United Indians Native Art Market @ Daybreak Star

Saturday and Sunday, December 17 + 18 • 10 am – 4 pm

First, a land acknowledgment: If you’re new to town, know that Seattle is on stolen Coast Salish land, the traditional ancestral land of the Duwamish tribe. 

Some (art) history: In the 1970s, a group of about 100 PNW Native Americans and supporters (now the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation) occupied what is today Magnolia’s Discovery Park. At the park’s international cultural hub Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, they currently host extensive Native arts programming: a permanent collection, plus rotating contemporary artists at the Sacred Circle Gallery. 

This December, I recommend skipping Etsy and instead shopping at the annual United Indians Native Art Market. Indigenous makers will show and sell handmade heirlooms that reflect their diverse tribal affiliations. An abundance of wearable art will be available for sale, but you’ll also find wood crafts, hand drums, and art prints to accommodate any budget. 

Some of the artists you can expect to meet there 🎁

• Shimmery earrings made by Jessica Pilista Towns-Camara (Sugpiaq/Alutiiq, Yup’ik, Scotch-Irish) give hygge vibes—she’s a Certified Alutiiq Seal Artist and many of her designs feature cozy tufts of animal fur 
• Choctaw IndigiQueer artist Sinti Divine uses Indigenous plant knowledge to create portable, resin-based medicine art—like these Orange Tutsia-filled danglers
• O-hal-chid, a project by husband & wife duo Mark Gauti (T’Sou-ke) & Marsha Gauti (Puyallup), puts original Coast Salish art on traditional and modern regalia—peep the soft t-shirts with nettle prints or acrylic moon earrings
• Abriel Johnny specializes in big, bold statement pieces. She’s shown her work at NW Native Fashion Runway Show and made this multicolored crown for the 2019 Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow
• Kolbi Jane Marie is inspired by traditional Cherokee beadwork and stories—many of her pastel-toned adornments feature hand-dried botanicals

Make sure to bring your walking shoes and cold-weather layers—after the market, choose one of many scenic trails within Discovery Park’s 543 acres.