Navajo Grandma, hand-crafted doll by Sylvia Begay

When I went to the Keshmish (Christmas) Festival at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, I could not resist bringing home this grandmother doll. This hand-made beauty resembles Pueblo story-teller dolls, but this doll has a distinctly Navajo grandmother. Sylvia Begay( who also made the Christmas ornaments I showed on Facebook) calls these “story dolls.”

Since both Charnell and I are grandmothers, I wanted to learn the Navajo word for grandmother. Some of the people stopping by the table where I was showing the Quincy Tahoma book tried to teach me. I am a visual learner, and trying to remember, or follow the pronunciation of a Navajo word evades me.

One woman explained that the Navajo have two names for grandmothers. Most of the references on the Internet will give you one or the other, but not mention the difference–critical to a Navajo who pays attention to relationships! Where they do show up on the web,  ”My father’s mother” shows up  as ama’ sani and “my mother’s mother” –shima sani. (Rendered as Shah-mah’ tsah’nih at Navajo.org–not quite as simple as English speakers might like.) And Sylvia Begay who crafted this grandma, called them ma sani in an interview. So take your pick.

Earlier in the day, a girl about five years old had stopped to look at the Tahoma paintings I had rotating on my small computer’s screen.  When one of his “Navajo Madonnas” came up, she happily pointed and said “Shima“.  I was proud of myself for knowing that she meant “mother”–one of the very few Navajo words that I have actually have conquered, because we talk about it in the book.  Tahoma used the word shima to refer to women in families that befriended him–perhaps always searching for a mother of his own.  But as far as we know, Quincy Tahoma never was able to experience the spoiling of a grandmother.

Since Charnell has only daughters, she will always be a shima’ sani. Since I have only sons, my grandchildren all will know me as ama’ sani.

Navajo Grandma

I welcome Navajo-speakers comment and corrections on the rendering of these words, as I have seen slightly different words used, also–so I continue to be confused. But then, I’m a grandma, and we tend to be confused a lot.

By the way, Tahoma did speak Navajo, and by the time he started to school at Santa Fe Indian School, students were no longer punished for speaking their native languages.

If you are not Navajo, do you know any Navajo words? If you ARE Navajo– do you speak your language? Who taught it to you?

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Merry KeshMish

Among the many benefits of working on the Quincy Tahoma biography, we have had many opportunities to personally meet people whose lives touched Tahoma’s.  When I went to Window Rock to the Navajo Nation’s Késhmish (Christmas) Festival at the Navajo Nation Museum, I felt certain that I would run into some interesting people. Little did I imagine that I would unearth yet another girlfriend.

Kesh Mish Festival

Nearly all the attendees at the two-day festival at the beautiful Navajo Nation Museum were Navajo families,  not tourists. (A good reason for you to keep it in mind for next year.) Artists and craftsmen packed the large central hall and a children’s crafts room was set up on the side. If you could walk through that large room– packed with jewelry, glass and pottery ornaments, Navajo-print fabrics made into all sorts of things like scarves and purses, paintings, note cards, Christmas presents galore–without buying anything, you have more will power than I do!

Michelle Tsosie Sisneros who lives at Santa Clara Pueblo caught my eye. The work she was showing at the fair is not on her webpage. Because she is both Navajo and Pueblo, she has created a line of clay figures that combine Navajo and Pueblo symbols.

An enterprising family with eight children who compete in track and field events, was serving up fry bread, coffee, hot chocolate and other goodies in the small cafe. All proceeds went to support their five children who are members of the New Mexico team that will compete in a National track meet.

Anthony Chee Emerson

Anthony Chee Emerson, one of  the outstanding Navajo painters who is quoted in Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist had a booth right beside the gift shop, where I sat at a table and talked to people about Quincy Tahoma. It was delightful to see Anthony’s work and get to chat with him once again.

Juan the bull-rider jewelry maker

Across from Anthony, a man in a huge cowboy hat sat behind a table of hand-made silver and turquoise jewelry. Juan Curley and his wife Polly make unforgettable jewelry, even though he also has a day job AND tends to his sheep and horses in Ganado where they live. After I admired Juan’s leather trophy jacket (2nd place, bull riding) he meandered over to my table and told me quite a bit of his life story–an interesting one, you can bet!

At the table beside me, a man sat in a high wheelchair, with various mechanized aides to help him move.  He was selling a book with his inspirational story about what he had learned as a paraplegic, and told me how few Navajos know where to go for help with serious injuries and how he talks to students to familiarize them with his hope-filled story.

A young girl came by who wanted to buy the Tahoma book for school, but could not afford it. I gave her information to pass on to her school so they might purchase it for their library.

When I wandered around the room packed with booths, I stopped to talk to Beverly Blacksheep, who crafts ceramics, tiles, coffee cups, notecards and other items with her lovely Navajo-themed designs. When I told her that I was there with a book about Quincy Tahoma, she told me that his painting had influenced her work, and she had painted some horses on some of her pieces that were inspired by Tahoma.  Then she said her mother-in-law went to school with Tahoma. In fact, she was his girlfriend. But Beverly did not want to tell me any more than that, because she was not sure her mother-in law-would approve.

Soon I met her husband Tim Genéeha, and he did not hesitate to tell me that his mother’s name is Helen Haskie.  Along our research journey, someone had mentioned a girlfriend at the Indian school, Helen Haskie, but we could not find anyone else to confirm the story or tell us where she lived, so we gave up on finding her.  Tim said that Tahoma gave Helen a large painting, but he does not know what happened to it.

Helen had first attended Ft. Wingate school, and then was transferred to Santa Fe. Tim promised to tell me more after he talks to his mother.  Before I left, I made a list of questions that we would like to ask Helen if we could talk to her, and we eagerly await the response from possibly the FIRST of Tahoma’s girlfriends, and probably the ONLY Navajo girlfriend. And who knows, we may be able to find another missing painting.

So who’s next? Is there another girlfriend or two out there whom we have not heard about? Do you have Tahoma stories to share?  We’re all ears.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to The Amerind Foundation

On the road again — this time from the Heard Museum in Phoenix to The Amerind Foundation in Dragoon AZ for a presentation and book signing.

First peek at The Amerind as we drove up the dirt road

Founded in 1937 by William Shirley Fulton, the Amerind Foundation is a private nonprofit anthropological and archaeological museum and research center dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories. The Amerind is located in spectacular Texas Canyon in the Little Dragoon Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and it houses one of the finest private collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country.

Amerind volunteers who came to learn more about Quincy Tahoma

The curator, Dr. Eric Kaldahl, served as our wonderful host for the event, and  several of the Foundation’s dedicated volunteers came to hear the presentation of Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist.

Vera and Charnell with The Amerind's 1949 painting, Navajo Sing, by Quincy Tahoma

The Amerind has two Tahoma paintings and one of them, Navajo Sing, has more than 100 people in the scene.  It is one of the artist’s most famous works and Carol Charnley, Museum Coordinator, tells us that The Amerind is very pleased to have it in its collection.

Chuck wagon a la 2011

After the presentation and book signing, Vera and I got some grub from the modern-day version of a chuck wagon and retired to our sumptuous quarters in The Amerind’s guest quarters.  Okay, so we were pampered and we enjoyed every moment of it!  What are some of the special experiences you have enjoyed?

Vera relaxes in her guest quarters room after a busy day

Photos in this post are all the property of Charnell Havens. Do not reuse without the permission of the photographer.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Katie Saganitso remembering the past on her sheep camp

This photo is posted as part of Travel Photo Thursday, and you can see more photos at Budget Travel Sandbox. Vera and Charnell traveled to Tuba City in search of the history of Navajo artist Quincy Tahoma, and with the help of Mark Rosaker located the Saganitso family. Charnell Havens caught Katie Saganitso, younger “sister” of Quincy Tahoma in the family that adopted him, as she looked at long-gone hogans on the family sheep camp.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I get Google Alerts for some subjects related to Quincy Tahoma, American Indian Art and Navajos.  Generally when I find something of interest, I post it on our Twitter account or Facebook page.

But I just found a story that had been aired on KUAT-TV, public television in Tucson, about economic development on the Navajo Reservation.  Ben Shelly, President of the Navajo Nation has launched a strong initiative to bring more jobs to the reservation.  In this TV show, anchored by Michael Chihak, President Shelly talks about the kinds of work he hopes to bring to the Nation, and Duane Beyal, editor of the Navajo Times discusses the reaction on the reservation.

What does this have to do with Quincy Tahoma, besides the fact that he was a Navajo?  We learned as we worked on the book how difficult it was for Tahoma and his friends to support themselves. Even when they were working as artists, they sometimes had to take other jobs and those jobs were easier to find off the resrvation than on the reservation.

The education system aimed to train them to work, but mostly the training was for menial jobs. Today young Navajo are encouraged to attend college, and many do.  But those who are educated away from the reservation often do not return.

Quincy lived off the reservation when he graduated from high school, and was part of a rising tide of Navajos that became separated from their traditional homeland. That separation sets up a struggle within each individual–the Navajo Way versus the expectations of the non-Indian world. The trend continues to grow.  Today, according to Michael Chihak, 30% of Navajos live off the reservation.

So is President Shelly’s program popular? Not entirely.  If you click on the link to the program about Navajo economic development, you can watch the show in its entirety, including interviews with the optimistic President Shelly and the more cautious, doubtful Duane Beyal.

Just as the Federal government and Dorothy Dunn and others debated the purpose of education and the best way to make American Indians self sufficient, this is an important discussion for anyone who is interested in Navajo culture and the well being of Navajos today. The biggest difference is that Navajos are driving the debate themselves.

How can the Nation protect its traditional culture and still fully participate in the world’s marketplace? Is there a role for alliances with other countries? Should they be looking to high tech industry, or traditional extraction of minerals from their lands? Listen to the discussion and weigh in here with your own thoughts.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Navajo Girl at Indian Market

I just discovered Storify, a new way to consolidate tweets, photos from Flickr, Google articles, and more.

I made a little story about our trip to Santa Fe next week. Click on the link and take a look.

Charnell and I will be signing books (Adobe Gallery, Thursday, 4-7 pm) and looking for friends of Tahoma.  Will we see you there??

You can buy Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist at the book booth near the Plaza.

(The adorable Navajo girl in the picture comes from a Creative Commons photo on Flickr. You can click on the photo to go to Flickr and see more of the photographers pictures.)

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, I talked about how important railroads were to Tahoma’s life. They were important to his art, as well, but more indirectly.  In Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist, we explore how the renaissance of American Indian art came about in the early to mid part of the twentieth century.

This continues the interview with Stephen Fried, author of Appetite for America, about the influence of Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad on the growing interest in American Indian Art in the early to mid-twentieth century.

VMB: In your research did you find any evidence that the Harvey company and the Santa Fe did anything for the Indian people in the southwest that they were capitalizing on? i.e. hiring them, providing scholarships or business training to artists, etc.

SF: Fred Harvey employed many native artists who lived and worked in the Indian Building complex at Albuequerque and at Hopi House at the Grand Canyon. They [Fred Harvey company] were in business with the native artists all over the Southwest, and I think they believed both their business dealings and personal collecting (which was pretty intense–Fred’s granddaughter Kitty, for example, was buying drawings from young Fred Kabotie when she was a teen and he was under 10) to be patronage of the arts and not charity.

… There are some who criticize the Harvey company for commercializing Indian art, even as it rescued and allowed to thrive many styles that otherwise might have been lost. … I think they were trying to help the Indians build a market that could sustain them.

VMB:You list in your book the various places around the country that have Fred Harvey collections of one sort or another. Can you pick three must-sees? 

SF: The company collection was donated by the family to the[ Heard Museum, Phoenix], which stores it well but shows it only as part of their other themed shows–there is no large permanent display of Harvey-owned art. (See the Heard catalog of a 1976 showing of Fred Harvey) The company did sell art to what became the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City (I believe in the 1930s) and the family’s pieces went to some other museums (Museum of Northern Arizona, etc) but many things are still in private family collections. The collections were mostly kachinas, baskets, silver, pottery, rugs.

There are murals that still exist on the walls at the Desert Watchtower at Grand Canyon–Fred Kabotie and others did those–and the other well-known murals, on the walls at the El Navajo hotel in Gallup (which were controversial because they were done based on watercolors of sand paintings and had to be approved by Navajo elders before the hotel could open) were destroyed when the hotel was. There are some murals in La Fonda in Santa Fe, which would have been done starting in the 1920s.
The must-sees in terms of Indian art are probably the Heard Museum and the Desert Watchtower at Grand Canyon.

VMB: We really appreciate Stephen Fried taking the time to give us these detailed replies about the effect of the Santa Fe Railroad and the Fred Harvey enterprises on the American Indian art market. You can read more about all of Fred Harvey’s business in Stephen’s page-turner of a book, Appetite for America, now out in paperback. See more on Facebook about Fred Harvey and architect Mary Jane Colter who created Hopi House and the Desert Watchtower as well as Harvey hotels. 

Photos are from various sources, please click on each photo to see the source.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Santa Fe Poster

Recently, I talked about how important railroads were to Tahoma’s life. They were important to his art, as well, but more indirectly.  In Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist, we explore how the renaissance of American Indian art came about in the early to mid part of the twentieth century.

Appetite For America: Back Cover Jacket

In my other life, over at the blog A Traveler’s Library, I wrote a review of a new book covering the life and company (same name) of Fred Harvey.  Harvey worked closely with the Santa Fe Railroad and both promoted travel to the American West partly by dangling the exotic culture of American Indians before adventurous Americans.  Fred Harvey started an Indian art store at his Alvarado Hotel Albuquerque (no longer in existence) . Stephen Fried, author of the book Appetite for America says that “many sources credit Fred Harvey with not only reinventing the market for newly made items, but rescuing and curating many archival items that otherwise would have disappeared.”  Here is more from Stephen Fried about Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe.

VMB: Is there any evidence that Fred Harvey (or Ford Harvey his successor) were personally interested in Indian Arts and Crafts?

Stephen Fried: There’s little evidence that Fred was… His daughter Minnie is believed to be the first family member who collected, and after she married John Huckel in the 1890s, the two of them collected together. Ford is believed to have become more interested after a trip with E.P.Ripley–president of the Santa Fe (RR)–and other top executives of the railroad to many of the major pueblos in northern New Mexico and Arizona in the early fall of 1901. After that, the company began exploring Indian art as a way to stock what became the Indian Building at the Albuqerque depot–with the help of their longtime employee Herman Schweizer, the manager of the Gallup Harvey House.

Alvarado Hotel Indian Building, Albuquerque, Courtesy of Wheels Museum

VMB Do you think the impetus for selling Indian Art came from Fred Harvey’s business antennae, or was he following in the footsteps of Santa Fe RR who were promoting visiting Indian lands.

SF: It is often difficult for historians to separate where the Santa Fe RR ended and Fred Harvey began, and while the trip I mentioned in 1901 that Ford Harvey took with E.P. Ripley and other execs was clearly the turning point for the major promotion of visiting Indian lands, keep two things in mind: the expansion of the Santa Fe and Fred Harvey into larger resort hotels began in 1896…The expansion didn’t reach NM until 1899–the first of the Mission Style hotels in Las Vegas, NM,and then the Alvarado in Albuquerque. And, in some ways, the Indian Building was a way of taking what had always happened in Santa Fe and dramatically expanding it for a much larger audience, with easy access from the main line of the railroad (which Santa Fe itself was not on.)

It was then over 20 years before Fred Harvey started the Indian Detours, which was the major effort to control the market for visiting Indian lands. [small private automobile tours in the Southwest offered by the Fred Harvey company.] Before that there were some private tour operators going there, but the real visiting in volume began in 1926, when the Santa Fe bought La Fonda for Fred Harvey, and Fred Harvey began running car tours between Las Vegas and Albuquerque.

But starting in 1902 in Albuquerque, and in 1905 at Grand Canyon, the company got into the Indian art and collecting business at a level that I believe really dwarfed what was happening in Santa Fe.

Historic shot of Navajo weaver outside Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, Courtesy of Wheels Museum.

I think the rise in popularity of indian arts and crafts was almost completely a creation of the Fred Harvey company (and, secondarily, the Santa Fe’s use of Indian art imagery in its promotional materials.) Herman Schweizer–the “Harvey ethnologist” based in Albuquerque–took what was then a very local and random business of selling basically out the windows of trains and turned it into a respectable, profitable business–and they also opened Indian craft stores all the way from Chicago to San Francisco in the Santa Fe depots, and put on displays other places as well.

VMB: We are very grateful to Stephen for giving us his detailed answers, and we will continue this interview in part two. Please click on the photos to see where they came from. If you are interested in purchasing Appetite for America, we have included a link to Amazon, when you click on the book cover.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.