Join us for a presentation exploring the history and evolution of the Institute of American Indian Arts' Performing Arts Department, followed by a panel discussion with Delbert Anderson (Diné), Jay B. Muskett (Diné), and Tash Terry (Diné), moderated by Sheila A. Rocha, PhD (Tarasco), Chair and Associate Professor of IAIA's Performing Arts Department.

This panel brings together Indigenous performing artists who are allies, faculty, and alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts. As artists who have helped shape and advance the first Indigenous Performing Arts BFA program in tribal college history, they will reflect on how the program has fostered and sustained their artistic growth as musicians, playwrights, and performers. Panelists will also share their perspectives on the future of the program and its role in cultivating the next generation of Indigenous performing artists while continuing to strengthen Indigenous storytelling, creativity, and innovative cultural expression.

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
706 Camino Lejo
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

About the Presenters

Delbert Anderson is a Diné jazz trumpet artist, composer, and educator at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene. His work, deeply rooted in his Diné heritage, seamlessly integrates Navajo “spinning songs” of love, healing, and courtship with jazz and funk. Through his Delbert Anderson Quartet, Anderson revives the improvised sounds of the Diné circle, blending them with jazz, funk, and hip-hop. As a community-minded Indigenous individualist, he is inspired by Navajo Nation landscapes, historical events, and the desire to preserve and educate about Diné history.

Jay B. Muskett (Diné́) is an Indigenous writer from Nakaibito, New Mexico. He was a finalist in the 2021 National Playwright’s Conference and awarded the Thornton Wilder Fellowship by the MacDowell Colony. Full productions include 1n2ian, produced by the University of New Mexico, and Sheepherders Special by New Native Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dance was selected to be a part of the annual reading at Native Voices at the Autry in Los Angeles, and the full-length Life Within the Cracks was invited to be a part of The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Abilene, Texas. He earned an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of New Mexico. He has had residencies at artEquity, New Harmony Project, and twice at MacDowell. Muskett is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and Santa Fe Community College based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Tash Terry is Tódichíinii (Bitter Water) and Tachii’nii (Red Streak Running into the Water), and French/Irish, born and raised on the Navajo Nation. As co-founder of IndigenousWays, she has grown the nonprofit from house concerts into festivals and community gatherings rooted in passion, service, and healing. Now as Artistic Director of IndigenousWays, as well as an ASL interpreter and musician, Terry draws on the lifelong values of service instilled by her masani (grandmother) to guide her work. Terry and IndigenousWays was recognized in 2025 with the City of Santa Fe Mayor’s Award of Excellence in the Arts through the Culture Connects initiative. Tash Terry is also one half of the internationally acclaimed musical duo Indigie Femme, alongside Elena Higgins (Maori/Samoan).

Two-part Public Program

Celebrating the ongoing legacy of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), SITE SANTA FE presents a two-part public program in collaboration with IAIA and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC). On the occasion of the exhibition Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969, curated by Candice Hopkins and on view at SITE SANTA FE through September 7, 2026.