Glacier Art Museum hosts Traveling Medicine Show exhibit, art demo, Indigenous games

A Traveling Medicine Show featuring the art and history of the Plains Indians and a ledger art demonstration by Blackfeet artist John Pepion is planned at the Glacier Art Museum July 18. 

The free event, which will include traditional Native American games and a children’s art activity, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and includes entry into the museum.   

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Pepion, an artist from the Piikani Band of the Blackfoot Confederacy, will be creating original ledger artwork. The public is invited to observe his process and ask questions. Coming from a family of artists practicing ledger art over hundreds of years, Pepion continues a lineage of visual storytelling rooted in Blackfeet history and worldview. Pepion’s ledger art blends traditional Blackfeet design with contemporary illustrations. His work is known internationally and is in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Library of Congress. He is based on the Blackfeet Reservation in north central Montana.  

The Traveling Medicine Show pop-up exhibit will be on display in the museum classroom and includes ancient, traditional and contemporary art and artifacts created and selected in collaboration between the Glacier Art Museum and members of the Blackfeet Indian Nation. In addition to artwork, items on display will include hunting tools, parfleche cases, beadwork and traditional clothing. 

The traditional Native American games will be led by Education Director Kathy Martin on the lawn from12:30 to 1:30 p.m. All ages are welcome to participate. 

Visitors are also welcome to tour the museum’s current art exhibitions and historic building throughout the day. 

This event is sponsored in part by grants from Montana 250 and the Whitefish Community Foundation. For more information, visit glacierartmuseum.org or call 406-755-5268.