A Fierce Weekend at the 2026 Santa Fe Indian Market

The Santa Fe Indian Market is always a special time for Valerie and me. It gives us the opportunity to reconnect with longtime friends, meet new collectors, spend time with fellow Native artists, and share the work that comes out of our home and studio on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

This year's Market gave us plenty to be grateful for.

I was honored to receive 1st Place in Diverse Arts for a collaborative piece created with my good friend and extraordinary artist Juanita Growing Thunder, a master bead and quill worker. Collaboration has always been meaningful to me because it brings together different hands, traditions, ideas, and stories. To have our work recognized with a blue ribbon at Indian Market made it even more special.

• 

• 

We also had a wonderful visitor stop by—Deb Haaland, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and candidate for Governor of New Mexico.

She came to see the “Be Fierce” buffalo horn spoon!

That was a pretty great moment.

Those words—Be Fierce—carry a lot of meaning. Our people have always had to be fierce. Fierce in protecting our families and communities. Fierce in preserving our cultures. Fierce in creating, adapting, surviving, and making sure the generations that follow us know who they are and where they come from.

Buffalo horn is the material I have worked with for decades, and I never take for granted what the buffalo provides. Every piece I create begins with respect for that relationship and for my Lakota people. My goal has always been to honor where we come from while creating work that speaks to the world we live in today.

Indian Market is a beautiful reminder that Native art is alive, Native artists are creating, and our stories continue.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by, supported our work, shared a story, offered congratulations, or simply spent a little time with Valerie and me.

And thank you, Deb, for stopping by to see the spoon.

Be Fierce.

— Kevin Pourier, Oglala Lakota