By james art 
The 11th Annual Indian Festival in Arizona returns to Scotsdale February 1-2
The Arizona Indian Festival is an event unlike any other.
This free two -day festival in Scottsdale offers the opportunity to experience traditional local arts, crafts, food and performance and serves as a platform for promoting tribal tourism.
What distinguishes the festival, according to Steve Gayogama, the tourism development manager of the city of Scotsdale, is that it unites all 22 of the tribes in Arizona.
The event hosts the American Arizona Tourism Association in partnership with Arizona Indians. This is part of the annual celebration of the Western Week of Scottsdale and will be held in February 1-2 in the Civil Center of Scotsdale.
The festival will include completed local artists, tribal royalties and performances by Apache Crown dancers, traditional Hopi dancers and others.
More than 16,000 people attended the festival last year.
2025 Indian Festival in Arizona
- 9:00 – 18:00 Saturday, February 1
- 10:00 – 4pm Sunday, February 2
Arizona has one of the largest population of Indians in the country. And as in Scotsdale, tourism is one of the main economic engines for many local communities.
The festival is an opportunity for local travel and tourism organizations to gather and show new endeavors and local destinations.
A new element this year is the symposium of root eating on Saturday. The symposium will include several speakers and a panel discussion designed to show local food sovereignty and traditional food pathways.
Arizona’s first Indian festival dates back to 1996.
Arizona was preparing to host his first Super Bowl in the same year, and the Arizona Host Committee was looking for a way to include tribal communities.
It was not until 2015, however, as the state was preparing to host another Super Bowl, did the event become an annual event and find a home in Scotsdale.
