorship from our team and Advisory Council, and the opportunity to present their work through a curated showcase that build visibility and connect them with curators, collectors, and arts leaders.

18 years or older
Currently resides in North America
Enrolled members of a U.S. federally or state-recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, of Native Hawaiian ancestry, or members of a recognized First Nation in Canada

Please click the link to complete this form.

01/02/2026

RMD: How do you think your work will inspire future generations of Native artists?

KJ: I hope my artwork evokes feelings of resiliency. Our identity is truly beautiful, and I want young Native folks to see that beauty through the designs and to be inspired to embrace their natural beauty. In Navajo belief, we seek to establish a balance—spiritually, mentally, and physically—with our world through hózhǫ́, which could be translated to “beauty.” Through beauty, we find our true connection to who we are. I hope my body of work enables folks to tap into [that] place of feeling.

—Excerpt from "Navajo Filmmaker, Photographer & Digital Artist Keanu Jones" by RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo) in FAAM No. 48, Fall 2025

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! Here are some JANUARY 2026 NATIVE ART EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

January 6–March 21: Missoula, MT
Tailyr Irvine: Land Back at Missoula Art Museum

January 10 & 11: Litchfield, AZ
Litchfield Park Gathering at the Litchfield Park Recreation Center

January 10–February 22: Mayetta, KS
Americans at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

January 16–April 10: Owen Sound, ON
Run to the Hills! at Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery

January 17–March 15: Brantford, ON
Michael Barber: The Messengers at the Glenhyrst Art Gallery

January 17–May 10: Oklahoma City, OK
Cradleboards: Crafted with Love at First Americans Museum

January 20–July 25: Lincoln, NE
Indigenous Ceramics from the Collection at Great Plains Art Museum

January 23–TBA: Phoenix, AZ
Paintings from the Heard Collection at the Heard Museum

January 23–TBA: Phoenix, AZ
Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School at the Heard Museum

January 24–May 4: Corning, NY
Native Now: Contemporary Indigenous Art at The Rockwell Museum

January 27–February 10: Vancouver, BC
T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods at the various locations

January 30–February 1: Hollywood, FL
Seminole Tribal Fair and Powwow at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood

January 31–February 1: Scottsdale, AZ
Arizona Indian Festival at the Scottsdale Civic Center

More events + info: firstamerican.art/calendar

Pictured: Emmi Whitehorse (Diné), “Prickly Pear,” 2012, oil pastel, chalk, paper on canvas. Private Collection. Photo courtesy Wheelwright Museum

12/31/2025

Rest in peace, Harvey Pratt (Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho, 1941–2025).

12/30/2025

Oklahoma City, OK — Full-time gallery manager wanted for Exhibit C!

The Chickasaw Nation Department of Communications and Community Development is seeking a full-time Exhibit C Gallery manager (job ID 24205), in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Exhibit C Gallery manager is responsible for overseeing the operations of Exhibit C Gallery ensuring that the facility is managed in a manner that provides an excellent level of customer service while maximizing efficiencies.

To view career opportunities, visit Careers.Chickasaw.net. For more information, email [email protected].

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12/30/2025

Chicago, IL —"Takapsicapi, Peekitahaminki, and Caabnąįkiisik are just a few names of the game played in North America long before French settlers arrived and gave it their own name: 'lacrosse.'

Lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America’s history. To people Indigenous to North America, it’s more than just a game: it’s a gift from the Creator and a way to teach their children traditional values. A special section of the Field Museum’s gallery Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, called “The Creator’s Game,” highlights this history."

Takapsicapi, Peekitahaminki, and Caabnąįkiisik are just a few names of the game played in North America long before French settlers arrived and gave it their own name: “lacrosse.”

12/30/2025

NeoFeed, an online publication in Brazil, covers the news of the "Bancos Indígenas do Brasil: Rituais," exhibition in Brasília, Brazil making it on FAAM's Top Ten Native Art Events of 2025 list.

Com peças da coleção de Marisa Moreira Salles e Tomás Alvim, exposição em Brasília é eleita por revista norte-americana uma das melhores mostras de Native Art do mundo em 2025

12/29/2025

Step inside the studio of sculptor and installation artist Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation) where material, memory, and making come together. This behind-the-scenes moment filmed by Mandy Yeahpau (Comanche/Cherokee/Tarahumara descent) offers a closer look at her creative process in Portland, Oregon. Read more in Mallory's interview with Yeahpau in our current issue.

12/23/2025

"Jaymie Campbell (Curve Lake Mississauga), an Anishinaabe artist based in interior British Columbia, says she’s talked to many in the bead community about underestimating the size of the project when making their first bandolier bags. 'It’s kind of a rite of passage,' she says. 'Historically in our communities, it was a symbol of prestige and respect and wealth in the way that we understood wealth. And so I think for me, it was a really important thing for me to make in my artist journey.'”

Learn more about the work Campbell and several other artists are creating in "Carrying Culture: Bandolier Bags Today" in our Fall 2025 issue.

Pictured: Jaymie Campbell (Curve Lake Mississauga), "Shomis," 2023, cut glass beads, vintage glass seed beads, 24-karat gold-plated seed beads, mother-of-pearl beads, brass tacks, velvet, velveteen, smoked braintanned moose hide. Photo 1: Zoya Lynch Photography. Photo 2: Kali Spitzer. Images courtesy of the artist.

12/23/2025

Apply for the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists and Writers for Fall 2026! Deadline: January 15, 2026.

Selected fellows are offered a four-week residency, which includes uninterrupted time, private studio space living accommodations, meals prepared by our professional chef, a stipend, and the experience of the majestic High Plains.

https://www.ucrossfoundation.org/native-american-fellowships.html

Ucross is also welcoming applications for its Fall 2026 Native American Fellowships in Ucross, Wyoming. Native American visual artists and writers at any career stage are invited to apply.

Fellows receive private studio space, housing, chef-prepared meals, an award, a stipend, and dedicated time to create in the quiet landscape of the historic Ucross ranch.

Learn more and apply: https://www.ucrossfoundation.org/residency-program.html
Deadline: January 15, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MST