TULSA – The Mvskoke Art Market entered its fifth year with over 100 Indigenous artists exhibited at the River Spirit Casino Resort from Saturday, April 18, through Sunday, April 19. The market continued its tradition of featuring its main art competition, art demonstrations, and presentations. This year’s market featured an Indigenous fashion show. Demonstrations featured included bonehead necklace-making and basket-making by Mvskoke artist Yafke Marks. Presentations included “AI in Native Art: The Convergence of Silicon and Sovereignty” and a “Justice for Hickory Ground” panel.
This year’s market featured a full ballroom and a foyer with twice as many booths as last year. According to Muscogee (Creek) Nation Cultural Center and Archives Program Manager ShaVon Agee (Mvskoke), this year’s market also expanded to include traditional works such as rivercane jewelry and woodwork sculpture.
A lot of hard work and diligent planning go into the market. For Agee, the most rewarding aspect is seeing artists being recognized for their work.
“It’s the award ceremony and watching people’s reactions,” Agee said. “My favorite part is to watch their faces when they receive their award.”
Artists Around the Market
Artist Tony A. Tiger (Sac and Fox/Seminole/Mvskoke) has appeared at the market since it launched in 2022. In addition to producing original works, he is also an art curator and educator. While he is well-known for his paintings, he considers himself a multi-disciplinary artist who also employs printmaking, stereographs, and drawing techniques. Tiger creates installation pieces, some measuring seven feet tall.
Tiger has enjoyed his experience as a featured artist at the market. He has seen tremendous growth not only in the Mvskoke Art Market, but also in the broader Indigenous art scene in the state. Before events like the Mvskoke Art Market, Tiger had to travel several states over to sell and exhibit his works.
“I’ve been around enough to see the evolution of artmaking in Oklahoma,” Tiger said. “When I first started this market, other markets didn’t exist. The tribes have come together and seen the value of artmaking within their own Nation and other Nations.”
Andrea Day (Mvskoke) returned to the market for her third year with her trademarked Acrybead works, a mixed-media that combines beading and acrylic paints. The process involves sewing seed beads and faceted glass beads onto a stretched canvas. Day began making art as a way to teach her daughter the Mvskoke language.
“I started making things that she liked, like fuswv, I did a bird. We are bird clan,” Day said. “I did a star, the kolaswv. I did a medicine wheel because she likes circles. I did a heart, I did roses. Things like that to teach her. From there, I started developing the medium, and I fell in love with it.”
Day enjoys hiding motifs or “secret messages” in her works that have personal meaning, such as the New York City skyline. The skyline denotes her time living there as a performer and musician. Some of Day’s works include beads organized in binary code. Decoded, the beads spell out names or scriptures important to Day.
“We started with 65 artists, now we’re considered to be an elite market. It’s also like a homecoming because all the artists see each other. One of the things we hear over and over again is that we’re hospitable. That’s what we want to focus on with our artists,” – ShaVon Agee
Grant Morris (Cherokee) is a wood-working artist who returned for his third year. Morris enjoys finding the right piece of wood to work with just as much as he enjoys carving it. His work is influenced by Cherokee mythology and mound imagery. The process Morris uses is unique.
“It’s fun to find the craziest pieces of wood I can get. I don’t know what they’re going to be, eventually they’ll let me know. That’s when the art takes off,” Morris said. “I don’t predetermine any piece. The art has to tell me what it wants to be. I’m just collecting deadwood that looks interesting to me.”
Morris is originally from Tulsa, and now he lives in Colorado. The materials he collects for his works are found in the Rocky Mountains. Morris still feels right at home returning to Tulsa and the market.
Day, Morris and Tiger all agreed that they feel supported by market organizers. Tiger described the market as “a stellar opportunity” for artists to exhibit their works and network with fellow artists and art collectors.
To stay up to date on the event, visit the event’s Facebook page, Mvskoke Art Market.
List of Mvskoke Art Market Competition Winners:
Best of Show: Kenneth Johnson (Seminole/Mvskoke)
Mvskoke Heritage Award: Jimmie Carole Stewart (Mvskoke)
Mary Smith Traditional Award: Talisha Lewallen (Cherokee Nation)
Basketry
1st place: Vivian Cottrell (Cherokee Nation)
2nd place: Vivian Cottrell (Cherokee Nation)
3rd place: Ronda Moss (Cherokee Nation)
Beadwork/Quillwork
1st place: Yonavea Hawkins (Caddo/Delaware/Kickapoo)
2nd place: Beth Bush (Pokagon Potawatomi)
3rd place: Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota)
Digital Art
1st place: Destiny Green (Chickasaw)
2nd place: Raven Kemp (Mvskoke/Euchee/Choctaw/Diné)
3rd place: Jessica Moore-Harjo, PhD (Otoe-Missouria/Osage/Pawnee/Sac & Fox)
Diverse Art Forms
1st place: Tom Farris (Otoe-Missouria/Cherokee)
2nd place: Kirk Morrison (Mvskoke)
3rd place: Breana Hill (Yankton Dakota/Mvskoke)
Drawings
1st place: Bobby C. Martin (Mvskoke)
2nd place: Bryan Waytula (Cherokee Nation)
3rd place: Ron Mitchell (Cherokee Nation)
Graphic Art
1st place: Tom Farris (Otoe-Missouria/Cherokee)
2nd place: Robin Stockton (Cherokee Nation)
3rd place: Kirk Morrison (Mvskoke)
Jewelry
1st place: Rykelle Kemp (Choctaw/Mvskoke/Euchee/Diné)
2nd place: Sandy Fife Wilson (Mvskoke)
3rd place: Krista Dunzy (Mvskoke)
Paintings
1st place: Robin Stockton (Cherokee Nation)
2nd place: Micah Wesley (Kiowa/Mvskoke)
3rd place: Jon Don Brave (Mvskoke)
Photography
1st place: Benjamin West (Otoe-Missouria/Cheyenne/Mvskoke)
2nd place: Brenda Bradford (Mvskoke)
3rd place: Brenda Bradford (Mvskoke)
Pottery
1st place: Chase Earles (Caddo)
2nd place: Marcella Yepa (Jemez/Chickasaw)
3rd place: Crystal Hanna (Cherokee Nation)
Sculpture
1st place: Grant Morris (Cherokee Nation)
2nd place: Nathan Hart (Southern Cheyenne)
3rd place: Scott Middleton (Cherokee Nation)
Textiles, Non-wearable
1st place: Sandy Fife-Wilson (Mvskoke)
2nd place: Randi Narcomey (Seminole/Mvskoke)
Textiles, Wearable–Traditional
1st place: Jaylee Lowe (Seminole Nation/Mvskoke)
2nd place: Cynthia Yerby (Seminole Nation/Mvskoke)
3rd place: Lisa Rutherford (Cherokee Nation)
Textiles, Wearable–Contemporary
1st place: Jamie Bennett (Mvskoke)
2nd place: Melissa Freeman (Chickasaw)
3rd place: Eva Cantrell (Cherokee Nation)
Honorable Mentions
Phyllis Fife (Mvskoke)
Dan Beaver (Mvskoke)
Chase Earles (Caddo)
Judge’s Choice: Jake Waytula (Cherokee Nation)
Innovation Award: Randi Narcomey (Seminole/Mvskoke)
