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ON THE COVER
The talented sculptor Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo) poses with one of her expressive female clay creations, a work titled "The Occasion." Photo by Craig Smith, Courtesy of the Heard Museum.

FEATURES

Native Sculpture Today
Roxanne Swentzell is but one of the many talented Native artists transforming the realm of Indian sculpture, as seen in our profiles on her, John Hoover (Aleut), Larry Yazzie (Navajo) and Anita Fields (Creek/Osage/Irish). By Gussie Fauntleroy.

Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market
This lively and large event, held every March in Phoenix, marks its 45th year of presenting some of the finest works by living Native artists from across the nation. By Deborah Utacia Krol (Salinan/Esselen).

James King: Navajo Artist Paints His World
James King has left his mark on the world, from the number he painted on his family’s car as a kid to the masterful painting “9-11 on the Rez,” which took the Best of Show award at the 2002 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix. Take a peek at his career and what makes him tick. By Anne Hillerman.

Desert Bounty
Join us on a brief stroll through two beautiful botanical gardens in Phoenix overflowing with the plant life of the Sonoran Desert and fascinating displays of the many creative uses the Native desert peoples found for them. By Joe Baker (Delaware) and Ruth Greenhouse.

Scottsdale, AZ: The Ultimate Guide to Native Arts
For more than five decades, Scottsdale has served as an incubator for the careers of hundreds of Native artists, from weavers and jewelers to sculptors and painters. Explore this scene—from its historic roots to gallery-by-gallery profiles of the people and venues that have made the city a mecca for Native arts. By Daniel Gibson and John Villani.

DEPARTMENTS

Letters
Our readers chime in on a number of subjects, and point out an error.

Viewpoint
Writer Deborah Krol provides some excellent advice on seeking out Native elders and coaxing them to tell the ordinary, but fascinating, details of their lives before their stories are gone forever.

On The Wind
A Native astronaut blasts off; and Wintu life explored in a new museum. Plus, other important news from the arts, business, environment, education, politics, health and other realms of life in Indian Country. By Daniel Gibson.

Happening
We head to the Phoenix area for two events: the West Valley Invitational Native American Arts Festival and the Scottsdale Indian Artists of America Show. Plus, details on other special events of Native interest across North America. By Daniel Gibson.

Spirit of the Harvest
Using corn husks to cook in is an ancient Native custom that imparts subtle flavors to fish, vegetables and other foods, as found in some mouth-watering delicacies described here. By Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs.

Galleries
We take a trip to the North Country lakes of Minnesota seeking out outstanding paintings, baskets, birchbark work, moccasins and other arts and crafts of local Native artists at Ojibwe Reflections. Also, brief looks at other exhibitions at leading Native arts–oriented galleries throughout North America. By Russ Tall Chief (Osage).

Museums
We explore a fascinating exhibition titled Out of the Silence: The Enduring Power of Totem Poles, showing at the Burke Museum in Seattle through Sept. 1. Also, previews of other exhibitions coast to coast. By Wendy Weston (Navajo).

Film & Video
Our reviewer gives a big thumbs-up to director, writer and producer Valerie Red-Horse’s documentary on the Navajo Code Talkers, True Whispers, as well as The Great American Foot Race, a look back at the young Cherokee Andy Payne, who won a cross-country foot race in 1928. By David Claudio Iglesias (Kuna).

Music
We spend some time around the drum with the unique, and somewhat controversial, all-woman powwow group The Mankillers; check out new releases from the wonderful Jim Boyd and rappers Litefoot and Shadowyze; and touch on new work by Eli Secody, Joanne Shenandoah and R. Carlos Nakai as well as a compilation from Sunshine Records. By j. poet.

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