NEWS RELEASE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
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Rocky Mountain National Park’s 2023 Indigenous Connections programming continues this Friday, September 8 through Sunday, September 10, 2023 with Native songs and dances performed by the award-winning singer-songwriter, Shelley Morningsong, and professional Native dancer and storyteller, Fabian Fantenelle.
Morningsong and Fantenelle will perform a set of traditional and modern Native song, dance, and storytelling in hand-crafted regalia. Join us in front of the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Beginning at 1 p.m., Morningsong will also read from her children’s book, "She Talks to the Animals." During breaks, Morningsong and Fontenelle will be available to answer questions about their artwork and traditional cultures.
Shelley Morningsong (N. Cheyenne) is an acclaimed Native singer and songwriter of 17 years who has been the recipient of many Native American Music Awards including 2019's "Artist of the Year." Fabian Fontenelle (Zuni/Omaha) is an original member of the American Indian Dance Theatre and has worked as a consultant and performer for Steven Spielberg's miniseries, Into the West, PBS' "Great Performances", and the History Channel. For more information about these artists, please visit https://shelleymorningsongonline.com.
These programs are made possible by a generous grant from the National Park Foundation under the Inclusive Storytelling grant project. In addition, support is provided by the park’s philanthropic partner, the Rocky Mountain Conservancy.
The Indigenous Connections program amplifies and celebrates the presence of Indigenous peoples who have ancestral ties to what is now called Rocky Mountain National Park, including those from ten sovereign Tribal Nations including those of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Lakota, Kiowa, Shoshone, and Ute.
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