Indigenous people have always created what colonial language labels art. Yet there is no Native word for "art" as defined in a Euro-American sense. Art, as the dominant culture envisions, is mostly ornamental. This is in sharp juxtaposition to a Native perspective, which sees art as integrative, inclusive, practical, and constantly evolving. There is no past or present terminology that can define tribal art. In this article, tribal college faculty and artists meditate on the meaning of tradition and the inherent utilitarianism in American Indian art.