When the Grass Dances, an acrylic portrait of Siksika contemporary men’s grass dancer Tyrone Sitting Eagle from 22-year-old artist Dayna Loepp, has been selected as the basis for the 2026 Calgary Stampede Poster.

Loepp’s work shows Sitting Eagle in motion, as he competed during the 2024 Calgary Stampede Pow Wow.

The vibrant colours of his regalia, along with his family’s design are featured prominently in the portrait—something that Stuart O’Connor, President and Chair of the Calgary Stampede Board reflected the long-standing relationship between the Stampede and Indigenous groups in Alberta.

“Elbow River Camp has been an integral part of the Calgary Stampede since 1912, when families from the local First Nations first journeyed to Calgary and set up camp to participate in the inaugural Stampede. The 2026 Poster’s tribute to First Nations artistry at the Stampede Powwow is a powerful reflection of this enduring relationship and a reminder that language, culture and tradition remain at the core of the Stampede,” he said.

Being selected as the subject for the portrait work, and also to be the face of the 2026 Stampede Poster while showing his family’s display was meaningful, said Sitting Eagle.

“I grew up watching my grandpa dancing with it, and I watched my dad dance with it, and it’s now that I’m travelling around all over, all over, dancing with it, and it’s pretty awesome,” he said.

“I was really excited to just actually be able to get painted. I always go to the BMO Center [during the Stampede], and I always like to check out some of the paintings there and just see the poster. So, it was actually really cool just to be able to get painted … I’ve never been in a portrait before.”

Loepp said seeing Sitting Eagle dance at the Elbow River Camp was the inspiration to create a work featuring him.

“When I moved to Calgary just three years ago, I was stumbling upon the Stampede grounds because I moved across the street by accident, and I was really drawn into the crowds. But then I found myself at Elbow River Camp at the opening ceremonies, and that first day is when I experienced the powwow,” she said.

“I was not only very personally touched, but it just seems like such a big part, and I also see how people love it as well. So that’s why I wanted to create a piece of work about it.”

Third time’s the charm for poster contest winner

That experience led to Loepp collaborating with Sitting Eagle on the portrait that would eventually be submitted to the Stampede Poster Contest—her third time submitting to the youth poster contest.

“A lot of my creative process really involves doing things that are original and haven’t been done before, so I was actually a little bit shocked when it hadn’t. I hadn’t seen this topic of grass dancing and hoop dancing in particular, so that was part of the big reason to do something new. It’s also such an important part of Stampede,” she said.

“I wanted to do something that we hadn’t seen in any of the youth posters. It had a personal connection for myself, as well as just the images that I saw. While watching videos, it’s just so beautiful to see, and I wanted the challenge of trying to capture that in a static image. Like, how can I really depict so much movement and depth and knowledge and art?”

The poster, said both Loepp and Sitting Eagle, would hopefully encourage more people to experience the powwow at the Stampede.

“The Stampede really makes you feel like a Calgarian and makes you feel at home. I want people to experience that, and that’s what it means to me in that work,” she said.

Loepp was the eighth youth artist to design the Calgary Stampede poster since the poster contest began in 2018. As a 2026 winner, she received a $10,000 Dustin Peers Memorial Scholarship.

Her work will be on display at the SAM Centre until Oct. 14, alongside the seven artworks previously selected as poster contest winners.

The Stampede is now accepting entries for the 2027 Calgary Stampede poster contest, with entries accepted from youth aged 15 through 24 until Dec. 5, 2025.