Amerindian Arts Native American News & Information

Zuni Carver Jeff Tsalabutie, in memoriam

2009-06-28T17:49:00.003-05:00

Native American arts daily news, presented by
amerindianarts.us

Headlines, exhibits, powwows listed below: (access past headline archives for 2004-2006 here)

Jeff Tsalabutie, in memoriam

Zuni artist Jeff Tsalabutie died tragically in a truck accident on June 22, 2009, in Arizona. Jeff was one of the premier contemporary fetish carvers from the Zuni Pueblo. He had the rare ability to give a stone carving a personality that would speak to you in volumes. Balancing acts and dancing bears, he had an exceptional talent for revealing the spirit in the stone while giving you a glimpse of his own free spirit and attitude on aesthetic license.

I had known Jeff since the late 90s and for the last few years we had scouted and ran point for each other every February at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, searching for unique stones for carvings. He was intent as an artist to experience new materials and find the best stones for his carvings, always being conscientious towards providing his patrons with quality work and a unique experience that he could share with them. I regret that I will never be able to share that experience with him again.

An Outstanding young man and exceptional artist he will be missed immensely.

Idyllwild Summer Arts Program

Native American Arts Festival, will take place July 12-18

"More than Fry Bread"

Residents audition for role in American Indian movie

See full article

Saving Native American languages

Some 40 languages, mainly in California and Oklahoma, where thousands of Indians were forced to relocate as part of the notorious 19th Century Trail of Tears, have fewer than 10 native speakers.

See full article

Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of the American Indian Awarded Accreditation by the American Association of Museums

See full article

Iroquois Indian Museum exhibition “Native Americans in the Performing Arts: From Ballet to Rock and Roll.”

Start Date: March 30, 2009 - End Date: December 31, 2009
Location: Iroquois Indian Museum Howes Cave, N.Y.
Phone: (518) 296-8949

iroquoismuseum.org

DVD- American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn (2005)

Narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning Native American writer Scott Momaday, "Last Stand at Little Big Horn" is an examination of Custer's last stand from the viewpoints of the Lakota Sioux and the white settlers. The film is a collaboration of Native American novelist James Welch (Winter in the Blood, The Indian Lawyer) and white filmmaker Paul Stekler (Eyes on the Prize).

Order American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn

Recent Books of Interest

''Canyon Gardens: The Ancient Pueblo Landscapes of the American Southwest (University of New Mexico Press: 2006). Editors V.B. Price and Baker H. Morrow have assembled 15 essays on the millennium-old Puebloan landscape.

"Being Lakota", Book by Larissa Petrillo

"American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", Book by George Horse Capture

Spokane artist George Flett, well kown for his depictions of ledger art, announcing forthcoming book "The Ledger Art of George Flett"

Po'pay, Leader of the First American Revolution, Clear Light Publishing, 2006, new book by Herman Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh)

Zuni fetish updates from Amerindian Arts

Stewart Quandelacy, 4-6-2009, rare turtle carving
Chad Quandelacy, 4-4-2009, corn maiden pendants
Stewart Quandelacy, 4-4-2009, long necks and medicine bear pendants
Jeff Tsalabutie, 3-25-2009, an elephant, dancing bear, fox, frog, and a squirrel
Todd Westika, 3-23-2009, buffaloes, bears, and a bobcat
Stewart Quandelacy, 3-23-2009, various carvings
Chad Quandelacy, 3-23-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Stewart Quandelacy, 3-8-2009, various carvings
Todd Poncho, 2-19-2009, horse carvings
Albenita Yuni, 2-19-2009, various carvings
Brion Hattie, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Burt Awelagte, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Stuart Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Chad Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Jeff Tsalabutie, 2-15-2009, various carvings
Stewart Quandelacy, 2-15-2009, Mother of pearl buffaloes
Ernie Mackel, 2-15-2009, lions, horses, wolves, and geese
Jayne Quam, 2-13-2009, howling coyotes, various carvings
Brian Yuni, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Peter Gasper, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lena Boone, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Faye Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, cornmaidens
Avery Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lynn Quam, 2-13-2009, bears, buffaloes
Prudentia Quam and Vernon Lunasee, 2-13-2009, lions, bears, and horses
Claudia Peina, 2-13-2009, corn maidens and bears
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, frogs
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, bird fetish pendant
Andres Quandelacy, 2-3-2009, Zuni horse pendant and lion pendant
Dee Edaakie, 2-3-2009, ivory stone marble bears, lapis lion
Stewart Quandelacy and Priscilla Lasiloo, 2-2-2009, Zuni medicine bear fetish pendants and earrings, turquoise horse pendant
Duane Dishta, 2-2-2009, Kachina paintings
Albert Eustace, 2-2-2009, bear carvings
Herbert Him, 2-2-2009, bear and buffalo
Kateri Sanchez, 2-2-2009, corn maidens
Todd Westika, 2-2-2009, howling coyotes, bears, wolves
Todd Westika, 12-29-2008, bears, buffaloes
Jeff Tsalabutie, 11-28-2008, various carvings
Priscilla Lasiloo, 11-26-2008, lapis, rhodocrosite bears
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-31-2008, corn maidens
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-30-2008, Zuni mother of pearl butterfly maiden fetish pendants
Prophet's Rock, All new listings for 8-22-2007

Sentiments of Frank Hamilton Cushing and others on the Church and State, Zuni, and Assimilation

2009-05-23T04:02:00.005-05:00

The following is evidenced for the most part based upon the research of others who had the opportunity to study the Zuni first-hand prior to the phenomenal acculturation that transpired in the last half of the twentieth century. It is also the introduction, or prelude, to a larger work concerning Cushing's notion of being (ontology) in the Zuni culture in contrast to Ruth Bunzel's analytic approach and accusations of Cushing's "metaphysical glossings" in his writings.

These writings may then be termed as dated or archaic in regard to certain aspects of the Zuni culture. To whatever extent that may be true, it is also true that the Zuni have resisted the offerings of the colonial cultures which sought to conquer them and which have been, as Frank Hamilton Cushing noted over a century previous, "as aught against the enduring genius of that ancient tongue and tone, and the philosophies and creeds framed in them a thousand years ago." (Green 1979: 175)

To that extent, the Zuni remain one of the most unique cultures on earth.

The plural inflection of the term "culture" as a signification of a set of customs and values relative to a certain group of people as a coherent entity in itself is a usage in anthropology which is wholly attributable to Cushing, and was distinct from the Victorian employment as an absolute which was current among his colleagues. The influence upon Cushing by the English anthropologist E.B. Tylor(1) on this matter is not disputed, but Tylor’s employment of the term "culture" was limited to a "concept of culture as accumulated customs" and he had "little or no sense of cultural pluralism…of cultural relativism, or of cultures as integrated coherent units." (Mark 1976: 466-467) The determinates of cultural plurality or relativism were notions added later by Cushing when he suggested "that a society is perhaps structured around what he called a guiding "Idea."" (Mark 1976: 468) As Mark indicates, Cushing's idea of cultures was reflected in the writings of his journalist friend, Sylvester Baxter. It was Baxter who referred to Cushing as the father of the Zuni Kultur in his article "The Father of the Pueblos," originally published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1882, "indicating Baxter's awareness of the German origin and meaning of the term "culture" as Tylor and now Cushing were using it – as customs in general, not refinement and cultivation." (Mark, Ibid.)

That Cushing was also familiar with the German culture and language is evident, but to what extent he was knowledgeable in this area is uncertain. However, his conceptualization of the Zuni society and philosophy and the terminology he used to describe it bears an uncanny resemblance to that implemented in Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. If Cushing had read this work it would have been in Kant's native German. Even if he had only secondary knowledge of the work it would explain his use of the terminology which was instrumental in Kant's explanation of the distinction between semblance (Schein) and the appearance (Erscheinung)(2) and his discussion of the confusion and conflict of subject and object in regard to primal thought as analogous to motive as a practical (moral) matter. This information can, for the most part, be found on a single page of the above title. (Kant 1798: 22)

The pragmatic point of view is that while morality is absolutely universal and a metaphysical body of moral principles must be a priori, the anthropologist can only deal with practical knowledge as an empirical science and therefore in anthropology there is no basis in the strict a priori for morality to become a science.

The anthropologist can, intensively and comparatively, analyze a culture, but a culture?s morality in particular cannot be a science of its own accord. A moral anthropology can only contain the subjective conditions in human nature which represent only that which is not attained because there can be no precepts founded upon a priori principles. (Kant 1797: 17) In other words, precepts are simple semblances of absolutes and are therefore "accidental." (See Cushing, 1966) It is the intent of the anthropologist then to analyze a group of people in its own terms as a culture in itself; yet explanation of the accidental dictates that absolutes must be kept in view, at least for the purpose of comparison. The accidental can only be accidental in contrast to universal. Since the absolute may also be grounded to a degree in the subjectivity of the observer, no culture can be considered as absolute. This is, in essence, the very spirit of Kultur. It was Cushing's belief that the culture of the Zuni was driven by the "Idea" and that it was completely self-determined.

Cushing's sentiments in regard to previous attempts at assimilation of the Zuni are opposed by several schools of thought. Andrew Knaut points out in his essay the school which is representative of Robert Ricard’s work La "Conquête Sprituelle" du Mexique (1933). This work is based upon the assumption that the success of the Spanish military virtually eliminated the pre-contact religion of the Pueblos and as a "classic interpretation" is one "of Pueblo-Spanish cultural interaction as one of complete native submission to the perceived superiority of a new faith promoted by European military might." (Knaut 1995: 54, 199 n.1) Knaut also specifies the school of thought where the Pueblo and Catholic belief systems merged into a synthesis which is practiced contemporaneously in the Pueblos (Ibid 53) and this view "permeates much of the anthropological work on the American Southwest." (Ibid, 200 n.2)

Knaut's position however is that in the first instance the Pueblos sought military protection, most notably from the nomadic Athapaskan groups, and were forced into the acceptance of Christian baptism primarily for this reason as well as the avoidance of hunger, for the Spanish had control of scarce resources and trade routes. This did not, however, prevent the Pueblos from practicing their rituals behind the "closed doors of native ceremonial chambers." (Ibid, 54) It is, in fact, these clandestine practices that are ignored by adherence to a view that contemporary Pueblo religious practices are a synthesis, "for such a perspective ignores the fact that…to engage in traditional ceremonies and practices behind a façade of Christian piety thus took on a deadly seriousness for those dedicated to preserving the old ways." (Ibid, 55) If there was a synthesis then perhaps there would be no motive for clandestine practices.

Knaut presents the thesis that the long time conflict between the colonial church and state provided many opportunities for the Pueblo traditionalists to continue the old ways. In the efforts of the state to maintain power over the church the natives were allowed to continue the old ways as the church was held in abeyance. The natives simply bided their time until the balance of power between the "Francescan missionaries, the bureaucratic authorities appointed by the crown, and the permanent settlers" deteriorated as a result of denunciation, accusation and greed, and these factors eventually discredited one another. It was the Pueblos who had everything to gain from the tension between the church and state.

Knaut's thesis is supportive of Cushing and the notion that it was the volition of Zuni to remain determinedly Zuni. Prior to 1924 the church and state within the Zuni Pueblo was indistinguishable. The only noticeable factions were the Catholic and Protestant appellations with the majority of the population being Zuni. When Frederick Hodge received permission in 1923 to photograph the Shalako from the progressives, or anti-Catholic faction, the Catholics opposed. This conservative faction and their opposition to outside interference clearly supports the notion that Roman Catholicism was accepted in the Pueblo in order to protect the natives from other European religions. The façade of Catholicism allows the natives to discreetly practice their "idolatry." (Eggan)

Other schools have advanced their thoughts on possible influences or the lack of influences as well. The Book of Mormon lectures by Nibley assert that the Spanish found Old and New Testament teachings pre-existing in the Pueblo rituals.

This is contrasted by the writings of Nancy Davis in The Zuni Enigma, a presentation of a distinctively Eastern, most likely Buddhist influence on the Zuni philosophy and religion and the claims of linguistic (3) and physical evidence. There are examples of pictorial symbolism of the Zuni and their possible religious significance and origins. Davis specifies the rosette (hepa’kinne) and its resemblance to the turning wheel of dharma in the Buddhist tradition whereas other anthropologists and ethnologists point to possible European origins where it was assimilated by the Zuni from Catholic alter cloths (4) . This symbol has also however, been recorded as decorations on St. John's polychrome which is in all probability pre-contact. There is also the resemblance of a set of Salado earrings (5) , c. 1200, which bear a strong resemblance to a Buddhist wheel of becoming. (Cerillo 1992: 11, plate 5)

It is unlikely that the Zuni, even in consideration of their remote western position in relation to the mainstream Spanish contact area of the eastern Pueblos, remained completely unaffected by the outside contact prior to Cushing's residency. But Cushing nonetheless detected a certain purity and in a letter to Frederick Ward Putnam, the director of Harvard's Peabody Museum, expressed his concern that the study of the Zuni could not be accomplished in a lifetime, but a lifetime was also too long a period of time for the study given his opinion that in the midst of vast acculturation the tribe and its culture would disappear. (Green 1990: 304) One can surmise the sense of urgency when he abandoned the tent he shared with Smithsonian photographer John Hillers and took up residence in the pueblo of the Zuni governor. (Cushing 1882)

Cushing was not a philosopher, but his participatory method and ability to understand the Zuni as "their own best interpreter" and his capacity to literally "translate the mind of the Zuni" (Green 1990, later quote from Alice Fletcher) enabled him to gain insights the value of which can be assessed as something more than merely "metaphysical glossings." It was his ambition to elucidate the primitive conception and polytheism, or at least to "record such facts as shall enable philosophers to do this." (Green 1990: 304)

Post Script- This essay was written as an introuduction to another essay regarding Bunzel remarking on Frank Hamilton Cushing's Zuni notes as "metaphysical glossings". Ruth Bunzel's analytic method and tendency to translate Zuni literally seems to reduce it to a body of folklore that left the Zuni mythology vaporous. It is a stark contrast to Cushing's interpretation of the Zuni's ontology, or concept of being, which gave substance to a complex hierarchy of "made being". To be published in future posts.

Notes

1) Primitive Culture (London, 1871), and Researches into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization (London, 1865)

2) These terms have been translated variously; Schein as "illusion" or "appearance" and Erscheinung as "phenomenon."

3) In Japanese, for example, anyone seeking enlightenment through vows to save all sentient beings is bosatsu. The Zuni name for the Ne-we-kwe, the highest of priests, is Bitsitsu. The phoneme 'b' is rare in Zuni. Bunzel, in several places, refers to bitsulia as the Zuni term for "circle". Newman’s orthography for "circle" is pizulliya. (1958) Bitsu is a term Davis cites for Buddha.

4) Matilda Stevenson proposes the sunflower as the source, and Bunzel seems to take this for granted. (Bunzel 1929:53)

5) These earrings resemble spoked wagon wheels, an object which is undoubtedly not what they were fashioned after.

References

Bunzel, Ruth L. The Pueblo Potter: A Study of Creative Imagination in Primitive Art. New York: Dover, 1929

______. "Introduction to Zuni Ceremonialism," (1932a); "Zuni Origin Myths," (1932b); "Zuni Ritual Poetry," (1932c). In Forty-Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Pp. 467-835. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1932. Reprint, Zuni Ceremonialism: Three Studies. Introduction by Nancy Pareto. University of New Mexico Press, 1992.

______. "Zuni Katcinas: An Analytic Study," (1932d). Forty-Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Pp. 836-1086. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1932. Reprint, Zuni Katcinas: 47th Annual Report. Albuquerque: Rio Grande Classics, 1984.

______. Zuni Texts. Publications of the American Ethnological Society, 15. New York: G.E. Steckert & Co., 1933.

Cushing, Frank Hamilton. My Adventures in Zuni. 1882. Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 1999 reprint.

______. "Zuni Fetishes". Second Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1880-1881. Pp. 3-45. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. Reprint, KC Publications, 1966.

Davis, Nancy Yaw. The Zuni Enigma. Norton, 2000.

Eggan, Fred and T.N. Pandey. "Zuni History, 1855-1970." In Handbook of North American Indians, Southwest,. Vol. 9. Ed. by Alfonso Ortiz. Pp. 474-481. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1979.

Green, Jesse, ed. Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1979.

______. Cushing at Zuni: The Correspondence and Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing, 1879-1884. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990.

Kant, Immanuel. Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View, 1798. Trans., Mary J. Gregor. The Hague, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 1974.

Knaut, Andrew L. Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Norman, OK: University Oklahoma Press, 1995

Mark, Joan. "Frank Hamilton Cushing and an American Science of Anthropology." In Perspectives in American History. 10: 444-486, 1976.

Newman, Stanley. Zuni Dictionary. Indiana University Research Center Publication Six. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1958.

Nibley, Hugh W. Teachings of the Book of Mormon. Transcripts of lectures presented to an Honors Book of Mormon Class at Brigham Young University, 1988-1990. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1993.

Collecting Zuni Fetishes, the Changing Woman of the Navajo

2009-04-14T00:58:00.000-05:00

Native American arts daily news, presented by
amerindianarts.us

Headlines, exhibits, powwows listed below: (access past headline archives for 2004-2006 here)

Historical description of Zuni fetishes and collector's information

Zuni fetish carvings depict animals and reptiles such as the frog, turtle, buffalo, deer, ram, otter, and others. There are many more subjects of contemporary carvers that may include dinosaurs, for example, that would be considered non-traditional, or some insects and reptiles that are traditionally more integral to Zuni mythology and folklore, or to petroglyphs, symbolism, and the patterns of design in pottery, e.g. dragonflies and butterflies, water spiders, and lizards. There is also the corn maiden, a symbol of fertility and the hope of a good harvest. Other animals, such as the horse, ram, or sheep, were carved mainly for trade. The Zuni was not a horse culture but their horse carvings were considered by the Navajo and the horse cultures to the north as having great power for the protection of their herds. Each animal is believed to have inherent powers or qualities that may aid the owner. The Navajo, for example, treasured and bartered for figures of horses, sheep, cattle or goats to protect their herd from disease and to insure fertility.

Traditionally, the materials used by carvers were often indigenous to the region or procured by trade. The most important of these materials was turquoise, which is considered by the Zuni as the sacred stone. Jet, animal shell (primarily mother-of-pearl), and coral are also frequently used. These materials and their associated colors are principle in the Zuni sunface, a cultural symbol which is present in Zuni jewelry and fetish carvings and represents their sun father. It should be noted that different turquoise stones gained their name from the great peaks, or sacred mountains from which they are mined, while the other three principle materials of the Zuni sunface were at one time a living thing (See Zuni substance). The list of other materials used is extensive and includes Zuni rock, jaspers, pipestone, marbles, or organic items such as bone and deer or elk antler (there are some Zuni carvers that will not carve bone or antler, considering the practice as dangerous). Even artificial substances such as slag glass and casilica are used. In recent years Zuni carvings, or fetishes, have become popular collectibles and Zuni artisans have familiarized themselves with materials available from all parts of the world in order to serve the aesthetic tastes of collectors.

As a form of contemporary Native American art Zuni carvings are sold with non-religious intentions to collectors worldwide. The artist's styles are as unique as the artists themselves, and there are many whose works are highly sought after by collectors. Some collectors prefer a figure that is more realistic in appearance, while others prefer the more traditional styles that are intrinsic to Zuni belief. The traditional belief of the Zuni is that the least modification of the original material maintains, or heightens, the power of the fetish as a "natural concretion". Realism in carving style is a matter relative to the beliefs of its owner, and the realism in contemporary carving is a product of collector request and demand and the intent of Zuni carvers to raise the level of their art form through participation in the world of contemporary art. The enigma or apparent paradox relevant to Zuni belief and realism in art is resolved in the notion that carvings for sale and collection are produced without religious intent. For this reason some carvers prefer the term "carvings" rather than the term "fetishes" when referring to offerings for collectors.

A carving may be signed by the carver, or not. Personalization by signing a piece of art is a form of individualism that traditionally violates the Zuni notion of community purpose. Native American cultures in general traditionally viewed art objects as community property, and Native languages did not have a word translating to "art". The signing of artwork is a concept introduced to the Zuni by white collectors at the beginning of the twentieth century (ca. 1915) when artists began signing their paintings, and most Zuni carvers did not begin signing their carvings until the last part of the twentieth century. Often, though, a Zuni carver feels that their own unique style is readily identifiable and the fetish's style will be enough to identify the carver as surely as would any other mark. Some carvings are so intricate and small that it is impractical to sign it, and there always is the fear that the piece could be chipped, scratched, or otherwise damaged in the attempt. Most carvers are the recipients of a family tradition of style and have learned their skill from parents, grand parents, or siblings, and have passed the art to their own children as well.

Besides being made from various stones and other materials, the fetish may carry an offering of a smaller animal or a prayer bundle of carved arrowheads with small beads of heishe. It may be adorned with a heishe necklace, feathers, etchings representing ancient petroglyphs, or an etched or inlayed heartline representing the animal's Sa-ni-a-kia. These items are intended to protect and feed the fetish itself. In regard to feeding, it is believed from tradition that the Keeper of fetishes is required to feed a meal of cornmeal and ground turquoise periodically and provide the carving with access to water. Fetishes are often kept in and attached to clay pots adorned with ground turquoise. The corn maiden, an icon so important in Zuni mythology regarding fertility and a good harvest in an arid desert agricultural environment, is often portrayed holding a bowl of ground turquoise, sometimes trailing to the ground.

As far as describing the Zuni culture by the term "fetishism" it should, like any other culture, be considered carefully and as a matter of degree. According to modern anthropology's definition of "fetishism" every culture theoretically has its iconic worship of sacred things. As Cushing noted, to the Zuni a fetish is a "mediator" and represents the "roar of the animal". This is not a totemism or a strict fetishism as witnessed in, for example, some African cultures or Alaskan native tribes. The medicinal power of the fetish is a triadic relationship between the fetish, the owner, and Po-shai-an-kia. It is an idiosyncrasy shared by many cultures and as a matter of degree is always arguable..........Read the entire article here

PBS and Native American History

"The lack of historical storytelling about Native Americans is the best evidence I know to support the cynical cultural studies argument that history is merely the stories told by those who won the wars and hold the power."

See full article here

May 23-24, 2009:

Native Treasures - Presented by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Native Treasures features over 140 Native American artists who are specially invited by the museum to represent the best and brightest of the Indian art world. At the Santa Fe Convention Center.

Museum website

14th Annual 2009 Wildcat Powwow

Festival included variety of tribes, showcased Native American food, crafts

See full article here

Little Rock Museum explores state's Native American history

Describes the history of the tribes through Native American voices
See full article here

"Red Man's View," a Native American Story

Remake of the original 1909 silent "Red man's View" about the plight of a Native American tribe during the mid 1800's
See full article here

Susan Peterson, ceramics artist studied Native American potters, dies at 83

Susan Peterson, a ceramics artist, educator and writer who revealed the lives and techniques of Native American women potters of the Southwest
See full notice here

Joanne Shenandoah

One of the nation’s leading American Indian recording artists
See article here

Three Native American musical performers at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort the weekend of April 24 and 25.

Brulée and American Indian Rock Opera will take the stage at the Entertainment Hall on Friday, April 24

On Saturday, April 25, Crystal Shawanda and 2006 Grammy Award and Native American Music Academy Award winner Star Nayea will perform. Tickets for the April 24 show and the April 25 show are available through the Soaring Eagle Box Office or by calling 800-585-3737

To obtain current information

Idyllwild Summer Arts Program

Native American Arts Festival, will take place July 12-18

"More than Fry Bread"

Residents audition for role in American Indian movie

See full article

Saving Native American languages

Some 40 languages, mainly in California and Oklahoma, where thousands of Indians were forced to relocate as part of the notorious 19th Century Trail of Tears, have fewer than 10 native speakers.

See full article

Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of the American Indian Awarded Accreditation by the American Association of Museums

See full article

Iroquois Indian Museum exhibition “Native Americans in the Performing Arts: From Ballet to Rock and Roll.”

Start Date: March 30, 2009 - End Date: December 31, 2009
Location: Iroquois Indian Museum Howes Cave, N.Y.
Phone: (518) 296-8949

iroquoismuseum.org

Cherokee Chiefs

Changing Woman

Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] comes closest to being the personification of the earth [Nahasdzáán] and of the natural order of the universe [Yádihi Bii' Bi Haz'ánígíí] as to any other brief way of describing her. She represents the cyclical path of the seasons [nináhágháhígíí], birth (spring [daan dgo]), maturing (summer [sh shgo]), growing old (fall ['ak'eed]) and dying (winter [haigo]), only to be reborn again in the spring [daan dgo].

The birth of Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] was planned by First Man [Átsé hastiin] and First Woman [Átsé asdzáán]. First Man [Átsé hastiin] repeatedly held up his medicine bundle [jish] toward Gobernador Knob [Ch'óol''] at dawn [hayíík]. Somehow from this action Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] was born and found lying on top of Gobernador Knob [Ch'óol'']. She was found by Talking God [Haashch'éét'í] who was sent to investigate. First Man [Átsé hastiin] then presented her to the diyinii, saying that you could see that this is the child of the young man and young woman of exceeding beauty who themselves had arisen from the same medicine bundle to become the inner form of the earth.{*}

First Man [Átsé hastiin] raises and teaches Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé]. She grew from infancy to puberty in four [d] days, thus acquiring the name Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé]. This occasioned the first puberty ceremony. The Holy People [diyin diné] were called for and Talking God [Haashch'éét'í] officiated at the ceremony.

Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] was dressed in jewels (white shell [yoogaii], turquoise [doot'izhii], abalone [diichi] and jet [bááshzhinii]), blessed with pollen [tádídíín] from the dawn [hayíík] and from twilight [nahootsoii], and with “pollen” from many jewels and soft fabrics, symbolizing her control over these articles. After this blessing, her hair was bathed with dews [dahtoo'] and she was instructed to run toward the dawn [hayíík] as far as she could see and then to return. As she ran, her dress of jewels jingled. She repeated this for four [d] nights [t'éé]. On these days [j], when not involved in ceremonies, she occupied herself with planning for the future of the earth [nahasdzáán]. By the end of the ceremony she had made millstones [tsédaashjéé and tsédaashch'íní], a whisk broom [bee nahalzhoohí], pots ['ásaa']and stirring sticks [ídístsiin]. The songs that were sung for Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] as she ran are sung today for young women at their puberty ceremonies [kinaaldá].

At Changing Woman’s [Asdz nádleehé] next menstration another puberty ceremony was held, similar to the first. But at this ceremony other procedures for the future were defined. These decree that no menstruating woman shall be present at any ceremonial. The order of songs at future Blessingway [hózhójí] ceremonies was thus determined.

After this ceremony Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] would go outside and walk on the trail which had been prepared for her. One day at noon a strange man walked up to her and spoke to her. He said “Prepare yourself for something that is going to happen, after a while I will visit you.” This stranger was so dazzling that Changing Woman [Asdz& n nádleehé] had to look away. When she turned back, he was gone. She returned home and reported this encounter to First Woman [Átsé asdz] and First Man [Átsé hastiin]. It seems that First Man [Átsé hastiin] was expecting this occurence, which happened twice again. On the third time Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] was told to fix her bed outside, with her head to the east. When she fell asleep a young man came and lay beside her. This happened again and she asked who he was. He replied, “Don’t you know me? Didn’t you ever see me? Don’t you know that you see me all the time? It is I that takes care of all things, whatever there is on earth. I am the Sun’s inner form. In my very presence you came into being, in my presence you were put into shape, even I was among them!” He then indicated that First Man [Átsé hastiin] had directed him to do this. The next day she decided to bathe because the young man might visit her again.

While bathing the young man appeared again and with the collaboration of the dripping water impregnated Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé]. In nine [náhást'éí] days [j], twins were born to Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé]. These twins were to become Monster Slayer and Born for Water. These two [nakii] also grew in four [d] day [j] periods and in twelve [nakits'áadah] days [j] they were grown young men.

At this point Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] asked for and receives the medicine bundle [jish] that First Man [Átsé hastiin] had brought up from the previous worlds. She moves to a hooghan that was built for her at the base of Huerfano Mountain [Dzina'oodIII. Here she conducted the first wedding ceremony, the mating of corn. After this ceremony Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] leaves for the house that her sons have built for her, at the direction of their father, the Sun [Jóhonaa'éí], in the west ['e'e'aah], at or on the Pacific Ocean.

Here Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] grew lonely and created the Navajo People from skin rubbed off various parts of her body. The four [d] pairs of people created at this time are the ancestors of all Navajo today.

Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] also caused the abduction of the two children of Rock Crystal Talking God. They were taken to her house in the west ['e'e'aah] by way of a rainbow [nááts'íílid] and a sunbeam [shábit'óól]. Here they were taught the Blessingway [Hózhójí] ceremony. They returned home to teach the ceremony to all of their people (the original Navajos saw the ceremony being taught to these children). The diyinii all gathered to learn the ceremony and to construct the original Mountain Soil bundle, containing soil from each of the sacred mountains [dzi dadiyinígíí], with which the ceremony is still conducted. The Holy People then said that, after their departure from this ceremony, they would never be seen in person again but that their presence would be manifest in the sound of the wind [níyol], the feathers [ats'os] of an eagle ['atsá], in various birds [naat'a'gii], the growth of the corn [naad] and other aspects of the world surrounding the earth surface people.The two children who had been taught the Blessingway ceremony [Hózhójí] then departed to live with the Holy People.

{*} The parentage of Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] is described in several different ways by different informants; however these can be thought of as just different ways of saying the same thing. Some say that her father and mother are the Sky and the Earth. Others say her parents are sa’a naghái ashkii (boy) and bik’e hózh at’ééd (girl) as in this version. However the Sky is sometimes referred to as sa’a naghái and the Earth as bik’e hózh. In either case, Changing Woman is Earth’s child, the child of the Sky and the child of the mountain. As she was planned for by First Man [Átsé hastiin] and First Woman [Átsé asdz] and called forth by First Man [Átsé hastiin], she is also their child.

Keeper of Stories

DVD- American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn (2005)

Order American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn

Recent Books of Interest

"Being Lakota", Book by Larissa Petrillo

"American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", Book by George Horse Capture

Spokane artist George Flett, well kown for his depictions of ledger art, announcing forthcoming book "The Ledger Art of George Flett"

Po'pay, Leader of the First American Revolution, Clear Light Publishing, 2006, new book by Herman Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh)

Zuni fetish updates from Amerindian Arts

Stewart Quandelacy, 4-6-2009, rare turtle carving
Chad Quandelacy, 4-4-2009, corn maiden pendants
Stewart Quandelacy, 4-4-2009, long necks and medicine bear pendants
Jeff Tsalabutie, 3-25-2009, an elephant, dancing bear, fox, frog, and a squirrel
Todd Westika, 3-23-2009, buffaloes, bears, and a bobcat
Stewart Quandelacy, 3-23-2009, various carvings
Chad Quandelacy, 3-23-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Stewart Quandelacy, 3-8-2009, various carvings
Todd Poncho, 2-19-2009, horse carvings
Albenita Yuni, 2-19-2009, various carvings
Brion Hattie, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Burt Awelagte, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Stuart Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Chad Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Jeff Tsalabutie, 2-15-2009, various carvings
Stewart Quandelacy, 2-15-2009, Mother of pearl buffaloes
Ernie Mackel, 2-15-2009, lions, horses, wolves, and geese
Jayne Quam, 2-13-2009, howling coyotes, various carvings
Brian Yuni, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Peter Gasper, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lena Boone, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Faye Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, cornmaidens
Avery Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lynn Quam, 2-13-2009, bears, buffaloes
Prudentia Quam and Vernon Lunasee, 2-13-2009, lions, bears, and horses
Claudia Peina, 2-13-2009, corn maidens and bears
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, frogs
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, bird fetish pendant
Andres Quandelacy, 2-3-2009, Zuni horse pendant and lion pendant
Dee Edaakie, 2-3-2009, ivory stone marble bears, lapis lion
Stewart Quandelacy and Priscilla Lasiloo, 2-2-2009, Zuni medicine bear fetish pendants and earrings, turquoise horse pendant
Duane Dishta, 2-2-2009, Kachina paintings
Albert Eustace, 2-2-2009, bear carvings
Herbert Him, 2-2-2009, bear and buffalo
Kateri Sanchez, 2-2-2009, corn maidens
Todd Westika, 2-2-2009, howling coyotes, bears, wolves
Todd Westika, 12-29-2008, bears, buffaloes
Jeff Tsalabutie, 11-28-2008, various carvings
Priscilla Lasiloo, 11-26-2008, lapis, rhodocrosite bears
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-31-2008, corn maidens
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-30-2008, Zuni mother of pearl butterfly maiden fetish pendants
Prophet's Rock, All new listings for 8-22-2007

Historical description of Zuni fetishes and collector's information

2009-03-18T08:27:00.001-05:00

Native American arts daily news, presented by
amerindianarts.us

Headlines, exhibits, powwows listed below: (access past headline archives for 2004-2006 here)

Historical description of Zuni fetishes and collector's information

Zuni fetishes traditionally served a ceremonial purpose for their creators and depict animals and icons integral to their culture. According to the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology as submitted by Frank Hamilton Cushing in 1881, and posthumously published as "Zuni Fetishes" in 1966, the Zuni world is made up of six regions or directions. At the center of each region is a great mountain peak that is a very sacred place. Yellow mountain to the north, blue mountain to the west, red mountain to the south, white mountain to the east, the multi-colored mountain above, and the black mountain below.

Each direction is represented by a "Prey God", or guardian animal, and are listed by Cushing as follows: north - the yellow mountain lion, west - the Black Bear (represented by the color blue), south - the red badger, east - the white wolf, the sky or upper region - the multi-colored eagle, and the underground or lower region- the black mole. Each prey god is the "guardian and master" of their region with the yellow mountain lion being the elder brother of all animals and the master and guardian of all regions. Each one of these regions contains an order of the guardian animals, but the "guardian and master" of a particular region is the elder brother to all animals of that region. For example, the black bear is the guardian of the west and the elder brother of the prey god order in that region. These guardians are considered as having protective and healing powers. They are held by the priests of the medicine orders as if "in captivity" and act as mediators between the priests and the animals they represent. The Prey Gods are the "Makers of the Paths of Life". Medicinal powers emanate from them and their powers as mediators is given through their relationship to Po-shai-an-kia, the father of the medicine societies, the "Finisher of the Paths of Our Lives", the "auditor of the prayers".

A second group of fetishes, the "Prey Gods of the Hunt", belonging to the Hunter Order, or Society, are given in the "prayer songs of the Sa-ni-a-kia-kwe" (The Hunting Order). These guardian animals are the same as the original regions with the exception of the coyote, which replaces the bear; and the wildcat, which replaces the red badger. Sa-ni-a-kia is the power of the hunter; the voice, breath, and heart, of the animal, and represents its power over other animals. The Zuni hunter, or "Prey brother", was required to have his fetishes (prey gods of the hunt) with a custodian, or "Keeper", and practice a ceremony of worship when procuring a favorite or proper fetish to aid in a successful hunt. In the ceremony of the hunt the Keeper presented a clay pot containing the fetishes to the hunter. Facing in the direction appropriate to the chosen fetish the pot was sprinkled with medicine meal and a prayer was recited. The fetish was placed in a buckskin bag and carried by the hunter over his heart. The fetish aids in the chase and represents "the roar of the animal" and feeds upon the blood of the slain prey.

In addition to the Prey Gods of the Six Regions with their guardian and medicinal powers, and the Prey Gods of the Hunt that aid in the chase, Cushing names three Prey Gods of the Priesthood of the Bow.........Read the entire article here

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian virtual gallery

The Museum is posting its 800,000 piece collection on the web. The project is expected to take four years

For more information

Interview With A Navajo Weaver

“It’s done with chants and prayers,” Garnanez of Waterflow, 56, said while sitting at his loom on a recent Monday. “It’s about things that aren’t important to Western thought.”

See full interview

Gorman estate sues Albuquerque galleries

See full article here

Fifth Big Spring Powwow

“The Southern Drum host this year is Robert Tehauno of Lawton, Okla.,” said Lesser. “The Northern Drum host is Northern Vibe from Jemez Pueblo, N.M. The drum hosts are responsible for keeping the event flowing without interruptions, and the names indicate what type of music and songs the hosts perform.
See full article here

Four men arrested for killing eagles

The men are charged with alleged violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Lacey Act. Arrested were Ricky Sam Wahchumwah, of Granger, Wash., Alfred L. Hawk Jr., of White Swan, Wash., William Wahsise, also of White Swan, Wash., and Reginald Dale Akeen, also known as J.J. Lonelodge, of Anadarko, Okla.
See full article here

Native American comics

The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC has staged an exhibition about comic art and Native American culture.
See full notice here

Native American Events, Eastern, OK, March-July, 2009

March 22
Art Exhibit: Harvey Pratt Paintings Opening and reception 2-5p.m.
Gallery Talk 3:30 p.m. at Southern Plains Indian Museum, 715 E. Central, Anadarko, Okla. 405.247.6221

March 26-27
Indian Territory Days, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK.
www.cherokeeheritage.org

April 11
4th Annual Azalea Powwow
at the Muskogee, Oklahoma Civic Center, Muskogee, Okla. Contact Charlene Allen at 918/687-1882
See full March-July, 2009 schedule here

Lawton Gallery seeks Native American art for fall 2010 exhibition

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Lawton Gallery, located at 2420 Nicolet Dr., is seeking Native American art for an exhibition scheduled in the fall of 2010.

To obtain current information

MISSION, S.D. – Native Green, a certified Native American owned company

Launches new green products site and green job creation program

See full article

Arkansas Museum Opening Permanent Native American Exhibit

"We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas" opens March 27 in the museum's newly refurbished Cromwell Hall gallery.

See full article

Sherman Alexie, an award-winning Native American writer

Statler Auditorium lecture, “The Partially True Story of the True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”

See full article

Johnny Whitehorse/ Totemic Flute Chants

“All over the world man has relied on the mystery and power of animals to guide him.”

Johnny Whitehorse is the creation of Robert Mirabel

Museum exhibit features Cheyenne/Arapaho artist

The artwork by Harvey Pratt will be on view through May 2, 2009. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. On April 18, 2009 at 1:00 p.m., Harvey Pratt will return to the Southern Plains Indian Museum for a fascinating discussion of the great mystery of Bigfoot.

See full article

Cherokee Chiefs

Cherokee Chiefs

Big-mush. A noted western Cherokee, known to the whites also as Hard-mush and among his people as Gatiûñ’wa’li (’bread made into balls or lumps’), killed by the Texans in 1839-Mooney in 19th Rep. B. A. E., 1900.

Black Fox (Inâlĭ). A principal chief of the Cherokee who, under the treaty of Jan. 7, 1806, by which the Cherokee ceded nearly 7,000 sq. m. of their lands in Tennessee and Alabama, was given a life annuity of $100. He was then an old man. In 1810, as a member of the national council of his tribe, he signed an enactment formally abolishing the custom of clan revenge hitherto universal among the tribes, thus taking an important step toward civilization.-Mooney in 19th Rep. B. A. E., 87, 1900.

Little Carpenter, Attakullaculla (Ătă’-gûl’kălû’, from ătă’ wood,’ gûl’kălû’ a verb implying that something long is leaning, without sufficient support, against some other object; hence ‘Leaningwood.’-Mooney). A noted Cherokee chief, born about 1700, known to the whites as Little Carpenter (Little Cornplanter, by mistake, in Haywood). The first notice of him is as one of the delegation taken to England by Sir Alexander Cumming in 1730. It is stated that he was made second in authority under Oconostota in 1738. He was present at the conference with Gov. Glenn, of South Carolina, in July, 1753, where he was the chief speaker in behalf of the Indians, but asserted that he had not supreme authority, the consent of Oconostota, the war chief, being necessary for final action. Through his influence a treaty of peace was arranged with Gov. Glenn in 1755, by which a large cession of territory was made to the King of England; and it was also through his instrumentality that Ft Dobbs was built, in the year following, about 20 miles, west of the present Salisbury, N. C. When Ft Loudon, on Little Tennessee River, Tenn., was captured by the Indians in 1760, and most of the garrison and refugees were massacred, Capt. Stuart, who had escaped the tomahawk, was escorted safely to Virginia by Attakullaculla, who purchased him from his Indian captor, giving to the latter, as ransom, his rifle, clothes, and everything he had with him. It was again through the influence of Attakullaculla that the treaty of Charleston was signed i n 1761, and that Stuart, after peace had been restored, was received by the Cherokee as the British agent for the southern tribes; yet notwithstanding his friendship for Stuart, who remained a steadfast loyalist in the Revolution, and the fact that a large majority of the Cherokee espoused the British cause, Attakullaculla raised a force of 500 native warriors which he offered to the Americans. He is described by William Bartram (Travels, 482, 1792), who visited him in 1776, as “a man of remarkably small stature, slender and of a delicate frame, the only instance I saw in the nation, but he is a man of superior abilities.” Although he had become sedate, dignified, and somewhat taciturn in mature years, Logan (Hist. Upper So. Car., 1, 490, 515, 1859) says that in his younger days he was fond of the bottle and often inebriate. The date of his death has not been recorded, but it was probably about 1780. See Mooney in 19th Rep. B. A. E., 1900.

John RossRoss, John. Chief of the Cherokee; Born in Rossville, Ga., Oct. 3, 1790; died in Washington, D. C., Aug. 1, 1866. He was the son of an immigrant from Scotland by a Cherokee wife who was herself three-quarters white. His boyhood name of Tsan-usdĭ, ‘Little John,’ was exchanged when he reached man’s estate for that of Guwisguwi, or Cooweescoowee, by which was known a large white bird of uncommon occurrence, perhaps the egret or the swan. He went to school in Kingston, Tenn. In 1809 he was sent on a mission to the Cherokee in Arkansas by the Indian agent, and thence forward till the close of his life he remained in the public service of his nation. At the battle of the Horseshoe, and in other operations of the Cherokee contingent against the Creeks in 1813-14, he was adjutant of the Cherokee regiment. He was chosen a member of the national committee of the Cherokee Council in 1817, and drafted the reply to the U. S. commissioners who were sent to negotiate the exchange of the Cherokee lands for others w. of the Mississippi. In the contest against the removal his talents found play and recognition. As president of the national committee from 1819 till 1826 he was instrumental in the introduction of school and mechanical training, and led in the development of the civilized autonomous government embodied in the republican constitution adopted in 1827. He was associate chief with William Hicks in that year, and president of the Cherokee constitutional convention. From 1828 till the removal to Indian Territory in 1839 he was principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and headed the various national delegations that visited Washington to defend the right of the Cherokee to their national territory. After the arrival in Indian Territory, he was chosen chief of the united Cherokee Nation, and held that office until his death, although during the dissensions caused by the Civil War the Federal authorities temporarily deposed him. See Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, 19th Rep. B. A. E., 122, 150, 224, 225, 1900.

Sequoya Inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, born in the Cherokee town of Taskigi, Tenn., about 1760; died near San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in Aug. 1843. He was the son of a white man and a Cherokee woman of mixed blood, daughter of a chief in Echota. Besides his native name of Sikwayi, or Sequoya, he was known as George Gist, otherwise spelled Guest or Guess, the patronymic of his father, generally believed to have been a German trader. He has also been claimed as the son of Nathaniel Gist of Revolutionary note. Sequoya grew up in the tribe, quite unacquainted with English or civilized arts, becoming a hunter and trader in furs. He was also a craftsman in silverwork, an ingenious natural mechanic, and his inventive powers had scope for development in consequence of an accident that befell him in hunting and rendered him a cripple for life. The importance of the arts of writing and printing as instruments and weapons of civilization began to impress him in 1809, and he studied, undismayed by the discouragement and ridicule of his fellows, to elaborate a system of writing suitable to the Cherokee language. In 1821 he submitted his syllabary to the chief men of the nation, and on their approval the Cherokee of all ages set about to learn it with such zeal that after a few months thousands were able to read and write their language. Sequoya, in 1822, visited Arkansas to introduce writing in the Western division of the Cherokee, among whom he took up his permanent abode in 1823. Parts of the Bible were printed in Cherokee in 1824, and in 1828 The Cherokee Phoenix, a weekly newspaper in Cherokee and English , began to appear. Sequoya was sent to Washington in 1828 as an envoy of the Arkansas band, in whose affairs he bore a conspicuous part, and when the Eastern Cherokee joined the old settlers in the west his influence and counsel were potent in the organization of the reunited nation in Indian Territory. When, in his declining years, he withdrew from active political life, speculative ideals once again possessed his mind. He visited tribes of various stocks in a fruitless search for the elements of a common speech and grammar. He sought also to trace a lost band of the Cherokee that, according to tradition, had crossed the Mississippi before the Revolution and wandered to some mountains in the west, and while pursuing this quest in the Mexican sierras he met his death. See Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, 19th Rep., B. A. E., 108 et seq., 147, 148, 1900, and the authorities therein cited.

Moytoy. A Cherokee chief of Tellico, Tenn., who became the so-called “emperor” of the seven chief Cherokee towns. Sir Alexander Cuming, desirous of enlisting the Cherokee in the British interest, decided to place in control a chief of his own selection. Moytoy was chosen, the Indians were induced to accept him, giving him the title of emperor; and, to carry out the program, all the Indians, including their new sovereign, pledged themselves on bended knees to be the faithful subjects of King George. On the next day, April 4, 1730, “the crown was brought front Great Tennessee, which, with five eagle-tails and four scalps of their enemies, Moytoy presented to Sir Alexander, empowering him to lay the same at His Majesty’s feet.” Nevertheless, Moytoy afterward became a bitter enemy of the whites, several of whom he killed without provocation at Sitico, Tenn. See Mooney in 19th Rep. B. A. E., pt. 1, 1900.

Tags: Cherokee, chiefs, North America, southeast

Keeper of Stories

DVD- American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn (2005)

Order American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn

Recent Books of Interest

"Being Lakota", Book by Larissa Petrillo

"American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", Book by George Horse Capture

Spokane artist George Flett, well kown for his depictions of ledger art, announcing forthcoming book "The Ledger Art of George Flett"

Po'pay, Leader of the First American Revolution, Clear Light Publishing, 2006, new book by Herman Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh)

Zuni fetish updates from Amerindian Arts

Stewart Quandelacy, 3-8-2009, various carvings
Todd Poncho, 2-19-2009, horse carvings
Albenita Yuni, 2-19-2009, various carvings
Brion Hattie, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Burt Awelagte, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Stuart Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Chad Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Jeff Tsalabutie, 2-15-2009, various carvings
Stewart Quandelacy, 2-15-2009, Mother of pearl buffaloes
Ernie Mackel, 2-15-2009, lions, horses, wolves, and geese
Jayne Quam, 2-13-2009, howling coyotes, various carvings
Brian Yuni, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Peter Gasper, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lena Boone, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Faye Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, cornmaidens
Avery Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lynn Quam, 2-13-2009, bears, buffaloes
Prudentia Quam and Vernon Lunasee, 2-13-2009, lions, bears, and horses
Claudia Peina, 2-13-2009, corn maidens and bears
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, frogs
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, bird fetish pendant
Andres Quandelacy, 2-3-2009, Zuni horse pendant and lion pendant
Dee Edaakie, 2-3-2009, ivory stone marble bears, lapis lion
Stewart Quandelacy and Priscilla Lasiloo, 2-2-2009, Zuni medicine bear fetish pendants and earrings, turquoise horse pendant
Duane Dishta, 2-2-2009, Kachina paintings
Albert Eustace, 2-2-2009, bear carvings
Herbert Him, 2-2-2009, bear and buffalo
Kateri Sanchez, 2-2-2009, corn maidens
Todd Westika, 2-2-2009, howling coyotes, bears, wolves
Todd Westika, 12-29-2008, bears, buffaloes
Jeff Tsalabutie, 11-28-2008, various carvings
Priscilla Lasiloo, 11-26-2008, lapis, rhodocrosite bears
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-31-2008, corn maidens
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-30-2008, Zuni mother of pearl butterfly maiden fetish pendants
Prophet's Rock, All new listings for 8-22-2007

Monroe Tsatoke and the Art of the Kiowa Five; Southwest Indian Art Fair

2009-02-20T01:49:00.000-05:00

Native American arts daily news, presented by
amerindianarts.us

Headlines, exhibits, powwows listed below: (access past headline archives for 2004-2006 here)

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian virtual gallery

The Museum is posting its 800,000 piece collection on the web. The project is expected to take four years

For more information

Tsatoke of The Kiowa Five

NORMAN — "Monroe Tsatoke and the Art of the Kiowa Five", continuing through March 29, 2009 at the Jacobson House Native Art Center at the University of Oklahoma. The exhibition features the artwork of Kiowa painter Monroe Tsatoke (1904-1937), as well as photographs chronicling the short life of this gifted artist who was also an accomplished beadworker and singer.

For additional details, visit www.jacobsonhouse.com or call 405-366-1667.

‘TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN’

Opens on March 1. This semi-autobiographical solo show by the Canadian actor and comedian Darrell Dennis returns to the Public Theater after a successful run in the Native Theater Festival. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, NY, (212) 967-7555.

For additional details, call (212) 967-7555.

Traditional Native Art Materials: Decoding Wildlife and Migratory Bird Laws

Alaska Native artists who use traditional art materials in their handicrafts got some help decoding wildlife and migratory bird laws at a recent summit held in Anchorage.
See full article here

Judge rules that a federal ban on the possession of eagle feathers by non-Indians is too restrictive

U.S. District Judge said making non-tribal members ineligible to apply for feathers at a national repository and subjecting them to possible criminal prosecution puts a burden on the free exercise of religion.
See full article here

Southwest Indian Art Fair

The 15th annual show, Feb. 21-22, will present more than 200 renowned Native artists. Arizona State Museum in Tucson
See full notice here

Mount Taylor may be returned to the spiritual care of New Mexico’s Native American community.

Last June, in a 4-2 decision, the state’s Cultural Properties Review Committee granted an emergency one-year listing to Mount Taylor above 8,000 feet as a Traditional Cultural Property. This June the four Pueblos and the Navajo Nation will seek to make that status permanent.
See full article here

Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market

Arizona's largest indian market, Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Heard Museum located at 2301 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix
*"Through the Lens -- Past and Present," features the traveling exhibition "Peoples of the Plateau: The Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse, 1898-1915," and current photographs by Heritage University students Kim Agiak, Nicole George, Kendall Mansfield, Brian Pinkham, Michael Sekaquaptewa and Mallorie Yates. Presented in conjunction with the citywide "Yakima Honors Peoples o Plateau" exhibition. Through March 7.

To obtain current information

See full article here

Saint Louis Art Museum, Plains Indian Artwork from the Donald Danforth Jr. Collection

The collection will be on view in Gallery 120 from February 27 through September 7, 2009

Saint Louis Art Museum

Rhonda LeValdo-the challenges of being a Native American journalist

A graduate student who is from the Pueblo of Acoma appeared on “Close Up at the Newseum” on C-SPAN2 Friday.

See full article

New Mexico gets $1 million art collection

The state Department of Cultural Affairs has received a gift of 171 artworks valued at $1 million. The collection includes works by more than 100 artists, including Dan Namingha, Glenna Goodacre, Gregory Lomayesva, Kevin Red Star, R.C. Gorman, Ford Ruthling and Melissa Zink, and will be distributed among the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Museum of International Folk Art.

See full article

Michael Horse

Native American actor, artist and activist

A Man Called Horse

Utah Museum of Fine Arts"Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art"

Exhibit features 145 objects from the private collection of John and Marva Warnock, including such things as war shirts, dresses, moccasins, beaded tobacco bags, weapons, cradle boards, dolls and more. The exhibit will remain on display at UMFA through Jan. 3, 2010. It will then go to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo., before embarking on a national tour.

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The Story of Miracle Hill, Cabot Yerxa's Pueblo Museum

Built by Yerxa between 1941 and 1963, the museum houses Cabot’s collection of Native American pottery, early 20th century photographs and artifacts from his Alaskan adventures. The museum also houses a Pueblo Art Gallery, a bookstore, and the famed sculpture “Waokiye,” a 43-foot-tall Indian monument carved from a 750-year-old Sequoia Redwood

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum

American Indian Ballerinas

Rosella Hightower, Yvonne Chouteau, Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief and Moscelyne Larkin, known as the "American Indian ballerinas," five Oklahoma natives of American Indian descent who rose to prominence in the ballet world from the 1940s through the 1960s.

Recalling the 'American Indian Ballerinas'

In 1991, artist Mike Larsen was commissioned to paint a permanent mural for the Oklahoma State Capitol that was a tribute to the American Indian Ballerinas. It is entitled "Flight of Spirit"

The lives of the Native American Ballerinas is chronicled in "American Indian Ballerinas", a book by Lili Cockerille Livingston

A Rattlesnake Kills the Chief’s Daughter

A Rip Van Winkle Story
A Red Man’s View of Evolution

ONE time, while we were camped on the Washita, said the agency farmer, we were visited by an old Kiowa, a dignified and serious old man.

I was introduced to him as the “white father,” out there to help the red men work and to show them the white man’s road.

The old man said, “Aye, is that so!” but didn’t seem very much impressed. After a moment’s silence he got out his buffalo-horn tinder-box, and, after carefully examining the punk with which it was filled, began pecking with his flint in an effort to light his tinder-box.

I watched him pecking away for a while, sometimes hitting the flint, oftener barking his leathery fingers, and at last I said to a Cheyenne: “Why doesn’t he use a match and done with it, not sit there pecking away all night?”

This being translated to the old Kiowa, he began to speak, but never for a moment interrupted his play with the flint, and this is what he said:

“You white men think you are very wise [peck, peck]. You have made little fire-sticks, and you think the red men can’t get along without them [peck, peck]. I will tell you, we didn’t have so much trouble in the good old days as we do now [peck, peck. The old man's stroke grew a little vicious.] Before the red man had the white man’s fire-stick, we didn’t have so many fires and we didn’t have to move every few days on account of the prairie burning black.” At this point he struck out his spark and hurriedly lighted his pipe. After puffing vigorously a few times, he continued calmly: “Now the red man uses the white man’s fire-stick; he lights his pipe, he throws away the end: the grass blazes up, and then the ponies grow hungry. It is all bad business.”

The old man smoked in silence for a few moments, but at last resumed: “Yes, these white men think they are very clever, but they are really very foolish; they are very ridiculous [ puff, puff]. They think they are men, but look at them [ puff], see the hair on their faces; they are not men, they are only hair-covered animals.”

At this everybody in the teepee cried out with delight, and I, in self-defense, joined in the laughter, but the old man remained as grave as a bronze image. Reaching up with his forefinger, he outlined the beard upon my face and said slowly, hopefully, as if to be gently encouraging: “But they are changing. You see, the hair is wearing away — in spots.” Then settling back, he blew out a great cloud of smoke, and with patient paternal benignity concluded: “They’ll be men by and by.”

A Red Man’s View of Evolution” (Century Magazine 68 [1904]: 328-329). From the Univ. of Virginia E-Text Center. and is now in the public domain.

Tags: Great Plains, Kiowa, North America

Keeper of Stories

DVD- American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn (2005)

Order American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn

Recent Books of Interest

"Being Lakota", Book by Larissa Petrillo

"American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", Book by George Horse Capture

Spokane artist George Flett, well kown for his depictions of ledger art, announcing forthcoming book "The Ledger Art of George Flett"

Po'pay, Leader of the First American Revolution, Clear Light Publishing, 2006, new book by Herman Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh)

Zuni fetish updates from Amerindian Arts

Todd Poncho, 2-19-2009, horse carvings
Albenita Yuni, 2-19-2009, various carvings
Brion Hattie, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Burt Awelagte, 2-17-2009, various carvings
Stuart Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Chad Quandelacy, 2-17-2009, turquoise corn maidens
Jeff Tsalabutie, 2-15-2009, various carvings
Stewart Quandelacy, 2-15-2009, Mother of pearl buffaloes
Ernie Mackel, 2-15-2009, lions, horses, wolves, and geese
Jayne Quam, 2-13-2009, howling coyotes, various carvings
Brian Yuni, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Peter Gasper, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lena Boone, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Faye Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, cornmaidens
Avery Quandelacy, 2-13-2009, various carvings
Lynn Quam, 2-13-2009, bears, buffaloes
Prudentia Quam and Vernon Lunasee, 2-13-2009, lions, bears, and horses
Claudia Peina, 2-13-2009, corn maidens and bears
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, frogs
Ricky Laahty, 2-3-2009, bird fetish pendant
Andres Quandelacy, 2-3-2009, Zuni horse pendant and lion pendant
Dee Edaakie, 2-3-2009, ivory stone marble bears, lapis lion
Stewart Quandelacy and Priscilla Lasiloo, 2-2-2009, Zuni medicine bear fetish pendants and earrings, turquoise horse pendant
Duane Dishta, 2-2-2009, Kachina paintings
Albert Eustace, 2-2-2009, bear carvings
Herbert Him, 2-2-2009, bear and buffalo
Kateri Sanchez, 2-2-2009, corn maidens
Todd Westika, 2-2-2009, howling coyotes, bears, wolves
Todd Westika, 12-29-2008, bears, buffaloes
Jeff Tsalabutie, 11-28-2008, various carvings
Priscilla Lasiloo, 11-26-2008, lapis, rhodocrosite bears
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-31-2008, corn maidens
Sandra Quandelacy, 8-30-2008, Zuni mother of pearl butterfly maiden fetish pendants
Prophet's Rock, All new listings for 8-22-2007