Red Wing Arts and The Honoring Dakota Project present the 3rd Annual Indigenous Artist Market, a vibrant celebration of indigenous artistry and culture, taking place on Wednesday, July 16th from 2:00 to 9:00 PM in Central Park. This special event will feature a diverse array of local and regional Indigenous artists showcasing their crafts, challenge games, food trucks, and music by Tiana Spotted Thunder and Willows

Schedule:
2-7 pm Artist Market + Challenge Games
4 pm Concert with Tiana Spotted Thunder
7 pm Concert with Willows

Participate in the Challenge Games - sign up by July 12

Featured Artists include (more announced soon!)

• Jasmine Fiddler - Tipi Designs

• Angel Froemel - OjibweDreams

• Mat Pendleton - J&M Arts

• Sheila Smith - The Party Lady, LLC

• Crystal Wabnum

• Estella Yeung - Growing Blue Flowers

Food Vendors: Steven D’s, Trickster Tacos, Yummy Eats, and Indigo Açaí Bowls

Tiana Spotted Thunder is a recording artist from Oglala, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She is a vocalist of many genres but specializes in traditional round dance, powwow, and hand game songs. She travels throughout North America to powwows as a backup singer for drum groups and performs solo for powwow audiences. Her vocal abilities range from a soft serenade to an empowering hail, soaring above in a unique way that reveals the pride of her identity as a Lakota woman.

Willows is a folk-fusion ensemble that blends together psychedelic rock with soulful bossa nova grooves and orchestral elements. The band's core consists of guitarist and primary composer Colin Peters and vocalist Jada Brown, who sing in harmony and form the group's distinctive sound. They are accompanied by melodic string solo's and poetic lyricism. 

Everyone is welcome to this inclusive and enriching event.

Announcing the exhilarating Indigenous Art Market Relay Race Challenge, where community spirit and friendly competition take center stage. This spirited event invites Prairie Island and Red Wing community members to form teams to compete against each other in a thrilling series of relay races. The excitement culminates in one team claiming the coveted traveling trophy medallion and, of course, all-important bragging rights.

Don’t have a full team? No problem! Feel free to register with a partial team, and we’ll help fill in the rest. Or just show up between 1:00 and 1:30 PM, and we’ll add you to a team on the spot—a great way to meet others and build community.

Event Overview

The challenge is structured as a series of three relay races, each designed to test the teams’ agility, coordination, and teamwork. Each team consists of eight enthusiastic participants, ready to showcase their skills and support their community.

Relay Events

1. Fast Walking

• In this opening event, teams must complete a fast-paced walking relay. Each of the 4 team members will take turns speedily navigating around Central Park without breaking into a run (heel-toe, heel-toe), testing their speed and control.

2. Big Foot Relay

• The excitement intensifies with the Big Foot Relay, where four participants wear oversized shoes. This event is all about balance and strategy, as teams must work together to avoid any slip-ups.

3. Hoola Hoop Chain

• The final challenge involves creating a human chain of all eight teammates, passing a hoola hoop from one end to the other without breaking the chain. This event emphasizes teamwork and coordination as the teams strive for a seamless transition.

Competition Format

The team with the lowest combined times of the three relay events is the winner.  In a round robin style format, teams will compete head-to-head in each round to spur on everyone’s adrenaline, but they are racing the clock.

Prizes and Recognition

The victorious team will receive a beautifully beaded medallion, a symbol of their triumph and community pride. In addition, each participating team will be awarded a certificate, recognizing their support and engagement with the community. These certificates celebrate our shared values of community, fun, and camaraderie, honoring the spirit of togetherness that defines this event.

Join us for this friendly competition, community bonding, and joyous celebration as Prairie Island and Red Wing come together for the Indigenous Art Market Relay Race Challenge!

Join us and bring a friend for a unique Honoring Dakota Project Community Crafting Circle that explores the power of collaboration and reflection through bilateral mirror drawing. In this engaging activity, participants will pair up to create mirrored drawings using paper and pastels, fostering a sense of presence, resilience, and reflection.

Working in pairs, participants will experience the joy of creating art together, learning to synchronize their movements and intentions. The exercise encourages individuals to reflect on their collaboration and personal insights, strengthening their connection to both their partner and the broader community.

Facilitators will be available to guide the drawing process, ensuring that everyone feels supported and inspired. Participants will receive information for self-direction, allowing them to explore their creativity at their own pace.

Upon completion, each collaborative art piece will be photographed, accompanied by self-reflections from the creators. With permission, these reflections and artworks will be shared with the community, celebrating the collective journey of artistic expression and mutual support. This crafting circle is a beautiful opportunity to connect with others and contribute to the vibrant tapestry of community stories.

This is the second of four 2025 quarterly Community Crafting Circles that explores the Honoring Dakota Welcome Home Model, which is an inclusive and holistic framework designed to guide all programming events towards realizing our mission and vision.  And offered as part of Red Wing Art’s monthly “Community Saturday” artmaking program.

This drop-in event is free and open to the public.

Join Honoring Dakota Project in discovering the connection between fatherhood, community, and the Dakota way of life with Joey Taylor. This event will explore how the game of golf symbolizes the importance of spending time outdoors, connecting with loved ones, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Joey's stories of fatherhood and community will inspire you to reflect on the universal values we share and how we can show appreciation for father figures in our lives.

6 PM - Presentation

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Crafting, Putting Competition & Kids Games

Light Snacks and Beverages Provided and Door Prizes

Presented by the Honoring Dakota Project and Red Wing Arts, this community engagement is part of a series that explores our intercultural shared values through an Indigenous lens. —Mitakuye Owasin, We are all related.

Free and open to the public. Meals are available to purchase in the clubhouse. This event sponsored by Mount Frontenac Golf Course

Join the 2025 Mighty Mississippi Clean Up Challenge in partnership with Goodhue County, City of Red Wing and Prairie Island Indian Community.

When: Saturday, April, 26th, 9 - 11 am (Rain/flood date: May 3rd)

Where: County Road 18 and Sturgeon Lake Rod AND Base of He Mni Can in Red Wing

Trash bags, vests, and garbage pick-up supplies are supplied.

Why?

The Mississippi River runs for 2,340 miles throughout the Country. Throughout our history, the river has served as a critical service to the environment, our citizens, and our economies. Yet the river is being heavily polluted. In fact, the Mississippi River is the 6th most endangered river in the US due to pollution.

Pollution not only poisons the environment around us but puts our citizen's health at risk and threatens dependent economies. The activity on the Mississippi River generates $496 Billion in yearly revenue. A clean river equates to future economic opportunities, a cleaner environment, and healthier populations. 

Minnesota is home to the headwaters of the Mississippi and the first 650 miles of river. What we do here in Minnesota directly impacts the remaining 1,700 miles. In reality, what we pollute here in Minnesota travels down the remaining 1,700 river miles.

We’re excited to be partnering with Winona State University’s Women’s Gender and Sexuality and Ethnics Studies Programs to bring “Bridging Research and Community: Anticolonial and Decolonial Methods” presentations to Red Wing.

Students will share their research on a variety of timely and relative subject matter, including From AIM to TISO: Queering Indigenous Activism and Time.”

Presentations - 5 - 6:30 pm

Reception with light meal - 6:30 - 8 pm

Red Wing Library Foot Room

This event is free and open to the public.

Honoring Dakota Project and Winona State University offer this as our ongoing shared support of empowering young adults in contributing to connected and resilient communities.

We invite community members to gather to create chimes that capture the essence of the natural world. Using found objects like shells, twigs, stones, and other items considered waste, we will craft wind chimes that invite us to reflect on their relationships with the land, the community, and themselves. These chimes serve as reminders of the beauty and tranquility found in our environment, encouraging a deeper connection to the earth.

This creative process not only breathes new life into discarded materials but also emphasizes the importance of recycling as an act of respect and gratitude toward the Earth.

This crafting circle serves to honor the Dakota Oyate and the land's rich stories, creating a ripple effect of positive change within their community. Each wind chime becomes a testament to the beauty of being a good relative, echoing the harmonious relationship between people and the world around them.

This is the first of four 2025 quarterly Community Crafting Circles that explores the Honoring Dakota Welcome Home Model, which is an inclusive and holistic framework designed to guide all programming events towards realizing our mission and vision.  And offered as part of Red Wing Art’s monthly “Community Saturday” artmaking program.

This drop-in event is free and open to the public.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.