Sarah Ortegon: Ancestral Knowledge, Performance, and Contemporary Indigenous Life
About this episode
Emily McElwreath interviews Sarah Ortegon about her work as a visual artist and performer, exploring themes of ancestral knowledge and contemporary Indigenous life.
In Season 8, Episode 2 of The Art Career Podcast, Emily sits down with Sarah Ortegon. Sarah is an Eastern Shoshone–enrolled and Northern Arapaho visual artist, dancer, and performer whose work bridges ancestral knowledge, land, and contemporary Indigenous life. Raised between Denver and the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, her practice spans painting, beadwork on hide, mixed media, and performance—grounded in memory, resilience, and cultural continuity. In 2013, she was crowned Miss Native American USA, a moment that led to years of international jingle dress performances and a deepened commitment to bringing Indigenous presence into contemporary cultural spaces. Many first encountered Sarah through She Never Dances Alone (2019 ) , a multi-channel video by Jeffrey Gibson , first presented on the screens of Times Square and later traveling internationally, including live performances at the Venice Biennale. Centering the jingle dress dance—a powwow dance traditionally performed by women to call upon ancestors for strength, healing, and protection—the work amplifies Indigenous visibility on a global stage. In this episode, we talk about ancestral knowledge, contemporary…
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