Yellowstone Forever plans Indigenous celebration and cultural tours in Gardiner

Yellowstone Forever will host Voices of Yellowstone: First Peoples Celebration Aug. 2-8 in Gardiner, Montana, with Native art, music, storytelling and five limited-capacity cultural tours inside Yellowstone National Park. The event is designed to elevate Indigenous perspectives on Yellowstone’s history and cultural landscape.

Why it matters: - The celebration puts Indigenous voices at the center of one of the nation’s most visited national parks. - Yellowstone Forever says the event is meant to help visitors understand Yellowstone as both a natural wonder and a living cultural landscape. - The cultural tours are limited to 12 participants each, making them a rare, intimate learning opportunity.

What happened: - Yellowstone Forever announced Voices of Yellowstone: First Peoples Celebration, set for Aug. 2-8, 2026, in Gardiner, Montana. - The weeklong event will feature cultural tours, Native art, music, storytelling, traditional games and nightly illuminated teepees at Yellowstone’s North Entrance. - Five limited-capacity cultural tours will run inside Yellowstone National Park from Aug. 3-7. - Each tour departs Yellowstone Forever headquarters at 9 a.m. and returns by 4 p.m. - Each tour costs $99 per person. - Each tour includes a Yellowstone Forever field educator.

The details: - Mike Jetty, an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation and a Turtle Mountain Chippewa descendant, will lead tours on Aug. 3 and 4. - Jetty’s tours will focus on Indigenous histories of Yellowstone and Tribal Nations’ relationship with the landscape for more than 10,000 years. - Chris La Tray, a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Montana Poet Laureate from 2023-2025, will lead tours on Aug. 5 and 7. - La Tray’s tours will explore the original language of the land and reciprocal relationships with the natural world. - Ryan Littleeagle, a Cheyenne River Lakota and Taino singer-songwriter, will lead the Aug. 6 tour and share Lakota stories. - The Aug. 2 opening includes a Native Art Market at Yellowstone Forever headquarters, an opening ceremony at Arch Park and the first lighting of illuminated teepees at Yellowstone’s North Entrance. - Visitors will also be able to meet Indigenous artists, buy original work, attend music and speaker programs, take part in traditional Native games and join a Gardiner-Mammoth community potluck. - The Pretty Shield Foundation and Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council will present Legacy of Light, the teepee illumination tribute to Tribal presence, culture and connection. - Yellowstone Forever is hosting the event with Yellowstone National Park and is working with the Pretty Shield Foundation, Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council and Gardiner Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. - glassybaby foundation is sponsoring the event. - Yellowstone Forever says cultural tour reservations are now open and space is extremely limited. - More information and the full schedule are available at yellowstone.org.

Between the lines: - The event extends Yellowstone Forever’s push to move visitors beyond sightseeing and toward a deeper understanding of Yellowstone’s ecological and cultural significance. - The emphasis on Tribal educators, artists and knowledge keepers signals a broader effort to frame the park’s history through Indigenous perspectives. - The teepee lighting and public gathering events are designed to make Indigenous presence visible in a highly symbolic setting at the park’s North Entrance.

What’s next: - Registration is open for the cultural tours, but seats are limited. - The full week of programming will run Aug. 2-8 in Gardiner and inside Yellowstone National Park. - Yellowstone Forever is expected to continue using education and partner programming to expand visitor engagement with Yellowstone’s heritage and wildlife.

The bottom line: - Voices of Yellowstone pairs public celebration with direct cultural education, aiming to reshape how visitors experience Yellowstone and whose stories they hear there.