Skip to content
Travel Portland Logo

The Official Guide to Portland

  • Attractions
    • View All Attractions
    • Top Things to Do
    • Museums & History
    • Parks & Gardens
    • Family Friendly
    • Shopping
    • On a Budget
    • MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • View All Culture
    • Arts
    • Beer
    • Biking
    • Cannabis
    • Cultural Communities
    • Craft Spirits
    • Food
    • Makers
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Outdoors
    • Sports
    • Weird
    • Wine
    • MORE CULTURE
  • Neighborhoods
    • View All Neighborhoods
    • Alberta Arts District
    • Belmont
    • Central Eastside
    • Division/Clinton
    • Downtown
    • Hawthorne
    • Lloyd
    • Mississippi
    • Northwest / Nob Hill
    • Old Town Chinatown
    • Pearl District
    • St. Johns
    • Sellwood-Moreland
    • Williams
    • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • View All Region
    • Near the City
    • Columbia River Gorge
    • Mount Hood
    • Oregon Coast
    • Willamette Valley
    • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan
    • View All Plan
    • Maps
    • Where to Stay
    • Tours & Itineraries
    • Transportation
    • When to Visit
    • Plan a Meeting
  • Events
Primary Menu Events Near Me
  • Attractions
    • View All Attractions
    • Top Things to Do
    • Museums & History
    • Parks & Gardens
    • Family Friendly
    • Shopping
    • On a Budget
    • MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • View All Culture
    • Arts
    • Beer
    • Biking
    • Cannabis
    • Cultural Communities
    • Craft Spirits
    • Food
    • Makers
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Outdoors
    • Sports
    • Weird
    • Wine
    • MORE CULTURE
  • Neighborhoods
    • View All Neighborhoods
    • Alberta Arts District
    • Belmont
    • Central Eastside
    • Division/Clinton
    • Downtown
    • Hawthorne
    • Lloyd
    • Mississippi
    • Northwest / Nob Hill
    • Old Town Chinatown
    • Pearl District
    • St. Johns
    • Sellwood-Moreland
    • Williams
    • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • View All Region
    • Near the City
    • Columbia River Gorge
    • Mount Hood
    • Oregon Coast
    • Willamette Valley
    • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan
    • View All Plan
    • Maps
    • Where to Stay
    • Tours & Itineraries
    • Transportation
    • When to Visit
    • Plan a Meeting
  • Events

Sean Aaron Cruz 1000 Nations

Visit website
Jim Pepper\'s saxophone at the National Museum of the American Indian.
i
Jim Pepper’s saxophone at the National Museum of the American Indian.
Credit: Avie Schnieder
Portland Events / Summer in Portland

The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival

An annual festival honors this local Native American musician.

Editor's Pick
Updated Nov. 18, 2019 1 min read

Sean Aaron Cruz 1000 Nations

Editor's Pick
Northeast
This is a recurring event and we’re showing the details from its most recent past occurrence. We’ll update this page with future event info as soon as we get it. Please check back!
When
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019
Free
Where
Parkrose High School
12003 N.E. Shaver St.
Portland, OR 97220

Who is Jim Pepper?

A smiling man holding a saxaphone
Jim Pepper

Jim Pepper (1941–1992), who was of Kaw/Creek heritage, grew up in Portland. His Kaw Indian name Hunga-che-ada translates to Flying Eagle. He became a tenor and soprano saxophone player, composer and bandleader of international significance, creating a unique, innovative body of work that continues to inspire and influence musicians and attract audiences across the United States, throughout Indian Country, and Europe.

Founded in 2013 to increase access to music education and honor this remarkable musician’s legacy, the Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival is held at Parkrose High School in late summer.

His song “Witchi Tai To” is the only song based upon a Native American chant to break into the Top 40. He is one of the very few saxophonists in history to create an unmistakable original “sound” on the instrument. His compositions have drawn the interest of major composers the world over, including David Amram and Gunther Schuller, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Jim Pepper’s tenor saxophone is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of the American Indian, and among his many honors are his induction into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

Related

Center for Native American Art

The Portland Art Museum's Center for Contemporary Native Art showcases the work of modern-day Native American artists.

Read more

The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival

Founded in 2013 to increase access to music education and honor this remarkable musician’s legacy, Jim PepperFest: The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival is held at Parkrose High School in late summer. The festival returns Sept. 28, 2019.

Featuring daytime and evening festivities, the free event celebrates Native American culture and Jim Pepper’s musical legacy. The festival is open to the public and takes place outdoors with dancing on the lawn and Mount Hood views.

Cultural Communities, Festivals, Music

Native American Community

Learn about Oregon's Native American culture and history through these collections and institutions.

Read more

Visitor Information

1-888-503-3291
503-427-1372
visitorinfo@travelportland.com

Visitor Center

877 SW Taylor St.
Director Park
Portland, Oregon
Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Visitor’s Guide

Get the Guide

Newsletter Signup

Get your monthly guide to Portland's events, attractions and news.

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Information For

Local Businesses
Media
Meeting Planners
Travel Industry Professionals
Event Organizers

Brought to you by

Travel Portland Logo

We are a promoter and steward of this evolving city and its progressive values, which have the power to transform the travelers who visit us.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Español
  • Français
  • Deutsch
  • 日本語
  • 汉语
  • 漢語
  • 한국어
Copyright © 2019 Travel Portland
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Copyright Policy
Visit The USA Logo