TAHLEQUAH – SkasdiCon Vol. III continues to draw a crowd for lovers of pop culture fandoms.
In its third year, it has seen a venue change due to growth that organizers hope will continue into the future. The Nov. 9 event took place at the Chota Center at Cherokee Casino Tahlequah. It was previously at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.
“It has grown as we expected it to, and so we needed a little more space. We were able to expand the vendor booths. We were able to set up the screening tent this year and feature some of that stuff as well. We hope to continue doing those things and growing it even more,” Callie Chunestudy, Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism cultural programs and events project manager, said.
With growth comes more vendors and experiences. Chunestudy said last year there were approximately 50 vendors and this year more than 60 were in attendance.
One of those vendors was Cherokee Nation citizen Kimberly Baker who showcases her love of nature, bright colors and various fandoms in her art.
“I absolutely love events like this. I get to look at everybody else’s artwork and see what everybody else has been up to,” Baker said.
It was also Baker’s goal to not only get more art into people’s hands but to raise money for the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center while doing so. According to the center’s website, they serve “the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) and allied community.”
“The other thing I want to add is it’s really important to me to get art in the hands of people that want to collect art. I’ve priced all of my items that aren’t already with a price tag $10 each,” Baker said. “I’m donating 25% of all my sales to the (Dennis R. Neill) Oklahoma Equality Center. It’s very important for me to support things that mirror my values.”
Baker raised $171 for the center. To view Baker’s art, find her on Instagram @kimbakerartwork and on Facebook.
Semurai Designs was also in attendance with freshly painted kicks, wallets and more. The business is composed of brothers Chris and Jeremy Thompson, and the two have been painting shoes for about 18 years.
“We go under the name Semurai Designs, which is an amalgamation of Samurai; we’re Japanese and Seminole,” Chris said. “We just kind of started painting shoes. I would say, probably like the last three years, it’s really picked up.”
Some of their designs, Chris said, have landed on the feet of celebrities such as Ralph Macchio, Tom Hanks and Sterlin Harjo as well as several cast members from “Reservation Dogs.”
Being able to bring art to life through footwear is “everything” to the brothers, Chris said.
“It’s everything to us. We love sneaker culture, we love pop culture, we love Native culture, and it’s just a way for us to just really put all that into one thing,” he said.
To view Semurai Designs’ art, find them on Instagram @semuraidesigns and on Facebook.
Aside from getting to take in art, Chunestudy said there was also a screening tent were various Native films and projects were showcased.
Those screenings included the Amazon Prime and Cherokee Film “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series dubbed in Cherokee where viewers saw the series premiere of the new project before it goes live in spring 2025; Joseph Erb’s “Rabbit Stories;” as well as the screening of the short film “Mary Margaret Road Grader,” which was produced by George R.R. Martin and Elias Gallegos and written and directed by Steven Paul Judd and is based off a short story written by Howard Waldrop.
After the screening of “Mary Margaret Road Grader,” Chunestudy said cast members Martin Sensmeier, Crystle Lightning, Dallin Maybee, Gallegos and Judd did a Q&A panel as well as an autograph signing.
SkasdiCon Vol. III also offered a cosplay competition and various panels.
One of the panels showcased United Wrestling Entertainment talking about the impact of professional wrestling in Indian Country.
“It’s so amazing being a part of something of this magnitude,” Cherokee Nation citizen Brad Eubanks founder and current UWE champion said.
A highlight of SkasdiCon, Chunestudy said, is being able to bring “Native creativity to the forefront.”
“SkasdiCon really is like a melding of the generations,” she said. “I’m Gen X, and we grew up with this pop culture, maybe not necessarily seeing the representation of like Native culture but … bringing that for our youth to see, for our communities to see, for everyone to celebrate … is just thrilling to me. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
