Returning Home: Tradition and Innovation in Tewa Country
Two generations of groundbreaking artists, Potter Lonnie Vigil and clay/printmaking artist Jason Garcia, explore the transformative qualities of art through their careers and artwork with the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture’s curator Tony Chavarria.
About the 2019 IARC Speaker Series Rocking the Boat: Innovation as Tradition
Native artists are frequently categorized along a binary of traditional or non-traditional, sometimes rigidly so, defined not only by outside forces but also the communities and backgrounds from which they come. For cultures and communities to move forward, however, the maintenance of tradition hinges not only on the capacity to preserve the old, but also the ability to innovate and develop. From the introduction of silver by Navajo metalsmiths, and the development of Plains beadwork out of quillwork, to the creation of the first paintings by Pueblo women artists, traditions constantly evolve out of the unbreakable spirit of innovation, pulling the past into the present and driving the present into the future.This year’s speaker series explores the ways that artists create new traditions and ways of thinking vis-à-vis their roles as creatives. Throughout the series of intimate conversations, speakers will address the inseparable relationship between tradition and innovation.
All discussions will be held at the School for Advanced Research, 660 Garcia Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505 from 6:00-7:30pm. These events are free and open to the public. Advanced registration is encouraged. Register here or at the link above.
Learn more about the full series here.
Native American Arts and Trading Posts of the Southwest
April 25-27, 2019
Cost per person:
Double Occupancy – $1,052 (Includes a $100 tax-deductible donation to SAR)
Single Occupancy – $1,174 (includes a $100 tax-deductible donation to SAR)
To register for this trip click here.
For hundreds of years, people of the American Southwest traded among themselves. They used a system of barter to exchange everything from furs, bison hides, foods, woven material, and clothing to pottery, beads, feathers, and turquoise. In the 1800s, the establishment of trading posts linked southwestern trade networks to those in the middle and eastern United States. Besides trade goods, trading posts provided places where people from different cultures exchanged ideas.
The traders were a tough breed. They often lived alone, miles from the nearest settlement, at a time when there were few roads and few or no cars or trucks. They learned to speak local languages and often acted as doctors, mediators, and postal workers for their Indian neighbors. They built trading posts out of the available materials of stone, logs, and adobe to store their supplies. The trading post became a center for socializing and exchanging information as well as goods. Besides storerooms, trading posts typically had a public room for trading where people could sit and talk for hours, often around a wood-burning stove.
Weaver Evelyn George, courtesy of Toadlena Trading Post
Today, most of the historic trading posts have closed, but there are a few that remain open and still trade with the local native cultures. Join fellow SAR members as we visit some of the most iconic trading posts in the Southwest. Learn about their history as well as their relationships with the surrounding Native American communities. Visits include Shiprock Trading Post, where we will meet with owners Kent and Hillary Morrow and silversmith Perry Shorty and Teec Nos Pos, where we will have a weaving demonstration by artist Roy Kady and tour by owner John McCulloch and Kathleen Foutz. On day two, the group will spend the morning at Toadlena Trading Post with owners Mark and Linda Winter who have invited the group for lunch and a weaving demonstration. We will tour at the Hubbell Trading Post, which has been serving Ganado since 1978 selling goods and Native American Art, and Joe Milos Trading Company which has been trading with the Navajo, Zuni and Hopi people since 1943.
We will meet with the executive director of the Navajo Nation Museum who will enlighten us on commerce and its impact on trade practices, art production and the cultural effect on the Native American communities, both good and bad. On the last day, the group will visit Zuni Pueblo and meet with Wells Mahkee, Jr. of Zuni Pueblo Main Street and another tribal member to learn about the arts at Zuni and the revitalization of their community.
Activity Level: Easy: Limited walking. Participants must be able to get in and out of vans and walk unassisted short distances from parking areas to museums or art studios.
Includes: Overnight accommodations at the Best Western in Farmington and the historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup; two breakfasts, three lunches and one dinner; water and snacks on the bus; all admission fees and artist gratuities; and air-conditioned bus.
Field trips are open to SAR members and our Galisteo members and up receive priority registration. For more information about SAR’s field trips, including activity levels and our cancellation policy, please visit our field trips page here.
Exploring the Tewa World: Posi-Ouinge and The Youngblood Family of Santa Clara Pueblo
Sign and Pot Sherds at Posi-Oiunge
May 4, 2019
Cost per person:
$270 (Includes a $25 tax-deductible donation to SAR)
To register for this trip click here.
Study Leader: Porter Swentzell and Kurt Anschuetz
The Tewa people have lived in northern New Mexico for centuries, including the modern villages of Santa Clara, Okhay Owingeh, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Pojoaque, and Nambe Pueblos. The ancestral villages of the Tewa are scattered along the tributaries of the Rio Chama and Rio Grande, including the archaeological site called “Posi-Ouinge” located near Ojo Caliente.
The story of Posi-Ouinge is a central part of the Tewa people’s history of their origin. The Summer People and the Winter People were at one-time divided as they traveled down the Rio Grande and Rio Chama toward the Española Valley, which is the heart of the Tewa’s traditional homeland. Each group built a series of villages as they made their journey. Eventually, the Tewas united to become a single community, and they lived together at one village, a place they call Posi-Ouinge “the greenness pueblo” above the Ojo Caliente hot springs. Leaving—but never forgetting—Posi-Ouinge as a place of residence, mixed groups of Summer and Winter People resumed their ancestor’s journey downstream to found the Tewa Pueblos that we know today.
Posi was a thriving center of Tewa village life from the late 1300’s until early 1500’s, just before the arrival of the Spanish. Inhabited by generations of people for over a century, this large adobe village may have had as many as 1,000 ground floor rooms and almost as many on the second and third stories.
Today, Santa Clara Pueblo is one of six Tewa-speaking Pueblos in New Mexico and is the home of many notable potters including Nancy Youngblood. We will have the honor of meeting with and hearing from Nancy who is from a long line of remarkable potters including Sara Fina Tafoya and Margaret Tafoya. Known for her highly polished and precise ribbed and swirled pottery, Nancy won Best of Show at SWAIA Indian Market in 1989 and Best of Class in Pottery in SWAIA’s 2015 and 2018 markets.
During our visit, not only will we have the opportunity to witness an outdoor firing and enjoy a traditional Pueblo meal at Santa Clara Pueblo, we also will meet some of Nancy’s illustrious family. Finally we will learn about their ancestors who helped put Santa Clara blackware pottery on the map, the Tafoya’s of Santa Clara Pueblo. SAR is privileged to hold six pots by great-grandmother Sara Fina Tafoya, four by grandmother Margaret Tafoya, and one by mother Mela Youngblood in the Indian Arts Research Center collections.
Coiled pottery by Nancy Youngblood and Nancy Youngblood at work with coiled pot. Photo courtesy of Nancy Youngblood
Porter Swentzell and Kurt Anschuetz will be our guides into the ancestral Tewa world of Posi and the contemporary Tewa community of Santa Clara Pueblo or“Kha’p’o Owingeh”, translated as the “Valley of the Wild Roses.” Porter Swentzell is from a family of artisans, farmers, and scholars at Santa Clara Pueblo. He was the first person to receive a Bachelors of Arts in Pueblo Indian Studies at Northern New Mexico College, received his PhD in Philosophy at Arizona State University, and is currently Assistant Professor and Chair of Indigenous Liberal Studies, at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Kurt F. Anschuetz
Kurt F. Anschuetz, received his MA at the University of New Mexico and his PhD at the University of Michigan. He is an anthropologist and archaeologist, who is engaged in long-term projects documenting the history of occupation by Pueblo peoples and their agricultural water management in the Tewa Basin, including the vicinity of Posi-Ouinge. He also provides technical assistance to the Pueblo of Acoma in its efforts to protect its traditional cultural relationships with Mount Taylor.
Activity Level: Moderate, involves climbing a steep, slick-rock escarpment and walking on an uneven dirt trail to reach Posi-Ouinge’s great mounds of melted adobe. Round trip, the hike will cover approximately one mile. Lunch will be a traditional meal at the Santa Clara Pueblo followed by artist demonstration.
Includes: Transportation in air-conditioned mini coach; traditional pueblo meal at Santa Clara Pueblo; and pottery demonstration by Santa Clara potter
Field trips are open to SAR members and our Galisteo members and up receive priority registration. For more information about SAR’s field trips, including activity levels and our cancellation policy, please visit our field trips page here.
Hear from SAR’s Eric and Barbara Dobkin Native Artist fellow, Meghann O’Brien, about her current work and experiences at SAR.
O’Brien, a Haida/Kwakwaka’wakw weaver, is interested in reconciling the perceived divide between male dominated totem and mask carving and that of weaving and textiles often deemed ‘women’s work’.“The traditions in haute couture still honor textiles and the handmade as an art worth celebrating,” she writes. As such, O’Brien has been creating an intricately woven necklace in the Chilkat tradition, depicting the Haida Dogfish Mother.
The evening will conclude with a visit to the Dubin Studio to see O’Brien’s work. RSVP by Monday, May13 by registering here.
Questions? Contact us at 505.954.7205 or iarc@sarsf.org
Learn more about O’Brien and her project here.
SAR’s 2018-2019 Anne Ray interns share a public presentation on their research and reflect on their time at SAR.
Felicia Garcia
Felicia speaks about the “Guide to Indigenous Land and Territorial Acknowledgements for Cultural Institutions” that she developed as a component of her Master’s thesis at New York University. This resource, created to function as a comprehensive guide for institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, and universities, aims to recognize and respect Indigenous homelands and inherent sovereignty. While at SAR, she continued research for the Guide and finalized a version that is now available online: http://landacknowledgements.org/
Samantha Tracy
Samantha presents research on the process of digitizing objects within both museum institutions and tribal museums. Her work compares and contrasts the dissemination of information through searches in online collections, and explores when and how museums include Native community voices in publishing their collections online. The work also examines the effectiveness of accessibility for community members and researchers. Her presentation will discuss the progress and results of her research while at SAR.
The Creative Thought Forum Annual President’s Lecture is $10 for members and $20 for not-yet-members.
Nicholas Carr. Photo by Scott Keneally.
Register in advance here.
New York Times best-selling author Nicholas Carr explores the development of the internet and the role it has played in shaping how we think, work, and live. Carr’s work often explores the impact of technologies, including smartphones, computers, and tablets, on our cognitive abilities and the potential troubles that arise from the expanded use of the internet. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the category of nonfiction for his recent book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Carr’s 2008 book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google, explores the cultural significance and the potential economic consequences of expanding use of internet-based cloud computing.
“We have never been so intimately involved with a media technology as we are with the smartphone. We consult it every few minutes throughout the day and check it one last time before going to bed. What is this technological dependency doing to our minds?”
Nicholas Carr
SAR SALON: Friday, May 24, 2019 Salons are offered on the morning following each Creative Thought Forum lecture. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker for a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to register for the salon call 505-954-7231.
Learn more about SAR’s Creative Thought Forum here.
This Lecture Sponsored By:
Michele Cook & John Camp
Dan Merians & Tamara Bates, UBS Financial Services
the Inn on the Alameda
KSFR 101.1 FM
The Friday following the lecture, SAR hosts an informal salon discussion with New York Times best-selling author, Nicholas Carr. The salon is an opportunity for a conversation-style gathering with the speaker and provides a deeper exploration of the lecture topics. Participants will be sent a brief selection of readings prior to the event so that they can familiarize themselves with the speaker’s work.
Participation in the salons is limited to 25 people and is a free member benefit; advanced registration is required with priority given to Chaco level members and above. For more information or to RSVP for the salon call 505-954-7231 or email archuleta@sarsf.org.
If you would like to become an SAR member and receive free admission to lectures and other benefits, click here.
Learn more about SAR’s Creative Thought Forum here.
President’s Circle Trip to Minneapolis
Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists and Native Arts of Minnesota
Date: Thursday, May 30 to Sunday, June 2, 2019
Admission: Priority given to members of the Board of Directors, Founders’ Society, and President’s Circle. Please click here to reserve your spot.
Join fellow President’s Circle members and SAR President Michael Brown for a long weekend in Minneapolis to celebrate the opening of Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia).
Image above: Sisseton Dakota artist, Table cloth (detail), c. 1900; wool cloth, beads, brass, cotton; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (12/814). Photo by NMAI Photo Services and courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).
Co-curated by former SAR Eric and Barbara Dobkin Fellow, Santa Fe artist, and independent curator Teri Greeves (Kiowa) and Mia associate curator of Native American Art Jill Ahlberg Yohe, this is the first major thematic exhibition exploring the artistic achievements of Native women from all regions of North America. Drawn from Mia’s permanent collection and loans from more than 30 institutions and private collection, this exhibition will include some 115 artworks from ancient times to the present as well as two commissioned works: a tapestry made of wool depicting a snowy landscape by DY Begay (Navajo), who lives in Santa Fe and is a SAR supporter, and a contemporary version of a traditional Osage wedding coat by Anita Fields (Osage). Participants are invited to a curator-led private tour, afternoon symposium, and gala reception and dinner.
Other highlights
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Curator’s briefing and tour of the vast Native American storage collections at the Minnesota Historical Society, which include approximately 1,000 objects related to the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota; and approximately 3,000 related to the Ojibwe. Also learn about the Native American Artist-in-Residence Program, not unlike the one at SAR.
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See a small but select collection of astonishingly beautiful Mimbres pottery at the University of Minnesota’s Weisman Art Museum, designed by starchitect Frank Gehry, and enjoy other galleries that include paintings by Marsden Hartley from his travels to the Southwest as well as a phenomenal Korean art collection.
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After-hours reception at Bockley Gallery, which represents many blue-chip Native American artists; and visits to community-led galleries of contemporary Native American art
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Excursion to the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, a lovely museum in an Ojibwe community less than 2 hours north of the Twin Cities
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… plus an architectural history tour of Minneapolis and guided tour of the renowned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
To read more about the trip and to view a tentative itinerary (subject to change), please click here.
TOUR PRICE
Double Accommodation
Price per person in a Room with a King or two Double Beds: $2,150*
Single Accommodation
Price per person in a Room with a King Bed: $2,445*
*Includes a $100 non-refundable tax-deductible donation to SAR.
TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:
- 3 nights’ accommodation, including taxes
- Full Buffet Breakfast daily, inclusive of tax and service
- 2 lunches, 2 receptions and 3 dinners; wine and beer included at dinner
- Curator-led tour, Symposium, and Opening Celebration including gala dinner at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Transportation by private deluxe coach as indicated in the itinerary, including one bottle of water a day per person
- All tips for drivers, hotel staff, waiters, and servers for all included excursions, activities and meals
- Guided tours as indicated in the itinerary
- Entrance fees and donations where required
- Services of a Tour Director from Travel Muse
- Accompaniment throughout by Michael Brown and two staff members from the School for Advanced Research
TOUR PRICE EXCLUDES:
- Airfare to and from Minneapolis
- Airport transfers
- Porterage at the hotel
- Tickets to music or theater performances
- Beverages not otherwise mentioned
- Items for personal use, including phone and fax charges, minibar, and laundry services