FEATURES

ON THE COVER
World-champion hoop dancer Derrick Suwaima Davis (Hopi/Choctaw) amid the beautiful Sonoran Desert landscape of Scottsdale, Arizona. Davis will perform in the Native Trails program in Scottsdale this winter. Photo courtesy Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Yo Soy Indio (I Am Indian)
We explore the sometimes difficult but culturally rich personal and social territory found in the mixing of Spanish and Indian people in the Americas, with a focus on the United States/Mexico borderlands. By Ruben Hernandez (Yaqui/Latino). Illustrated with works by various artists.

Groundbreakers
Every creative endeavor has its people who push ahead, breaking new ground in their fields, as seen in the profiles of jeweler Pat Pruitt (Laguna Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache), painter America Meredith (Cherokee), clay tile creator Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo) and furniture artisan Dennis Esquivel (Ottawa). By Gussie Fauntleroy.

Scottsdale: Native Arts Mecca
Scottsdale, Arizona has long been a center for Native arts and culture, and its prominence continues to grow. This comprehensive guide highlights the city’s museums, special events and galleries with a Native bent. By Amy Abrams.

Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market: It’s a Family Affair
Take a look back at the history of this important annual Phoenix event, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Personal stories of long-time Heard market artists and those involved in the event’s founding and evolution are illustrated with a collection of vintage photos. By Debra Utacia Krol (Salinan/Esselen).

Conchos and Bandoliers:
Heard Museum Market Honors Outstanding Work
We recognize at the life and work of two master artists: jeweler Vernon Haskie (Navajo), winner of the Best of Show award at the 2007 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market; and bead artisan Roger Amerman (Choctaw), winner of a Best of Class award in 2007. Plus details on the upcoming 2008 market. By Patty Talahongva (Hopi/Tewa).

DEPARTMENTS

Letters
A reader writes in support of a national holiday for Native Americans, one adds a note about our recent profile of Comanche leader Quanah Parker, and another comments on the discrimination she felt growing up white in a largely Indian community.

On The Wind
A herd of miniature painted ponies is set free to raise funds for Native youth art education, and artist Daniel Ramirez (Chippewa) proves adept at the business end of the art industry. Also, other important news in the arts, education, the environment, business, politics, sports, health and other realms of life in Indian Country. By Daniel Gibson.

Happening
The Phoenix Symphony prepares for the February world premiere of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio. Plus details on other special events of Native interest across North America. By Daniel Gibson.

Collections
Casino Arizona, owned by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale, is home to an outstanding body of Indian art under the direction of curator Aleta Ringlero. By Corinne Cain

Pathways
We visit the lovely Caribbean island of Dominica, home to the only large population of Indians left in the Caribbean, the Kalinago, on their isolated reserve facing the mighty Atlantic Ocean. By Daniel Gibson. Photos by Kitty Leaken.

NEW! Appraisal Day
We launch a new department that provides details on prehistoric, traditional and contemporary Native arts. This issue, check out a rare Maria Martinez pot and a Yokuts cooking pot. By Christy Vezolles (Shawnee).

Galleries
Journey with us to the northern Great Plains to check out Indian Uprising in Bozeman, Montana, a gallery dedicated to regional Native arts with a strong body of ledger artists. Also, brief looks at other Native-oriented galleries throughout the continent. By Russ Tall Chief (Osage).

Museums
The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma receives a body of art—the Adkins Collection, valued at approximately $50 million—containing significant Indian works. Also, notes on other museum exhibitions coast to coast. By Wendy Weston (Diné).

Books
Settle down with the warm, illuminating and often funny stories
of Gordon Johnson (Cahuilla/Cupeño) in his latest collection, Fast Cars and Frybread: Reports from the Rez, and also enjoy the first book by Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene) aimed at young adults: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. By Debra Utacia Krol (Salinan/Esselen).