Celebrating Native American Artistry

Artwork crafted by the people who know Yellowstone best. 

Yellowstone National Park covers a significant area of land, spanning 3,471 square miles. It’s an enormous place and an ancient one. 

While gray wolves and bison have been long-term residents of the area, they’ve had company. For centuries, Yellowstone was an epicenter of Indigenous oral tradition and cross-country commerce. Today, Yellowstone General Stores proudly partners with local tribes to share the stories told through their artwork. 

There are 26 current Native American tribes with historic connections to the lands now found within the park. This includes the Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Shosone, Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Northern Arapaho and Crow people, among many others. The region’s original inhabitants had their own names for what would become Yellowstone. For example, the Crow knew the area as “the land of the burning ground.” 

According to anthropologists, Native Americans called the Yellowstone region home for at least 11,000 years. Today, artifacts and evidence of those times can be found with relative ease throughout the park. “Pretty much anywhere you’d want to pitch a tent, there are artifacts,” said Doug MacDonald, professor of anthropology at the University of Montana. 

No one knows a place better than someone with native roots. That’s why Yellowstone General Stores offer guests a wide variety of locally made Native American crafts — including Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma art, Crow beaded jewelry, Ojibwe totems, Sioux drums, and more. 

The tales of time are communicated through art, and local Native American culture is deeply connected to the land and history of Yellowstone. Our talented Native American artists can give you a better appreciation for the unique Yellowstone region with their homegrown treasures.