Kickoff to the 2024 American Indigenous Arts Celebration!
November is almost here, and that means a couple of exciting events are just around the corner. Firstly, we are just ONE week away from the 2024 American Indigenous Arts Celebration (AIAC). Today, join us for an exclusive preview of one of the most anticipated events of the year! The Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum hosts AIAC this year November 1-2 on the Museum campus of the Big Cypress Reservation. Explore Seminole and Indigenous culture, art, crafts, dance, food, fashion, and more! It also marks the beginning of Native American Heritage Month.
Secondly, next week join us as we explore Native American Heritage Month, and how to celebrate, uplift, recognize, and support Indigenous communities throughout November and beyond.
The Basics
The 2024 American Indigenous Arts Celebration kicks off on November 1, offering a weekend filled with vibrant Indigenous arts, music, dance, and food. This free, family-friendly festival is one of the most anticipated events in the Southeast.
Gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. both days. For the first time, guests can enjoy complimentary access to both the celebration and the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, with free parking available, as well.
To make the most of your visit, we recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes and bringing water bottles and sunscreen. Even in November, it’s a good idea to prepare for changing weather and potential rain showers. Also, note that many craft vendors may accept cash only, so plan ahead. You can check out more details, and also a full schedule, on the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum website.
Unsure how to get there? You can find detailed directions in last year’s 2023 AIAC blog post, as well as explore the previous lineup.
Are you a teacher? The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum gladly welcomes school groups on Friday for fieldtrips. RSVP with Abena at abenarobinson@semtribe.com or call 863-902-1113 ext. 12235.
Featured Guests
2024 Seminole Princesses
The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s own 2024 Princesses will be at AIAC this year for an exclusive meet and greet. The 67th Annual Seminole Princess Pageant was July 27, 2024. CeCe Thomas was crowned Miss Florida Seminole, and Violet Osceola took home the Jr. Miss Florida Seminole crown. Both are incredibly proud and excited to be representatives of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and utilize their roles to make a difference.
Thomas (Bird Clan), a 2024 graduate of Moore Haven High School, is from the Brighton Reservation. “This means everything to me,” Thomas said about becoming Miss Florida Seminole. “It’s the biggest accomplishment I’ve ever had.” She is the daughter of Cecelia Tommie and Frank Thomas. Thomas also holds an associate’s degree from Florida Southwestern State College.
Violet Osceola was the youngest contestant this year at only 14 years old. Osceola (Otter Clan) is from the Trail community in the Ochopee area of Collier County. She is the daughter of Melody and Joseph Osceola. A 10th grader at the Miccosukee School, Osceola shared how momentous this win was for her at the crowning. “It means a lot more than I can say in words,” said Osceola, “I don’t know how to express it, but I know I’ll be working hard for my tribe.”
The Seminole Princess Meet & Greet is scheduled for Friday, November 1 at 2:30pm on the 360 Stage.
Violet Osceola (L) and CeCe Thomas (R) at their Miss Florida Seminole Crowning. Via the Seminole Tribune.
Dallas Goldtooth
AIAC is also incredibly excited to welcome activist, actor, writer, performer, and Dakota-language teacher Dallas Goldtooth to this year’s festivities. Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota/Diné) is a cofounding member of the 1491’s, and also a cast member of the television series Reservation Dogs. The 1491’s, who also visited AIAC in 2019, started in 2008 with a series of YouTube videos. At the 2019 AIAC Goldtooth shared “What we love about this job is we get to see all the faces of Indian Country. It’s our first time here and it’s awesome. The nature of this job takes you to the offbeat paths, which are the best places to be.”
In addition to comedy, Goldtooth is a committed activist. “I grew up around climate activism,” he said in a recent article, “grew up listening to stories from directly impacted people on the front line of climate change and climate chaos, about their livelihoods being affected, about their ability to foresee a livable future being called into question.” In 2008, he was invited to help organize a six-day climate summit in Washington D.C. “They needed a communicator to serve as a bridge between Native landowners and white ranchers in Nebraska and South Dakota,” he said. “That turned into a 10-year career of being a communicator and an agent for helping to move Mother Earth forward.”
Goldtooth often holds talks and participates in seminars offering his unique perspective but excels at making connections with people of all backgrounds. “The stories I tell are from a Native person, but there’s a universality of the experience.”
Dallas Goldtooth’s Meet & Greet is scheduled for Friday at 12:30 and also Saturday at 12:30 on Stage 360.
Dallas Goldtooth, via IMDB
Rez Jamz
Cypress Billie
Cypress Billie, who also performs as Cornwallis, was one of the very first artists featured by Rez Jamz in 2021. Intended to shine a spotlight on lesser-known Seminole artists, Rez Jamz works to support those in the community who are passionate about their music, and also get their names out there. He has been writing music since he was 13 years old, starting with a ukelele until his hands got big enough to strum a guitar.
Billie (Long Tail Panther Clan) is a member of the Big Cypress Community, and music is in his blood. His father, former Chairman James E. Billie, is a Grammy-nominated artist. In a 2021 Seminole Tribune article about his first taping with Rez Jamz, Billie shared how his father helped shape him and his music. “He told me to stop covering other people’s music and start writing my own,” Billie said. “He said ‘you are living your life and are living a story; it’s up to you to depict it.’ I listen to other artists, but it’s better to sing my own songs.”
Even when it is hard, Billie is committed to developing his craft and songwriting. “If it was easy, everyone would do it,” Billie said. “Songs are a memory in time, like photos.”
Cypress Billie will be performing Friday, November 1 at 2:30 pm on the Main Stage.
Gabriella Diaz
The Seminole Tribe of Florida and Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum also welcomes the incredibly talented young artist Gabriella Diaz to the Main Stage on Saturday, November 2nd at 1:30 pm. A part of the Rez Jamz series, Diaz is not only a talented singer, but also an actress, fashion artist, and cultural community advocate. Diaz also recently competed in the 2024 Jr. Miss Florida Seminole pageant, where she sang two traditional hymns in Miccosukee and Creek.
World Famous Champion Hoop Dancers
The world-famous Championship Hoop Dancers will perform on the Main Stage at 11:00am and 1:00pm on Friday, November 1st and 11:00am and 1:30pm on Saturday, November 2nd.
Josiah Enriquez
Josiah Enriquez is a 21 year old hoop dancer, and at the top of the world talent-wise. Enriquez was recently recognized as the 2024 Hoop Dance World Champion, winning the 34th Annual World Champions of the Hoop Dance Contest with a perfect score of 209. “Being the world hoop dance champion feels so surreal and still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Enriquez said in a press release about his big win. “It has been a long journey from when I began hoop dancing. I’m so thankful to be able to inspire and motivate the next generation of champions. I want to give special thanks to all who believe and support me. Huge thanks to my hoop dance community, Lightning Boy Foundation and the LaRance family.”
He is Navajo, Isleta and Pueblo, and from the Pueblo of Pojoaque in New Mexico. Enriquez began dancing at age three, and hoop dancing specifically at age 8. He is also a dance instructor with the Lightning Boy Foundation, “a nonprofit organization in Northern New Mexico that provides traditional hoop dance instruction and other dance programming to youth ages two and up. Our mission is dedicated to nurturing and building confidence and integrity through culture and artistic expression.”
ShanDien Sonwai LaRance
Another Champion Hoop Dancer, ShanDien is part of the world-famous LaRance family, known for their dance troupe. Snippets of her biography, from her personal website, can be found below.
“My name is ShanDien Sonwai LaRance and I am a Native American Hoop Dancer. I was born in Flagstaff, Arizona 1992 and currently reside on my ancestral Tewa lands of Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. My Tribal affiliations are Hopi, Tewa, Navajo and Assiniboine.
I started Hoop Dancing at 8 years old. Taught by my older brother Nakotah LaRance who grew to become a 9-time World Champion Hoop Dancer, Actor, and Hoop Dance legend and Inspiration. At 19 years old I left home to join my brother at Cirque Du Soleil, working as a Lead Dancer and Character for a Big Top Show titled ‘TOTEM.’ The next 9 years of my life was dedicated to hoop dancing, exercising, and traveling the world, unknowingly becoming an unofficial spokeswoman for my Native American and First Nation People….
The Native American Hoop Dance has become my way of life. To be able to share this cultural, energetic dance and make it an opportunity to explore the world while representing my true self and my indigenous culture has been a blessing. My responsibility now is to continue passing down this healing dance to our Native American youth and allow them to become the new leaders of our people and go forth in this world proud, healthy and culturally connected to their Indigenous Roots.”
Mitchell Shonkwaiataroroks Gray
Mitchell Shonkwaiataroroks Gray (Mohawk) is a World Champion Hoop Dancer from the Akwesasne Reservation. Gray earned 2nd place in the Teen Division of the Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dancing Contest in 2022. Soon after, he placed 3rd in the Teen Division of the Nakotah LaRance Memorial Hoop Dance Competition in 2022. As of 2023, he was also the Collegiate Champion.
At the 2022 World Championship Hoop Dancing Contest, Gray shared what drives him, and what inspired his dancing during that competition. “I am not a competitive person. I dance for the spirituality and healing aspects and to make people happy. It also helps me with my other athletic endeavors, mainly track and boxing. I was fortunate to have my original instruction with the late Nakotah LaRance, nine-time hoop dance champion who also danced for Cirque de Soleil – Totum, Brooklyn Ballet’s Nutcracker and other film and television appearances.
I enjoy learning new moves now with Nakotah’s sister Sonwai LaRance and Josiah Enriquez. I love watching others perform. I danced in honor of Nakotah this weekend, wearing a shirt that he had given me after I mastered a formation, he taught me called the Eagle Throw. Winning second place at the Heard Museum was a very exciting experience. I hope to have many more years of dancing in various locations to heal and make people happy.”
Francesca Maestas
Francesca Maetas (Pojoaque/Diné/Cherokee) is a World Champion Hoop Dancer and dance instructor. Maestas, also a student of the late Nakotah LaRance and the Lightning Boy Foundation, has been a hoop dance instructor since 2017. Her favorite part of teaching is watching the children fall in love with dancing. “It’s important to show them our traditions, since hoop dancing was lost for a long time,” she says. “We’re slowly bringing it back.”
Returning from Last Year
In addition to the exciting, featured guests listed above, there are many returning exhibitions from last year. Back again for an amazing year, the lineup also includes a Seminole fashion show by the talented fashion designer Lorena Roberts. Scheduled for Saturday, November 2nd at 2:00 pm on the Main Stage, this dazzling array of complex Seminole fashion is sure to take your breath away! Both the Aztec Dance Performance, Amayel Mexican Cultural Academy and the White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers will be back as well, performing traditional dance for the crowds. Live wildlife shows, crafts for kids, vendors, food, and other offerings can be found throughout the festival grounds.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida and Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum warmly welcome you to the 2024 American Indigenous Arts Celebration next weekend, November 1-2nd. So, don’t miss out on this incredible lineup!
Author Bio
Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Lakeland, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.
