BIG CYPRESS RESERVATION – “Honoring Our Youth” is the theme for the second annual Indigenous Arts and Music Festival (IAMF), set for February 2-3 on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. 

The event will take place at the Junior Cypress Entertainment Complex from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days.

IAMF will showcase engaging Indigenous speakers and performers from across the U.S. and Canada.

The two-day event will feature musical performances by One Way Sky (Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O'odham Nation), Testify (Navajo), Chebon Tiger, Under Exile (Shiprock, NM), Supaman (Apsáalooke Nation), the Capybaras, Sage Cornelius, and more. 

Daily Native Song and Dance performances will be by Ashaa Takook Bird Song and Dance Group, Youth Apache Crown Dancers, and the “Power of Dance” Dance and Song Troupe.

Choke Cherry Creek will host a fashion show on Saturday. Angela Howe-Parrish of Choke Cherry Creek is a phenomenal beadwork artist, sewist, fashion designer and business owner. She is an enrolled member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation and a descendant of the Pikuni (Blackfeet) Nation of Montana. By creating contemporary Indigenous fashion, her goal is to utilize the platform of fashion design to occupy spaces where there is a need for representation of Indigenous people.

Choke Cherry Creek’s mission is to inspire the world to see that Indigenous people are beautiful, resilient, rich in culture and are still carrying on their traditions today. Each piece is designed thoughtfully and can be worn by everyone.

Howe-Parrish has been invited to showcase her array of clothing in various places including RES 2022 Las Vegas, New York Fashion Week, the Runway Cultural Series in Denver, and Paris Indigenous Fashion Week.

A panel discussion on Friday will feature Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), an award winning filmmaker from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Now based in Tulsa, Harjo is the co-creator and showrunner of “Reservation Dogs” (FX Productions), a comedy series following four Indigenous teenage friends living on a reservation in Oklahoma. After its first season, “Reservation Dogs” won a 2022 Peabody award, 2022 Television Academy Honors award, 2022 Independent Spirit Award for Best Comedy Series, was an American Film Institute Awards Honoree, and won Best Breakthrough Series under 40 minutes at the 2021 Gotham Awards.

Admission to the event (located at 500 Rodeo Drive, Clewiston, Florida 33440) is free. Other offerings will include Native food, art, crafts, and a carnival.

For the event schedule and details, please visit: https://indigenousamf.com/.