Yellowstone Revealed 2024

Dates:

Tipi installations will be on display and visiting with us at each of Yellowstone National Park's five entrances from Friday, June 14 to September 9, 2024.

Opening Celebration: MTA will host a project opening celebration on June 14, 2024.

A "Visit with the Tipis" is planned for the week of July 22, 2024. This will be an opportunity for those not in the park to get more information about the project via social media. This week, MTA and Yellowstone National Park (YNP) will visit the tipis and document the maintenance process. This process will be shared on social media to give an inside look at the tipi’s for those who can’t come to the park.

Closing Celebration: MTA will host a closing celebration and thank you on September 9, 2024. The tipis will end their visit for this year with a deinstall on the 10 and 11.

Project Goals:

Yellowstone Revealed 2024 aims to:

Foster understanding and appreciation for Indigenous cultures and their ecological and relationality-based connections to Yellowstone National Park. This will be communicated through revealing the continuous Indigenous presence within this area, despite attempts to remove Indigenous Peoples from the area that remains a meaningful cultural relevance to the associated tribes.

Provide a platform for Indigenous artists and scholars to share their perspectives and stories in creative and intriguing ways.

Spark conversations about shared tribal histories, present realities, and possibilities for collaborating with Yellowstone National Park for future culture-based educational events.

About the Tipi Installations:

Each tipi will be accompanied by information about Tribal Tipi and Buffalo Stories, and Art as Science elements. Visitors can expect a thought-provoking and visceral experience that presents art and storytelling as means to explore the significance of tribal Peoples and their tipi lodges within Yellowstone National Park.

Building on a Legacy:

Yellowstone Revealed 2024 builds upon the vision, mission, and philosophies that created successful culture-based events with the 2021, 2022, and 2023 projects. In 2021 the “putting up” of a tipi lodge at the YNP North Entrance, located at the rock archway in Gardiner, MT, launched the Yellowstone Revealed project. This gathering and activity represents a historical event, as no tipi had previously been installed by an all Native group in the history of Yellowstone National Park. Each year’s events are evolutions of the preceding event theme and installations. The tipi, as a metaphor and symbol of Indigenous presence, is a constant element within each year’s event.

YR ‘22 represented a first ever intertribal project of this magnitude wherein a “tipi village” was installed at the Madison Visitor Site and Campground in August that also aligned with the 150th Anniversary of the creation of Yellowstone National Park. The Yellowstone Revealed week-long event provided individuals from YNP Associated Tribes an opportunity to gather together at their Encampment site, and at the Village to share with each other and the public their historical and present-day relationships with the area, through stories, performances, and culture-based day excursions.

YR ‘23 featured a multi-faceted exhibition by artists Sean Chandler (Aaniiih) and Ben Pease (Apsáalooke/Tsétsêhéstâhes). The theme was Our Relationship with Water and Land. Each artist provided their personal and intimate interpretations of this theme.

The YR ‘24 event continues MTA's commitment to revealing Indigenous cultural histories and present-day continuous relationships within Yellowstone National Park, while fostering dialogue and understanding. This year’s theme is How the Land Remembers Us: Tribal Tipi Lodge and Buffalo Stories and including an Art as Science element. Individuals from each Associated Tribe are invited to contribute to this theme and installation with their stories that are appropriate for sharing with a diverse public. The concept of How the Land Remembers Us began with the 2022 event and is continued within the 2023 and 2024 event.

About Mountain Time Arts:

Mountain Time Arts (MTA) drives change through the cultivation of bold and engaging public art projects and programs that explore the history, culture, and environment of the Rocky Mountain West and its Sovereign Nations. MTA is committed to social and environmental justice and understands collaborative and inclusive inquiry as a means to generate new knowledge and work towards solutions for all.

Contact: info@mountaintimearts.org

Partnerships:

Yellowstone Revealed 2024 is a project of Mountain Time Arts, produced in partnership with Yellowstone National Park.

Stay Updated:

For the latest information on Yellowstone Revealed 2024, including details about the opening and closing ceremonies, Visit with the Tipis event, and online storytelling opportunities, please visit the Mountain Time Arts website at www.mountaintimearts.org/yellowstone-revealed or follow us on social media @mountaintimearts.

Yellowstone Revealed 2023

Last year, Mountain Time Arts (MTA) in partnership with Yellowstone National Park initiated Yellowstone Revealed, an immersive cultural and art exhibition within Yellowstone National Park in celebration of regional tribal nations.

This year, Mountain Time Arts is pleased to present a multi-faceted evolution of the Teepee Village from artists Sean Chandler (Aaniiih) and Ben Pease (Apsáalooke/Tsétsêhéstâhes).

This interactive self-guided experience will combine art and storytelling, taking visitors on a thought-provoking narrative journey about our shared past, present and future of teepee lodges sited where the Gibbon River joins the Firehole River to form the Madison River. The two artists’ contemporary artworks are installed in relationship and visual proximity to the traditional teepees on view at Yellowstone’s Madison Junction. The contemporary art installations put forward Indigenous truths and perspectives.

The Artworks:

SEAN CHANDLER presents “WHEN WE USED TO BE.” Chandler’s project involves eleven contemporary teepees that feature teepee liners that have the artist’s original paintings. The teepee liners will portray historical Indigenous events and contemporary narratives. Chandler’s eleven teepees take the audience on a narrative journey.

BEN PEASE presents “AMMACHHÍIA: JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND CULTURE.” Pease’s project invites visitors to a sensory and immersive exploration of Indigenous narratives and experiences. The installation reimagines the landscape with distinct teepee lodges featuring use of mixed media, as well as portraits on canvas, and a uniquely transparent teepee utilizing screen mesh. “Ammachhíia'' emphasizes the enduring presence of tribal nations within the Yellowstone area.

The Artists:

Sean Chandler is an Indigenous artist of great importance from the Northern Plains. Chandler has recently received the prestigious national award, the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. Chandler’s solo exhibition entitled, “The One Defined by No One” is currently touring to five museums within the U.S. Chandler’s artworks overflow with ancient symbols, petroglyphs, bold patterns, imagined landscapes, humorous graffiti, and mysterious figures that combine historical events and contemporary narratives. He is an enrolled member of the Aaniinen (Gros Ventre Nation). He currently serves as President of Aaniiih Nakoda College on the Fort Belknap Agency in northern Montana.

Ben Pease is an artist hailing from Montana's Valley of the Chiefs district with roots in the Apsaalooke and Northern Cheyenne tribes, showcases a unique blend of historic photographic references and contemporary reflections in his art. Pease reaches a global audience through exhibitions in renowned cultural centers such as Chicago, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. His work serves as a testament to his unwavering commitment to preserving indigenous heritage and embracing cultural diversity. Notably, this year, Ben Pease's artistic prowess was highlighted in "Nature, Crisis, Consequence," a prestigious exhibition hosted at the New York Historical Society, garnering well-deserved attention and recognition. Through his art, Pease continues to elevate the voices and stories of marginalized communities, making an indelible mark on the contemporary art scene.

Event Organizers:

The Cultural Producer and Project Manager is Ren Freeman, PhD (Eastern Shoshone), Artistic Producer and Co-Founder of Mountain Time Arts is Mary Ellen Strom alongside MTA Executive Director Francesca Pine-Rodriguez, and MTA staff Victoria Cheyenne and Tia Doney. Partnering organizations include Mountain Time Arts and Yellowstone National Park.

Read the full Press Release here —>

MTA is grateful for the generous support from:

The Henry Luce Foundation

Special Thanks to our Partners and Collaborators:

Michael Spears, Marsha Small, Linda Pease, Jaimi Boyd

Want to support indigenous artworks in Yellowstone National Park? Consider funding this project today.