Sandra Hale Schulman
Special to ICT
SANTA FE, N.M. – In a time of conflict around the world, it’s fitting that the Best of Show winner at the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts’ 102nd Santa Fe Indian Market held Aug. 14-18 was a bow and arrow set called “Pueblo Revolt” by Dan Vallo, Acoma Pueblo.
In a statement, Vallo said his work is “dedicated to the 1680 warriors of the Pueblo Revolt with a depth of handcraft for protecting and honoring Pueblo communities of past, present, and future.”
The set incorporates an obsidian blade, turkey feathers, and yucca fiber cordage with knots to represent the knotted cord carried by Popé to mark the days when the Pueblos would rise up against the Spanish invaders.
The Best of Classification winner for jewelry was an unexpected horse headstall by Sarah Aragon, Navajo. Called Back in the Saddle, it is exquisitely done with Tufa cast silver and stone inlay work of Mediterranean coral, Castle Dome turquoise, Morenci turquoise, Kingman turquoise, Persian turquoise, and Carico Lake turquoise.
In the land of squash blossom necklace domination, the fact that only horses can wear this awarded piece is a win for the equines.
The 90-degree heat was on before the market even started with the debut of Naiomi Glasses X Polo Ralph Lauren third clothing line drop at Malouf on the Plaza on Thursday. Called Denim Daydream, the rich collection of embroidered jeans and jackets, sweater dresses and plush velvet shirts was snapped up by the preview crowd.
On a more somber note, a screening of “Sugarcane” at the Museum of Indian Art & Culture had the sold-out audience literally weeping at the revelations of Canadian residential school abuse. Archie Noisecat, the only child survivor of his school saved from the incinerator, was there with his filmmaker son Julian. A talk afterward was moderated by Chris Eyre (“Dark Winds”). The critically acclaimed film is in theaters and streaming this fall.
Up at Buffalo Thunder Hilton, Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival had an overload of events with hundreds of vendors in the comfortable air-conditioned ballrooms, three full days of film screenings hosted by cinephiles Montana Cypress, Miccosukee, Everett Osceola, Seminole of Native Reel Cinema, and Kaela Waldstein, the multiple Emmy Award-winning filmmaker specializing in short documentaries, who also premiered a film about the artists at the Museum of Indian Art and Culture show “Driving the Market” on Thursday.
There was music from Native Americana star Keith Secola, Levi Platero, and the One Woman Symphony Genevieve Gros-Louis and many more. A fashion show presented Rebekah Jarvey and her model son Royce. There were many nonprofit and educational booths giving out information and free water. Pathways has really stepped up their programming in recent years, and the Buffalo Thunder Resort is a spacious and generous hunting ground for the audience and artists.
The Sunday Fashion show was the best that Amber Dawn Bear Robe has ever produced. In addition to the top Indigenous designers – Jamie Okuma, Lauren Good Day and Jontay Kahm, who literally drew gasps for his feathered creations – she had Taboo, Shoshone, of the Black Eyed Peas, PJ Vegas, rapper and son of Redbones Pat Vegas, and hoop dancer/filmmaker Eric Hernandez, Lumbee, the lead in Cirque du Soleil’s “Totem,” who toured over 17 countries, open the show with a medley of hits, dancing, and shoutouts to the star-studded crowd.
“Yo Wes Studi!” Taboo, a Grammy winner, shouted as he jumped into the audience to give the hometown Cherokee Oscar winner a hug.
Famous faces in the crowd included controversial, acclaimed artist Kent Monkman, stylish producer Joely Proudfit, Eyre, who is wrapping up season 3 of “Dark Winds,” and actor Zahn McClarnon, who was seen all over town and even lending his recognizable face to the pun in cheek Natives Vote campaign T-shirts (“Don’t be a shitass – VOTE”) that were being given away in the Plaza.
Emmy-winning “Prey” producer Jhane Myers, Comanche, walked the runway along with her genetically blessed children Peshawn and Phillip Bread, who also model for Glasses Ralph Lauren lines. More successful Natives on the runway were “Prey” co-star Dakota Beavers and actress Amber Midthunder, who was seen at a matinee performance of the hysterical musical “Bear Grease” at the Scottish Rite Temple Theater with her actor father David Midthunder.
The weather was hot and sunny, the crowds were collecting, with many artists selling out their booths within hours on Saturday morning. As a confluence of the best in Indian Country, Indian Market and the other groups in Santa Fe are branching out to encompass all the arts in a celebration of creativity and unity.
The other best in classification winners:
Class II: Pottery
Winner: Garrett Maho (Hopi)
Title: Gentle Rain— hand-built pot
Class III: Painting, Drawing, Graphics & Photography
Winner: Johnson Yazzie (Navajo Nation)
Title: AM 660 Afternoon – painting
Class IV: Wooden Pueblo Figurative Carving & Sculpture
Winner: Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi)
Title: Chasing Star – Na-ngashu Katsina – Chasing Star is a handsome figure who usually appears during mix-dance
Class V: Sculpture
Winner: Ryan Benally (Navajo Nation)
Title: Feathered Prayers – Sculpture inspired by the Navajo feather ceremony
Dimensions: 63.5″ x 24″ x 24″
Class VI: Textiles
Winner: Isabel Gonzales (Jemez Pueblo and Walatowa)
Untitled – Hand-embroidered ladies’ manta with a traditional pattern
Class VIII: Beadwork & Quillwork
Winner: Monica J. Raphael (Grand Traverse Ottowa and Chippewa)
Title: Indede Odayi – My Dad’s Horse – Bead and quillwork on birchbark displayed on a horse mannequin with a handmade doll
Class IX: Youth (Artists age 17 and under)
Winner: Aydrian Day (Ho-Chunk, Anishinaabe and Lakota)
Title: HoCak Manape – (translates to Ho-Chunk warrior) – Otter turban and Otter medicine bag
Class XI: Basketry
Winner: Caleb Hoffman, (Cherokee and Penobscot)
Title: Embers – hand-pounded ash point basket with sweetgrass
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