Joy Harjo, a three-time U.S. Poet Laureate, Headlines Native American Arts Festival Week at Idyllwild Arts

Idyllwild Arts is proud to present Native American Arts Festival Week taking place at the Idyllwild Arts’ campus Monday, June 16 to Friday, June 20, 2025. This week-long celebration, held every summer for more than two decades, is led by Executive Director Shaliyah Ben (Diné) to enhance the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program through a variety of Native American arts-focused activities. These include an invitational exhibition, tastings of traditional Native cuisine, the Michael Kabotie Lecture Series, a curated evening of film, the Welcoming Home the Birds event, and a staged reading of the latest play by three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), featuring Jazz trumpetist Delbert Anderson (Diné).   

The week kicks off on Monday, June 16, with the invitational exhibition Renegades of Art, curated by Pamela Peters (Diné). Four featured artists will showcase works that convey the strength and cultural resilience of tribal nations via murals, mixed media, and tribal presence. The artist/curator-led panel discussion takes place at 7:00 pm in the Parks Exhibition Center on the Idyllwild Arts campus, followed by a reception with Native foods taste testing at 7:45pm.

The return of the popular Michael Kabotie Lecture Series this year will feature famed poet & performer Kinsale Drake (Diné), N8ive Beauty cosmetics line creator and host of PBS/FNX series This is Indian Country Ruth Ann Thorn (Luiseño), and Yup’ik song and dance with Ossie from Inuit-soul band PAMYUA. This year’s Festival also features a screening of documentary Indian Alley, written & directed by Pamela Peters (Diné).

The week concludes with “Welcoming Home the Birds,” honoring the relationship the Cahuilla and Serrano have with their traditional homelands. The family-friendly event commences on Friday at 5:00 pm with a Native artist marketplace, hands-on activities for all ages, and a lineup of Native song and dance. Bird Singing kicks off at 7:45 pm.

Idyllwild Arts respectfully acknowledges the Qawishpa Cahuillangnah (also known as Cahuilla Band of Indians) on whose land the Idyllwild Arts community dwells.

For the full schedule of workshops and events, visit https://idyllwildarts.org/events/category/festival-week/