IS AMERICAN INDIAN ART BECOMING AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

Trading Post TimesTrading Post TimesTrading Post TimesTrading Post Times

Volume 10, Issue 4 October:December 2013

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

• 13th Anniversary Celebration,

Friday, November 9

11 am to 9 pm

River Trading Post

Dundee, Scottsdale, Website

• Pueblo Seasonal Dances. Please check

Pueblos for dates and times

R i v e r T r a d i n g P o s t

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Great Gift Ideas For The Season

2

Favorite Places: Kasha-Katuwe

4

On Friday, November 8, River

Trading Post will celebrate our

13th birthday in our galleries

and on our website.

Be certain to mark your calen-

dars, and join us in Dundee,

Scottsdale or on our River

Trading Post website to enjoy

special Birthday Values on any

of your purchases.

It is our way of saying “Thank

You” for your great support

over 13 wonderful years.

R IVER TRADING POST CELEBRATES 13 GREAT YEARS . THANK YOU !

A few weeks as we visited the

White Mountain Apache mu-

seum in Fort Apache, Arizona.

The museum displayed a great

number of wonderful old Apache

baskets, all of which were on

loan to the museum from several

collectors. A note in the exhibit

told us that Apache people are

no longer making baskets, and

the elders who knew how to

make them are now gone. (See

related story in the July 2013

Trading Post Times.)

A few years back, we visited the

Blackfeet Cultural Center in

Browning, Montana. There, we

purchased two beautiful exam-

ples of contemporary quillwork.

Later, we discovered that these

beautiful pipe bags were actually

made by a Czech artist who was

teaching quillwork to members

of the Blackfeet nation. Virtually

no quillwork is being created

anymore by American Indians.

The same holds true with

beadwork. The days of bead-rich

bandolier bags, moccasins, to-

bacco bags and saddles are gone

for good. At best, beads today

are used as accents, frequently

using cheap craft beads. Great

contemporary beadwork, using

high-quality materials, is only

being done by a handful of artists

such as JT Willie, IACA’s 2013

Artist of the Year.

Yet there are spots of vibrancy in

American Indian art today, par-

ticularly in pottery, jewelry mak-

ing, weaving, sculpture, and the

resurgence of the neo-traditional

Hopi kachina doll. In these ar-

eas, traditional and contempo-

rary art is still being produced by

people continuing the work of

generations before them. Many

of these artists are still able to

support themselves and their

families while honoring their

cultural artistic heritage.

Unfortunately, as with other art

disciplines, there is a wider and

wider gap between those great

artists and others who are being

forced to find other lines of work

in today’s economy.

We don’t think that American

Indian art in general is an endan-

gered species, but many forms of

that art are being lost. Soon,

antiques will be all we have left.

Sadly, some art forms are gone

forever. Happily other art forms

will be with us for years to come.

Trading Post Times Page 2

A Pendleton Blanket From The American Indian College Fund From the American Indian

College Fund, River Trading

Post offers a selection of Pen-

dleton Blankets created espe-

cially for the American Indian

College Fund.

We have a wide selection of

beautiful Pendleton blankets

that help send kids to college,

and make wonderful gifts.

Visit our website, or see these

blankets in our galleries.

Greetings For All Seasons A great way to keep in touch

all year round is with a selec-

tion of hand made greeting

cards from Taos artist, Debbie

Lujan

From The Hopi Mesas

You certainly will make some-

one very happy with a selec-

tion from our Hopi Kachina

doll collection.

You will find a great

selection from the finest Hopi

carvers, such as Augustine

Mowa III, Ryon Polequap-

tewa, Raynard Lalo, Ed

Seechoma, Clark Tenak-

hongva and others in our gal-

leries and on our website.

A Classic Navajo Weaving For Any Home Style Nothing is quite as beautiful, or special, as a weaving from the

world’s finest weavers, the Navajo. Whether contemporary, or

historic, you will find an exceptional selection of fine Navajo

weavings at River Trading Post.

Create Your Own Gift Basket With Stocking Stuffers from River Trading Post

Have some fun by creating your

own American Indian art themed

Gift Basket. Perhaps a pound or

two of Arbuckle's Ariosa Cof-

fee...the cowboy coffee that won

the west; an authentic Zuni fetish,

and maybe a bit of Turtle Clan

Art from Oneida artist, Mark

Fischer, to keep you company.

A mouse rug is a great treat for

folks that love Navajo weavings,

but would appreciate something

just a bit smaller, and a bit less

expensive.

And to top things off, maybe a

tin or two of our specially hand-

made Navajo salves to sooth

your special someone.

Volume 10, Issue 4 Page 3

Plains Beadwork For An Exquisite Home Accent

Among our favorites for stunning home accent pieces is the

exceptional beadwork of the Plains people. Beaded moccasins,

vests and dresses make for outstanding display pieces, and are

highly collectable. You will find beadwork from the late 1800’s to

the present in our galleries and on our website.

Turtle Clan Art from Oneida Artist, Mark Fischer Mark Fischer’s copper work

is filled with fun and joy,

and his wonderful work is

available only at River Trad-

ing Post.

Beautiful Work From The Reed

The Navajo, Hopi, Pima,

and other Native American

people create absolutely

stunning works of basketry

that are favorites among

collectors of fine art.

A Little Something For Year Round Choose from a hand-picked

selection of classic tradi-

tional and contemporary

bracelets, necklaces, bolos

and buckles. Including work

from IACA “Artist of the

Year” award winners. Just

the best.

Fine Sculpture Adds Joy, Warmth

Award winning sculptors Cliff Fragua, and Caroline Carpio are at

the top of their game. You can find a wide range of beautiful

original stone and limited edition bronze work by these renowned

artists at River Trading Post.

Spirits In Clay

Pottery made according to

age old tradition is always a

gift favorite.

Choose from a great collec-

tion of contemporary, or pre-

Columbian masterpieces.

River Trading PostRiver Trading PostRiver Trading PostRiver Trading Post 314 N. River Street

Dundee, Illinois 60118

847-426-6901

7033 E. Main Street, 102

Scottsdale, Arizona 85251

480-444-0001

www.rivertradingpost.com

We extend holiday greetings to

you. Come visit one of our fine

galleries, or drop in on our web-

site. We believe that you will

find something to make this

season very special for you and

for your loved ones.

Come visit. Enjoy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM R IVER TRADING POST

Scottsdale Dundee

Phone: 866-426-6901 www.rivertradingpost.com

314 N. River Street East Dundee, IL 60118

Arts of Native America

FAVORITE PLACES : KASHA-KATUWE: TENT ROCKS OF COCHITI PUEBLO

They call it Kasha-Katuwe. It is a quiet place that reflects human occu-

pations spanning 4,000 years. During the 14th and 15th centuries, many

large ancestral pueblos were established, and their descendants, the

Pueblo de Cochiti, still inhabit the area surrounding Kasha-Katuwe, or

“white cliffs” in the Keresan language of Cochiti.

Visitors are awestruck by the tent-shaped rocks that snuggle up against

the cliffs of Peralta Canyon. The uniform shape of hundreds of these

tent rocks, that vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet, makes one won-

der who sculpted these magnificent pieces. Truth is, the creation process

began six to seven million years ago with a huge volcanic explosion

northwest of the site, leaving volcanic debris up to 400 feet deep.

Over time, water cut through the debris to form canyons, arroyos and

the tent rocks which are pumice and tuff deposits. Each tent rock is pro-

tected by a tougher pumice and tuff erosion-resistant caprock.

Today, visitors will still find small, rounded, translucent obsidian

(volcanic glass) fragments that were spewed about way back when.

The site is near Cochiti Pueblo, just southwest of Santa Fe, NM., and

has a number of walking trails. Since the altitude here is over 5,200 feet,

you might huff and puff a bit on your walk. Just take your time and

enjoy the amazing beauty and quiet of the Cochiti Tent Rocks.