Ja:göh Rosy Simas!
The First Peoples Fund is honored to celebrate the exceptional artists chosen for the inaugural cohort of the Native Performing Arts Fellows. These visionaries represent the richness of Native storytelling, music, dance, and performance, all while amplifying the brilliance of Indigenous creativity.
Fellows will receive mentorship, funding, and professional development designed to support their artistic growth and align with cultural values. This program is part of First Peoples Fund’s commitment to empowering artists and expanding the Indigenous Arts Ecology.
Congratulations to the 2025 Fellows:
Brandi Berry Benson (Chickasaw)
Mark Billy (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)
Madeline Easley (Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma)
Kahara Hodges (Diné, Chicana)
Graci Horne (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate)
Anthony Hudson (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Siletz descendant)
Isabella Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians, Turtle Mountain Chippewa descendant)
Kaley Morrison (Waccamaw Siouan)
Ronee Penoi (Laguna Pueblo, Cherokee)
Rosy Simas (Seneca Nation)
Adrian Thomas (Akimel O’odham)
Christina Thomas (Numu, Newe, Hopi)
These artists are transforming Native performance arts and carrying forward the collective spirit of their communities. Read More: https://bit.ly/4g15l4h.
Rosy Simas Bio:
Rosy Simas | Seneca Nation | ART FORM/MEDIUM | About: Nya:weh Sgeno. Dewadosö:h ni:’ gya:söh neh ögwë’ö:we:ka:’Rosy Simas ni:’ gya:söh neh ga:nyö’öka:’Onödowag’ga:’ niwagöëdzo’dë:h Ne’neh jo:negade:gas ne’hoh ga’da:gësgë:ö’ nidwage:nöh Ne’koh neh agedaë’ö:ga:’Mni Sota Makoce tknö:ge’Dewadosö:h is my Seneca name. Rosy Simas is my English name. I am Seneca from Burning Springs at Cattaraugus Reservation. I am Heron clan. I live in Minneapolis.I am a transdisciplinary and dance artist. My knowledge of my family and lineage is the underpinning of my relationship to culture and history—stored in my body—expressed through my work—of moving people, images, and objects I make for stage and installation.My work weaves personal and collective identity themes with family, sovereignty, equality, and healing. My dance works include “she who lives on the road to war,” “Weave,” “Skin(s),” and “We Wait in the Darkness,” which have toured throughout Turtle Island.My installations have been exhibited at the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center, All My Relations Arts, SOO Visual Arts, and Weisman Art Museum.I am a Doris Duke Artist (2023), United States Artists Fellow (2022), McKnight Foundation Choreography Fellow (2016, 2022), Dance/USA Fellow (2018), a Joyce Awardee (2018), Guggenheim Creative Arts Fellow (2015), and Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Choreography Fellow (2013). My other accolades include a NACF SHIFT award and multiple awards from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the MAP Fund, and the National Performance Network.I am currently an artist in residence (2024–2026) at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
