The American Indian Exposition, held annually during the first full week in August at the Caddo County Fairgrounds in

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post of ...

, is one of the oldest and largest intertribal gatherings in the United States. Sponsored by fifteen tribes ( Apache,

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho ba ...

, Caddo,

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, Comanche,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Fort Sill Apache The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native American tribe of Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache in Oklahoma. Government The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is headquartered in Apache, Oklahoma. Tribal member enro ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

, Osage, Otoe-Missouri,

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

, Sac & Fox, and Wichita), representatives from up to fifty other tribes participate in any given year.Hedglen, Thomas L. "American Indian Exposition." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.''
Accessed August 14, 2016.

History

The Exposition began with the ''All-Indian Fair'' first held in 1924. It was the successor to the Craterville Park Indian Fair, which had been held from 1924 through 1933 near Cache, Oklahoma. A group of people calling themselves the Southwest Indian Fair (SWIF) had met after the Caddo County Free Fair in 1935 to discuss their dissatisfaction with the Craterville Park demonstrations of Indian culture, which they felt was too ethnocentric and white-oriented. They felt that the Indian participants were treated as merely figureheads. The leaders of SWIF wanted to separate the dance performances from the county fair, and wanted the Caddo County Free Fair board to give them creative and management freedom over the production. In 1935 it was incorporated as the ''American Indian Exposition'' with the stated purpose of ''"promoting and retaining Indian cultural life, handicrafts, arts, crafts, and farming a seend livestock skills by providing a yearly showcase"''. The Exposition features a week-long program of dance contests, parades, pageants (Indian Princess, Beautiful Baby), sporting events such as softball as well as arts and crafts contests. The fairgrounds also provides camping accommodations for the participants. Nearby is the

Southern Plains Indian Museum Southern Plains Indian Museum is a Native American museum located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. It was opened in 1948 under a cooperative governing effort by the United States Department of the Interior and the Oklahoma state government. The museum feat ...

, the American Indian Hall of Fame, and Indian City USA. No expositions were held in 1942-45 nor 2020-21.

Miss American Indian Exposition

The title "Miss American Indian Exposition," came into existence in the 1930s, when a young woman, Imogene Carter, was selected to represent the AIE. The event has been reintroduced many times, and the requirements have undergone several changes. In 2015, the AIE Board retired the title until it could reassess the qualifications and other requirements. In January, 2016, AIE reinstated this aspect of the program. It opened competition to any young American Indian woman who wished to enter. Previously, competition was limited to actual tribal princesses. To promote education, the title holder would be expected to serve as a mentor for young women, and the winner each year would receive a scholarship. The winner of the 2016 competition is Marquela Pewewardy, who is 17 years old and whose mother is Kiowa and whose father is Comanche.She plans to enroll in Oklahoma University, when she graduates from Elgin High School."2016 Miss American Indian Exposition." March 24, 2016.
Accessed December 4, 2016.

Notes

References

External links

Library of CongressAnadark Chamber of Commerce

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - American Indian Exposition
{{Authority control Native American topics Oklahoma culture Culture of the Western United States Tourist attractions in Caddo County, Oklahoma Festivals in Oklahoma Native American festivals Festivals established in 1924 Fairs in the United States