Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969

Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969 opens at SITE SANTA FE in Santa Fe, New Mexico on June 5, 2026. Curated by Candice Hopkins (citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation), Executive Director and Chief Curator of Forge Project, the exhibition marks a homecoming to New Mexico following its tour in the Northeastern United States and Canada. 

Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969 is the first major exhibition to position performance as an origin point for contemporary Native art. It traces a lineage of artistic experimentation that emerged in the late 1960s, a period defined by political activism, renewed engagement with Indigenous aesthetic traditions, and a profound reassertion of identity and self-determination.

It is grounded in a pivotal moment in 1969 when "Indian Theatre: An Artistic Experiment in Process" was first published in Santa Fe at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the same year as the Occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes. For the first time, the 1969 document will be presented as an object in the exhibition for visitors to experience. 

“At SITE SANTA FE, we are honored to present Indian Theater. Santa Fe holds a vital place in the history of contemporary Native art, shaped by the legacy of IAIA and the groundbreaking work initiated here in 1969. This exhibition not only reflects Santa Fe’s history, but it also invites audiences to engage with it as an ongoing movement,” said Louis Grachos, Phillips Executive Director of SITE SANTA FE.

The exhibition brings together over 100 artworks by over 40 artists and collectives. Across film, video, sculpture, painting, drawing, beadwork, and archival materials, the exhibition demonstrates the breadth of Native artistic practices while emphasizing performance as their generative core.

A key highlight is the presentation of digitized footage of Spiderwoman Theater (Lisa Mayo, Gloria Miguel, and Muriel Miguel [all Rappahannock and Kuna]), for the first time since its original live debut. As the longest-running theater group in the US, Spiderwoman Theater emerged from 1970s feminism and its disillusionment with the treatment of women in radical political movements of the time. 

“The late 1960s marked a critical turning point when performance became a powerful tool for Native artists to engage in political struggle and redefine contemporary art on their own terms. By bringing forward practices like Spiderwoman Theater alongside contemporary works, we see that performance is an evolving language that continues to inform how Native artists create and connect today,” shared Candice Hopkins, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Forge Project and Curator of Indian Theater.

To further bring forward the exhibition’s origins at IAIA in Santa Fe, SITE SANTA FE’s presentation of Indian Theater will feature collaborations with the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), the country’s only museum dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting contemporary Native art. This collaboration will expand upon the themes raised in Indian Theater through exhibitions and programming at both institutions. As the publisher of the original "Indian Theatre" treatise, IAIA is furthering the ideas first presented by Lloyd Kiva New and his collaborators in 1969.  

Events
Performance: Erica Lord in Artifact Piece, Revisited
June 6, 12:30–1:30pm, also performed August 15, 2026 at SITE SANTA FE

Curator talk: Candice Hopkins
June 6, 2–3:30pm, in conversation with Paul Chaat Smith

Artist talk: Erica Lord
June 20, 2–3:30pm, in conversation with Lara Evans

Workshop: Mirror Shields
July 11, 11am–2pm, hands-on workshop and public activation
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Workshop: Performance Art of James Luna
August 1, 6–8:30pm, rare screenings, live readings, interactive experiences, and discussion
Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) Santa Fe, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Book launch: Native Visual Sovereignty Reader
August 15, 12:30–4pm, with live readings and artist performances

Performance: Eric-Paul Riege
August 15, 3:15–4pm, as part of book launch event: Native Visual Sovereignty Reader

Artists
KC Adams (M.tis); asinnajaq (Inuk); Sonny Assu (Ligwiłda’xw Kwakwaka’wakw from Wei Wai Kum Nation); Natalie Ball (Klamath/Modoc); Rick Bartow (Wiyot); Rebecca Belmore (Member of the Lac Seul First Nation [Anishinaabe]); Bob Boyer (M.tis); Dana Claxton (Lakota); Theo Jean Cuthand (Plains Cree, Scottish, Irish); Ruth Cuthand (Plains Cree, Scottish, Irish, Canadian); Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw, Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation); Demian Din.Yahzi’ (Din.); Rosalie Favell (M.tis [Cree/ British]); Jeneen Frei Njootli (Vuntut Gwitchin, Czech and Dutch); Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax ̂); Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw and Cherokee); Ishi Glinsky (Tohono O’odham); Raven Halfmoon (Caddo); Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill (M.tis); Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luise.o Indians); Maria Hupfield (Anishnaabek, Wasauksing First Nation/Canada); Matthew Kirk (Navajo/Din.); Kite (Oglala Sioux Tribe); Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota); Tanya Lukin Linklater (Alutiiq/Sugpiaq); Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi/Choctaw); James Luna (Pay.mkawichum, Ipai, and Mexican); Rachel Martin (Tlingit/ Tsaagweidei, Killer Whale Clan, of the Yellow Cedar House [Xaai Hit’] Eagle Moiety); Kent Monkman (member of Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory [Manitoba]); Audie Murray (M.tis); Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee); New Red Order (Adam Khalil [Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians]; Zack Khalil [Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians]; Jackson Polys [Tlingit]); Jessie Oonark (Inuit); Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation); Eric-Paul Riege (Din.); Walter Scott (Kanien’keh.:ka [Mohawk]); Spiderwoman Theater (Lisa Mayo, Gloria Miguel, and Muriel Miguel [all Rappahannock and Kuna]); Charlene Vickers (Anishinaabe); Kay WalkingStick (Citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Anglo); Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scot); Dyani White Hawk (Sičangu Lakota); and Nico Williams (Anishinaabe).

Sponsors
This exhibition is generously supported by the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation, Teiger Foundation, Nusenda Foundation, Century Bank, Diane and Werner Grob, Helen Kornblum, Courtney Finch Taylor and Scott Taylor, the SITE SANTA FE Board of Directors, and contributions made to the SITE SANTA FE Exhibitions Fund. Additional support is provided by the City of Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department and the 1% Lodgers Tax, and the County of Santa Fe Lodgers’ Tax.

About SITE SANTA FE
Guided by artists, rooted in New Mexico, SITE SANTA FE celebrates contemporary creative expression. SITE SANTA FE is an internationally recognized destination for art and artists and a community hub for creativity and learning. Founded in 1995 to establish the first international contemporary art biennial in the United States, SITE SANTA FE is a non-collecting art institution committed to supporting new developments in contemporary art, encouraging artistic exploration, and expanding traditional museum experiences through robust year-round programming.