2026 Montana Folklife
The theme for the Montana Folk Festival focuses on the attributes and qualities of life in Montana. These qualities have aptly been labeled folklife, where the land and the people of Montana are showcased for your enjoyment. — Check out last years Folklife Area.
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Wolfbear Singers
Apsalooke Drum Group | Lodgegrass, MT Wolfbearsingers is an award-winning traditional drum group from Lodgegrass, Montana in the heart of …
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Sterling Drake
Western | Philipsburg, Montana Montana songwriter Sterling Drake has a penchant for honest storytelling, weaving his own perspective into the…
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Noah Pino
Noah Pino is a Dakota/Diné artist from Brockton, Montana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Specializing in traditional art forms…
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Alaina Buffalo Spirit
Alaina Buffalo Spirit’s medium is Ledger Art, inspired by her Cheyenne ancestors, who sketched their version of events during the…
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Allison Grove and Kammy Johnson
Handweaver Allison Grove uses Montana wool yarns and plant dyes to portray nature in her art. Allison has a 25-year…
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Birdie Real Bird and Tanya Plainfeather Gardner
Birdie Real Bird is a Crow beadworker widely recognized throughout Montana for her intricate beadwork, traditional regalia, moccasins, and handcrafted…
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Eli Hernandez
Long before modern veterinary medicine, the village blacksmith was the horse’s doctor. Eli Hernandez hasn’t forgotten that. Working out of…
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Elle McGill
Elle McGill grew up on her family’s ranch in Lodge Grass, MT – in the heart of Crow Country, known…
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Shawn Didyoung
Shawn Didyoung is a master goldsmith, Western silversmith, and custom engraving. Didyoung’s time as a working cowboy in Texas and…
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John Murie
John Littlesun Murie is an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree tribe of Rocky Boy Reservation in North Central Montana. His…
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Mark Mariano and Mary Sutherland
Lake Berkeley Decoy Lake Berkeley Decoys is the creative partnership of Mark Mariano and Mary Sutherland, a husband-and-wife team based…
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Dan and Julia Schwarz
Husband and wife duo Dan and Julia Schwarz craft timeless, handcrafted footwear with passion, precision, and artistry through their business,…
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Spurr Watson
Spurr Watson lives and works in central Montana, where he owns and operates a custom saddle shop rooted in function,…
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Tim Ryan
As an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Tim Ryan’s work embodies the…
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Tom Mocilac
Tom Mocilac is a genuine old fart, retired from state service, and has worked as a National Park Ranger in…
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Jamie Fox & Sapphire Ferguson-Jetty
Jamie Fox is a Métis fiddler from the Aaniih (Gros Ventre) and Nakoda (Assiniboine) communities of Montana. She grew up…
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Arnold “Smoke” Elser and Mike Korn
Arnold “Smoke” Elser is a professional animal packer and a semi-retired instructor of wilderness outfitting and packing at the University…
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Henry Real Bird
Henry Real Bird’s poetry represents a communicative art; it is poetry that blends his Native heritage with the identity of…
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M.L. Smoker
M.L. Smoker is Nakoda, Dakota and Lakota, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribe. She served as Montana poet laureate…
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Ben Larson
Walking his own path between the traditions of western folk and cowboy poetry, Ben Larson’s original work tells the unvarnished…
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Isaac and Louise
Isaac Callender and Louise Steinway are a folk duo from Sand Coulee, Montana, performing a blend of original and traditional…
