Patsy Phillips

Patsy Phillips (Cherokee Nation) has elevated contemporary Indigenous arts through her decades of leadership and involvement in three major organizations: ATLATL, the National Service Organization for Native American Art, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), and 18 years at the helm of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), an iconic Santa Fe museum, and a standard-bearer for global Indigenous art.

Under Phillips’ guidance, MoCNA became a leader in shifting the national narrative and in moving the dialogue about contemporary Indigenous arts from the past to the present. A significant achievement during her tenure was MoCNA's accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) awarded the museum accreditation for the first time in 2019; the recognition placed MoCNA within the one percent of all museums in the United States. MoCNA’s visitors ranked the museum as the top third art museum in the country in USA Today Readers’ Choice, and it ranked in the top 10 for three consecutive years. Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott recognized the museum as one of “286 Teams Empowering Voices the World Needs to Hear.” The Ford Foundation selected MoCNA as one of 20 Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations known as “America’s Cultural Treasures.”

In 2025, Forbes “50 Over 50” recognized Phillips as one of the powerful women making monumental strides in society through their initiatives and leadership. The relationships she developed with funders and foundations have empowered MoCNA to contribute to Indigenous scholarship by sponsoring publications, including Manifestations: New Native Art Criticism; Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology; Making History, Indigenous Futurisms, and more.

Phillips retired in summer 2026 and remains active in the museum field serving on the board of directors of the AAM and the International Council of Museums.