A two-day celebration of Indigenous storytelling, art, music and community returns to Missoula July 31 and Aug. 1, bringing Indigenous writers, artists, musicians, journalists, educators and cultural leaders together for free events across downtown.
The second annual IndigiPalooza MT: Indigenous Arts & Storytelling Festival will feature conversations on Indigenous journalism, food sovereignty, wellness, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, ecological knowledge, education and cultural resilience.
Among this year's highlights are a Friday night performance by Indigenous punk band Dead Pioneers, a Saturday Indigenous art market and an evening with Robin Wall Kimmerer, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation botanist, professor and acclaimed author of Braiding Sweetgrass.
Most programming takes place at Missoula Public Library, with evening events at Monk's Bar and The Wilma.
All festival events are free, although space is limited. An additional free, ticketed event with Kimmerer and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes ethnobotanist Tim Ryan is planned for Sunday, Aug. 2, at Fort Missoula.
At a Glance
Friday, July 31, 5–7 p.m. — “Speaking Truth About Power,” a conversation about Indigenous journalism and storytelling at Missoula Public Library.
Friday, July 31, 8 p.m. — Dead Pioneers performs with American Falcon and No Policy at Monk's Bar. This event is 21+.
Saturday, Aug. 1, starting at 9:30 a.m. — A full day of panels, conversations and Indigenous arts at Missoula Public Library.
Saturday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m. — An evening with Robin Wall Kimmerer at The Wilma. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 2, 9 a.m. — “Plant, Baby, Plant” with Robin Wall Kimmerer and Tim Ryan at the Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula. The event is free but requires registration.
This year's theme: RESISTANCE 250+
IndigiPalooza's 2026 theme, RESISTANCE 250+, coincides with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence but approaches that anniversary through a different historical lens.
The festival focuses on the ways Indigenous peoples have resisted, survived, adapted and thrived for more than 250 years, while asking whose histories are celebrated and whose have often been overlooked.
Through storytelling, art, music and conversation, the festival will explore how Indigenous communities continue sustaining culture, language, relationships with land and community while confronting the continuing effects of colonialism.
The broader festival draws inspiration from the teachings of the Three Sisters, corn, beans and squash, and principles of cooperation, reciprocity and collective care.
Friday: Indigenous journalism and punk rock
IndigiPalooza opens Friday evening at Missoula Public Library with “Speaking Truth About Power,” a discussion about telling Indigenous stories through journalism and other forms of media.
The 5 p.m. conversation features Waubgeshig Rice, Nora Mabie and B. “Toastie” Oaster and will examine the challenges involved in reporting nuanced stories from Indian Country and the importance of Indigenous perspectives in shaping those narratives.
Friday then shifts from conversation to music.
At 8 p.m., Dead Pioneers takes the stage at Monk's Bar with special guests American Falcon and No Policy.
Led by Indigenous artist Gregg Deal, Dead Pioneers combines punk music with cultural and political commentary addressing Indigenous identity, history and contemporary American life.
The Monk's Bar event is for ages 21 and older.
Saturday brings a full day of Indigenous voices and ideas
Programming resumes Saturday morning on the fourth floor of Missoula Public Library with discussions spanning wellness, food, sovereignty, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, ecological knowledge and education.
At 9:30 a.m., “Indigenous Wellness, Indigenous Joy” brings together Giizh Agaton Howes, Michelle Mitchell and Skye McGinty for a conversation centered on Indigenous wellness, relationships, tradition and joy.
Beginning at 11:15 a.m., attendees can explore food and cultural memory through “A Recipe for Resistance” with Claudia Serrato.
Also at 11:15 a.m., “Nobody's Victims: Matri-Leadership and MMIP” features Chyana Marie Sage, Haley Omeasoo and Jen Murphy discussing Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and the leadership of Native women working to protect their communities and reclaim their stories.
At 2 p.m., “Survival and Sovereignty through Ancient Relationships” brings together Jill Falcon Ramaker, Claudia Serrato and Jason Baldes to explore connections among Traditional Ecological Knowledge, food sovereignty, bison restoration and relationships with land.
The library programming concludes with “Learning to Be: Indigenous Ways of Knowing” at 3:45 p.m.
That conversation features Waubgeshig Rice, Jordann Lankford, Ernestine Hayes, Jason Cummins and James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw and explores Indigenous approaches to education, cultural reclamation, language reconnection and community knowledge.
An Indigenous art market will also showcase Native artists and makers during the festival.
Robin Wall Kimmerer headlines Saturday evening
One of the festival's biggest draws comes Saturday night at The Wilma.
Robin Wall Kimmerer will headline an evening program beginning at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6.
Kimmerer is a botanist, author, professor and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation whose work brings Indigenous knowledge and Western science into conversation.
She is best known for Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which explores relationships among plants, people, reciprocity and ecological knowledge.
Kimmerer is also the author of Gathering Moss and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. She founded the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology.
The Saturday evening event at The Wilma is free, but organizers encourage attendees to arrive early because venue capacity is limited.
An additional Sunday event at Fort Missoula
The weekend extends into Sunday morning with an additional event not included in the original two-day festival announcement.
“Plant, Baby, Plant” will bring Robin Wall Kimmerer together with Tim Ryan of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, at the Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula.
Presented in partnership with the Montana Natural History Center, the event is free but ticketed, with registration required.
Attendees interested specifically in this program should check the festival website for the latest registration information before attending.
A community-built Indigenous festival
IndigiPalooza MT is organized collaboratively by Anna East of Chickadee Community Services, Selya Avila of Missoula Public Library and Chris La Tray, a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and former Montana Poet Laureate.
La Tray is the author of Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home, which received a 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Award and a 2025 Writing the West Award.
The broader presenter lineup brings together people from Indigenous communities across Montana and beyond, including writers, journalists, educators, artists, scientists and cultural leaders.
Organizers say hundreds of individual donors have helped make the festival possible. Sponsors and supporters also include Indigenous nations and organizations, cultural institutions, nonprofits, businesses and foundations.
That community-supported model allows organizers to keep festival admission free and open to the public.
What to know before you go
What: IndigiPalooza MT: Indigenous Arts & Storytelling Festival
When: Friday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1, with an additional event Sunday, Aug. 2
Where: Missoula Public Library, The Wilma and Monk's Bar, with Sunday's event at the Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free. Space is limited, and Sunday's “Plant, Baby, Plant” program requires registration.
Friday night: Dead Pioneers at Monk's Bar is a 21+ event.
Saturday keynote: Robin Wall Kimmerer at The Wilma, 7 p.m.; doors at 6 p.m.
For the complete schedule, presenter information, registration updates and any last-minute changes, visit the official IndigiPalooza MT website.
