The Lloyd New Institute of Native American Art takes place July 19 – 23 at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, and space is still available to take part in this unique, hands-on educational opportunity. Co-sponsored by the Center’s Plains Indian Museum and the University of Wyoming, the program invites participants to explore the intersection of Native American arts and culture.

The institute is led entirely by Native artists and scholars, and immerses participants in Indian art and culture through the study of extraordinary original objects; close interaction with dynamic, creative artists who serve as instructors and demonstrators; and in-depth research. This year’s program draws on the Plains Indian Museum’s extraordinary collections as well as the Splendid Heritage Collection featured in a special exhibition at the Historical Center through October 31.

According to Emma I. Hansen, senior curator of the Plains Indian Museum and director of the institute, “The Lloyd New program provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn about the expression of creativity, and cultural and historical understanding reflected in Native American arts. The program offers one-on-one interaction with artists for a better understanding of their training, backgrounds, creativity, and inspirations.”

The institute, open to graduate and undergraduate students as well as teachers interested in integrating Native American art and culture into the classroom, can be taken with or without college credit. Cost without college credit is $275; contact Gretchen Henrich at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 307.578.4061 to register without credit. To receive college credit through the University of Wyoming’s American Indian Studies program, enroll in summer session course AIST-4990 by going to http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/registrar/Summer2010.

Instructors during the week include Hansen (Pawnee); Dr. Judith Antell (Chippewa), director of the American Indian Studies program at the University of Wyoming; Arthur Amiotte (Oglala Lakota), artist, educator, art historian, and author; Bently Spang (Cheyenne); and Ken Blackbird (Assiniboine). Participants also take field trips to Chief Plenty Coups State Park in Montana and to the studio of a contemporary Native American artist.

The art institute’s namesake, Cherokee artist and educator Lloyd New, was a founder of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and a long-time member of the Plains Indian Museum Advisory Board. Endowment funds established after his death provide scholarships for the art institute for Native American students and for teachers working in Native American communities. For scholarship information, contact Henrich at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 307.578.4061.

The Splendid Heritage special exhibition, co-curated by Hansen, was organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts from the collection of John and Marva Warnock. Its stay at the Historical Center is funded in part by grants from the MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections program, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, and by a generous gift from Buffalo Bill Historical Center Trustee Naoma Tate.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and the nature of Yellowstone—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is now operating its summer schedule, open daily 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. For general information, call 307.587.4771 or visit www.bbhc.org.