Since its founding in 1946, Idyllwild Arts has always been firmly rooted in respect for and reverence of Native American arts and culture. Each summer, Idyllwild Arts’ Native American Arts Center produces and hosts the annual Native American Arts Festival Week, designed to enhance and add depth to the Summer Program workshop experience. The week-long festival provides a provocative learning experience by bringing together distinguished artists, scholars, and cultural specialists to present performances, demonstrations, films, exhibitions, showcases, and the popular Michael Kabotie Lecture Series.

Join us for a lunchtime lecture featuring a fully curated traditional Native Foods meal exploreing intersections of culinary storytelling, prepared by Wendy Weston (Diné). Our guest speakers are Hanokee Dunn (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians), Kholan Studi (Cherokee), and Jennifer Bobbiwash (Anishinaabekwe), three actors from Native Voices at the Autry, the only Actors’ Equity theatre company in the country devoted to developing new works by Indigenous playwrights. Each playwright will share a short reading and then speak about sharing storytelling on the stage.