Yellowstone Revealed

Mountain Time Arts (MTA) is pleased to present Yellowstone Revealed, a series of three place based projects by an inter-tribal group of Indigenous artists and scholars that will premiere in Yellowstone National Park in August 2022. Yellowstone Revealed’s upcoming public artworks
are non-invasive, temporary projects designed to demonstrate the historic and continued presence of Indigenous people in the Yellowstone region. The multidisciplinary artworks coincide with Yellowstone National Park’s 150th anniversary and will seek to put forward Indigenous truths
and perspectives. Yellowstone Revealed will provide a platform and long-overdue opportunity to envision and co-create the future of the park.

Lead artists include Dr Shane Doyle (Apsáalooke), Patti Baldes (Northern Arapaho/Northern Paiute), Dean Nicolai (Bitterroot Salish) and Tim Ryan (Salish). The Cultural and Artistic CoProducers are Ren Freeman (Eastern Shoshone) and Mary Ellen Strom. Partnering organizations include Mountain Time Arts, Yellowstone National Park, the City of Gardiner, Yellowstone Forever, National Parks Conservation Association, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Pretty Shield Foundation and Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council.

REMATRIATE by Patti Baldes – On August 24th and 25th, join us at sunset to witness an artwork that will showcase 15 moving buffalo sculptures made of willow branches. 30 dancers and 10 drummers will bring the buffalo to life. The focus of Baldes’ project is land rematriation through buffalo restoration.

ReVisiting the Stories: Indigenous Environmental Stewardship by Dean Nicolai and Tim Ryan – A series of interpretive hikes, demonstrations and storytelling that will take place at scheduled times and locations from August 23-28, 2022. The purpose of this series is to give park visitors insight into diverse Indigenous knowledges, ways of knowing, and connection to landscapes. During this five-day period, five different representative knowledge keepers will lead hikes and engage with park visitors. The tribal speakers will represent their distinct, diverse connection to Yellowstone’s
landscapes. Along with Nicolai and Ryan from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, knowledge keepers and hike leaders include Aaron Brien, Apsáalooke; Conrad Fisher, Tsistsistas/Suhtaio; Lailani Upham, an Amskapi Pikuni; Johnny Arlee from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes among others.

All Nations Teepee Village by Shane Doyle – This project will feature twelve teepee lodges and fifteen teepee rings that signify a new era of Indigenous inclusion and representation in YNP. The spaces represent the twenty-seven affiliated tribal nations of the Yellowstone area. The installation will come to life with a community of tribal representatives sharing knowledge with
Park visitors alongside their traditional lodges. There are three components to this project;

• Teepee Village will provide an immersive, tactile, experience for the visitors;
• Seven Illuminated Teepees will be visible from the Village, lighted brightly to represent the seven generations that
  will come after us and indicate a brighter future for all;
• Contemporary Native American Encampment (MTA Basecamp).

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. We are committed to social and environmental justice. We understand collaborative and inclusive inquiry as a means to generate new knowledge and work towards solutions for all.

Header image: Teepee in at Roosevelt Arch in Yellowstone National Park, June 25, 2021; Image by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service