Little Eagle Arts Foundation - LEAF

06/01/2026

Join LEAF roster artist Lighting New Rider at his upcoming program in Tee jop (Ho-Chunk place name: Four Lakes).

05/29/2026

Opportunity for LEAF roster artists: Apply to participate at a Native Art Market for the opening festivities of Merciless Indigenous Lands Since 1776. The exhibition will open at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 26th, when the art market will also take place. The deadline to apply is June 15th. More information can be found in the application and via the QR code below. Please feel free to contact [email protected] with any questions.

Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 is a commemoration and celebration of Indigenous resistance. The exhibition, which will open on Saturday, September 26, 2026, consists of both indoor and outdoor installations that foreground Indigenous resiliency and a continued connection to this place known....

05/22/2026

We're a 2026 Ruth Foundation for the Arts Artist Choice Winner!!!

Little Eagle Arts Foundation (LEAF) is among 28 organizations that were chosen by artists to receive an unrestricted grant from Ruth Arts. This year, artists—including choreographers, visual artists, performers, writers, and musicians—were invited to nominate organizations that are generating and encouraging deep study and strengthening their communities’ critical understanding of and investment in art and ideas.

LEAF is so excited and grateful to our nominee(s) and Ruth Arts for being amongst such a great group of organizations, and are thrilled to have our work recognized by artists!

About Ruth Arts: National in scope, Ruth Foundation for the Arts (Ruth Arts) is dedicated to meeting the evolving needs and lived experiences of artists, communities, and arts organizations whose work is anchored by the visual and performing arts. For more information about the awarded organizations, visit rutharts.org.

05/20/2026

The Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival is a month away, and we're grateful to the organizers for inviting us and our LEAF roster artists to provide cultural arts demonstrations throughout the week. June 20 & 26 our Executive Director Melanie Tallmadge Sainz and LEAF Board member Chrissy Shegonee will welcome visitors with LEAF information (don't forget to join our mailing list!) along with hands-on cattail mat making & demonstrations. Throughout the week six our our best LEAF teaching artists will demonstrate their art forms and they will also have artwork for sale. The festival takes place at San Damiano Park in Monona, WI, June 19 - 27, 2026. See you there!

05/11/2026

The first of our workshop series in collaboration with our friends at the Nature Center at Tee Wákacak is coming up this week!

NATIVE ARTS & CULTURE OF TEE WÁKACAK
Join us to engage in the art and culture of our area's Indigenous peoples. This FREE art series occurs on select Thursdays outside the Nature Center at Tee Wákacak, (Ho-Chunk place name) also known as Devil's Lake. Class size is limited; reserve your spot for the 2:00 - 4:00 pm session!
To Register: Call Sue at the Nature Center (608) 356-8301 ext. 140

05/07/2026

Along with her ability to direct LEAF, our Executive Director Melanie Tallmadge Sainz is also a cultural arts educator and active porcupine quill artist. Her annual quill course at the beautiful Idyllwild Arts Academy is coming up next month. If you’re interested in engaging in a truly American art form, sign up!

Instructor: Melanie Tallmadge Sainz (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin) This workshop will present a unique approach to learning how to procure, process, and create art with porcupine quills. Utilizing methods and techniques unique to Ho-Chunk people, you will utilize porcupine quills to embellish a proj...

05/04/2026

Welcome to our new website! Thanks to Derrick Mayoleth of Skillet Creek Media and Laura LaMere, our LEAF Public Program Manager our website is off and running with a new look and more ways to engage with our upcoming programs and to support our work.
• Our Teewakacak workshop series in collaboration with our friends at the Nature Center near Baraboo, WI at Devils Lake State Park is listed. Click on the Programs tab. Pre-registration is recommended as space is limited. Call Sue at the Nature Center to register.
• Native Art Marketplace is our signature event held in partnership with our friends at Taliesin Preservation in Spring Green, WI. REMINDER: Registration (see our Events tab) for our marketplace event is required due to parking limitations.

We look forward to seeing you at future LEAF events!

Little Eagle Arts Foundation (LEAF) supports Native visual, performing, and culinary artists in the western Great Lakes area — preserving Indigenous arts, culture, and stories since 2013.

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day!! On this special day we're happy to announce the 2026 Tee Wakącąk Workshop series, in partnership with the Nature Center at Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo, WI. All workshops feature LEAF's roster teaching artists, are limited in size, and require advance registration. We're grateful to the WI Arts Board, The Friends of Devil's Lake State Park, and LEAF donors and friends for making these earth-friendly & creative workshops possible. Questions? Call the Nature Center at (608) 356-8301 ext. 140 or LEAF at (608) 253-4142.

04/16/2026

We are excited to announce we have a received an America & Wisconsin at 250 Grant from Wisconsin Humanities. Our project Native Art Marketplace - A Celebration of Place supports Wisconsin Humanities' mission to strengthen democracy through educational and cultural programs that build connections and understanding among people of all backgrounds and beliefs throughout the state.

Save the date(s): August 1 & 2, 2026. Native Art Marketplace - A Celebration of Place at Taliesin Preservation, Spring Green, WI. A partnership of LEAF and our friends at Taliesin.

04/08/2026

We're so grateful for your patience as our website is receiving improvements & updates during this construction period. Keep checking our fb page for the latest program reminders. In our commitment to improve our communication with our donors and friends we've partnered with Givebutter to assist with our online fundraising and annual fund.

We're committed to building bridges through the arts!