Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation previews Morning Star Indian Village; opening planned for 2026

Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation and park leaders presented plans for Morning Star Indian Village, a new interpretive and performance area intended to honor Plains tribes and expand educational access beyond the 10-day festival.

Affie Ellis, a Cheyenne resident and foundation board member, told the council the project grew from volunteers’ observations about existing conditions in the Indian village—insufficient shade, inadequate restroom and vendor facilities, poor drainage because the village sits at the lowest part of the park, and limited ADA accessibility. Ellis said donors encouraged the group to "dream bigger" and that organizers worked with dancers and volunteers to identify priorities.

Renee Middleton, executive director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation, said Morning Star Indian Village will be "a one-of-a-kind living experience honoring the tribes of the American Plains" and described features organizers plan to build: a Sunken Dance Arbor terraced and shaded to seat up to 800 guests for dance demonstrations and interpretive programming; vendor booths for authentic crafts; commissioned murals and interpretive signage; an herb garden highlighting native plants and their traditional uses; and three stages for music, oral histories and demonstrations. Middleton said the village will include QR codes to provide oral histories and videos and that volunteers and staff are digitizing archival oral-history recordings for the project.

Tom Hersey, CEO of Cheyenne Frontier Days, said the foundation has located the new village adjacent to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum to create a cultural center year-round. He told the council the project "is gonna be a big feather in the cap for Cheyenne, Wyoming" and said construction will pause during the annual show and resume afterward. Organizers said the new village is planned to open for the 2026 season.

Tribal consultation and cultural oversight: Middleton and other organizers said they created an education committee, hired tribal cultural consultants and have sought tribal input. Middleton said the project has worked closely with the two Wyoming tribes and tribal members who could participate, and that consultants with tribal expertise and dancers were directly engaged to ensure cultural appropriateness. "We have really focused closely with the two tribes located in Wyoming," Middleton said, adding organizers "have made every effort to make sure that we have reached out particularly to our tribes and their involvement."

Year-round programming and interpretation: presenters said many interpretive elements—the herb garden, murals, plaque text and QR-linked oral histories—are intended to support off-season visitation and school programming. Project leaders said oral-history cassette recordings (organizers cited more than 200 tapes) are being digitized so visitors can access elder narratives via QR codes. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens will contribute expertise on native plants and the herb garden, the presenters said.

Construction impacts and logistics: presenters told the council construction for the new facility has already begun and that building the new village will reduce available on-site parking. Tom Hersey estimated the project will eliminate about 250 parking spaces during construction; organizers said they will encourage use of Park & Ride shuttles and other parking options during the festival to reduce pressure. The existing Indian village will be demolished after this year’s show; presenters said parts of the site will be reworked to recapture parking and improve ingress/egress.

Other details: presenters said the project includes improved vendor facilities and accessibility features, and that the volunteer statue has been relocated and that the "dream catcher" sculpture will be part of the new village. Councilmembers asked specifically whether all eight Plains tribes referenced in the project's narrative had been involved; Middleton said outreach focused most intensively on the two Wyoming tribes and that the education committee and cultural consultants were advising the project.

Next steps: presenters said construction will continue after the upcoming show and that they will continue outreach and education planning. Organizers described the overall intention as both preserving cultural traditions and creating an educational site that can be used beyond the festival days for school groups and off-season visitors.