Overview

• The SWAIA-run event filled the Santa Fe Plaza with more than 1,000 artists from over 200 tribal nations and drew crowds topping 100,000.
• Chickasaw artist Regina Free won Best of Show for a mixed‑media bison sculpture in the juried awards.
• Fashion programming spanned a gala runway by Patricia Michaels and an Indigenous Fashion Show featuring Jamie Okuma, Jontay Kahm, Penny Singer, Osamuskwasis Roan, and Lauren Good Day, with surprise catwalk cameos by Tantoo Cardinal and Deb Haaland.
• SWAIA’s expanded slate included a growing film festival, while satellite events at IAIA/MoCNA and SITE Santa Fe broadened the weekend’s cultural footprint.
• Serious collector interest drove high-value sales, even as posters and conversations around the Plaza highlighted debates over funding, censorship, resource extraction, and cultural tourism.