Repeat visitors to the Santa Fe area often seek out new and unexplored adventures. We had a chance recently to do just that, heading up the Chama River valley toward Abiquiu. It is about an hour north of Santa Fe, and well worth a day trip. This charming little town, at first glance, seems like … Read More
On a recent Saturday morning, we headed over to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) for brunch, followed by dances and a pottery demonstration by expert potter Erik Fender of San Ildefonso pueblo. We had Harry and Elaine with us for the weekend, and they had expressed an interest in returning to the Cultural Center … Read More
The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta spans a fortnight, and it is the largest hot air balloon festival in the world. Albuquerque sits in a geographically perfect bowl for hot air balloons, with the Sandia Mountains to the east giving a stunning backdrop as well as directional air flows for the hot air balloons. Michael and I … Read More
The Caddo Indian’s homeland was originally a four corners area of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The term Caddo derives from the French abbreviation of Kadohadacho, a word meaning "real chief" or "real Caddo" in the Kadohadacho dialect. Although the Caddo people existed at the same time frame as the Anasazi of New Mexico, the [...]
Basket making was one of the earliest skills developed, since baskets were needed for carrying goods, for storage, for trapping and fishing, and for religious ceremonies. Unlike pottery, baskets do not survive for extended periods of time. Most that are available today were constructed in the last 120 years, particularly after native people in the [...]
Chimayo Weaving Style The New Mexico Chimayó style of weaving is characterized by two stripes running width-wise with a design, usually triangular, in the center. It is just one of the many styles of Rio Grande weaving developed over 400 hundred years ago by the people who settled in New Mexico bringing their churro sheep [...]
One of the most fascinating collections of katsinas that I have ever seen is that of Roger Thomas and his late wife Elaine. The historic Inn of Halona in the heart of the Zuni Pueblo has a large meeting room, just filled with hundreds of magnificent katsinas collected by Roger and Elaine over many decades. [...]
The Abenaki (means “people of the dawn” or “easterners”) are a Native American tribe. They are one of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America. The Abenakis are original natives of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. After European colonists arrived, many Abenakis fled to Canada or moved in with neighboring tribes. Today, Abenaki Indians live [...]
The Makah Tribe is part of the Northwest Coast cultural group and continues to live near Cape Flattery at the Northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. They have called the spectacular Neah Bay, Washington area home since time immemorial. The name Makah was attributed to the Tribe by the neighboring tribes, meaning [...]
What is the secondary art market? It is a group of dealers and individuals who buy and offer for sale prints after an image is sold-out by the publisher. The Dancing Rabbit Gallery is a secondary market for Native American Indian limited editions prints, as well as original artwork and artist's proofs and printers proofs.. [...]
Zuni fetishes are small stone animal carvings that are made by the talented artisans of Zuni Pueblo. In the Zuni culture, the fetish carvings represent the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. Initially fetishes were likely found stones that had the rudimentary shape of an animal. Arrowheads were placed on the stones with [...]
Native American Indians have been wearing and making jewelry for personal adornment long before the first Europeans reached North America. Southwest Native American jewelry made with silver began with the introduction of European metal-working. Before this time, jewelry was made with natural resources, such as turquoise, shells, stones, wood and bones. Before this period, jewelry [...]
(1917 - 2006) Pueblo: Santa Clara Pueblo Margie Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo, was a member of the Naranjo family. Her mother, Santanita Suazo, was her inspiration. Santanita taught her daughter the fundamentals of pottery making. Her sisters, Mae Tapia-Suazo, Shirley Duran, and (Candelaria) Candy Suazo also make pottery.
Comanche is pronounced "kuh-MAN-chee. The Comanche Indians, a nomadic offshoot of the Eastern Shoshoni Indians, lived on the North-American Southern Great Plains during 1800-1900s. The name "Comanche", a household word found in many works of fiction, TV shows, videogames etc., is believed to come from the Spanish "interpretation" of their Ute name "Kohmahts", meaning: those [...]
The Tohono O´odham or Desert People are a Piman-speaking group who live in southwestern Arizona and northern Mexico. The basketry work of this group has long been renowned for its sensitive and beautiful works created of the simplest of materials in the harsh environs of the southwest. Descendants of the ancient Hohokam peoples, this people [...]
