Table of Contents September/October 2005

BUY THIS ISSUE

ON THE COVER
Rulan Tangen (Metis) is one of the stable of high-energy, talented and ambitious young Native contemporary dancers taking the world’s stages by storm. Fashions by Marama—Kingi Davis and Tracey Lloydd (Ngapuhi Tribe, Aotearoa). Photo by Richard Bluecloud Castaneda (Salt River Pima).

<>

FEATURES

New Forms for Contemporary Dance
Native American dance is usually associated with powwow and traditional dance forms, but a rapidly growing cadre of dance troupes and individuals is taking Indian dance into entirely new realms while paying respect to their Native roots. Profiles of Rosalie Jones (Pembina/Chippewa), Raoul Trujillo (Apache/Ute/French Canadian/Latino), Alejandro Ronceria (Suesca/Sogamoso), Sandra Laronde (Anishinaabe), Santee Smith (Mohawk) and Rulan Tangen (Métis). By Hollis Walker.

Museum Exhibition Extraordinaire
A new exhibition, Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2, opening in New York City in September at the Museum of Arts & Design, lifts Native arts out of the designation of provincial and craft to their rightful place alongside other contemporary world arts. By Ellen Taubman and David McFadden.

Fetishes
These tiny carved figurines, generally of animals, have been captivating the public for decades, as exemplified in the works of four Zuni Pueblo carving families: Leekya, Weahkee, Quam/Quandelacy and Cheama. Plus, some history on fetishes’ sacred origins, a list of other notable fetish carvers and buying tips. By Gregory Schaaf, Ph.D. (Cherokee).

Identity: Who’s an Indian?
Perhaps no issue is of greater importance and divisiveness than the question of who is—and isn’t—an Indian. Who determines this, and what happens in cases of tribal disenrollment, missing records and “mixed bloods.” Illustrated with contemporary art from a handful of artists exploring these questions: Richard Ray Whitman, Fritz Scholder, Roxanne Swentzell and Perry Eaton. By Patti Talahongva (Hopi).

Anita Tsosie: Weaving a Charmed Life
We visit with the 2004 Santa Fe Indian Market Best of Show winner, the talented weaver Anita Tsosie (Navajo). By Tina Deschenie (Navajo). Photos by Dale Anderson.

Native Roots & Rhythms
For 21 years, the annual Native Roots & Rhythms concerts in Santa Fe, held during Indian Market, have been wowing crowds with their mixture of contemporary and traditional music, dance, comedy and other performing arts. A look back and at this year’s show. By Steve Terrell. Photos by Lee Hyeoma (Hopi).

DEPARTMENTS

Letters
We hear from readers about Floyd Red Crow Westerman and tribal economic development opportunities, and from the family of Elwood Reynolds.

On the Wind
Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) is becoming a brand name with the potter’s major move into high fashion and jewelry, and we look at the Lannan Foundation’s important work. 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
Hook up with us as we visit the Cherokee Nation Fair, the Oklahoma tribe’s big annual bash. Plus details on other special events of Native interest across North America. By Daniel Gibson.

Spirit of the Harvest
Fashion designer Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo) can also stitch together a fine meal based on her roots but extended in novel directions, much like her fine apparel, as in sushi duck tamales with berry sauce. By Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs.

Pathways
Hanal Pixan, the Mayan Ritual of the Dead, is revived for its first public presentation in 30 years at the Mayan ruins of El Rey near Cancún, Mexico. Plus details on other sites of Mayan interest in the area. By Colleen Fliedner and Karen Hamil.

Collections
Dick Howard has been collecting Pueblo pottery for more than 51 years and says it may be another 51 before he exhausts his interest, as expressed in his amazing collection in his Santa Fe home. By Dottie Indyke. Photos by Kitty Leaken.

Galleries
Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe hosts a series of major exhibitions preceding and during Indian Market, including the fabulous work of Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit). Also, brief looks at other Native-oriented galleries throughout the continent. By Russ Tall Chief (Osage).

Museums
We go “up East” to the Abbe Museum of Bar Harbor, Maine to check out the unusual and fascinating exhibition Mocotaugan: The Story and Art of the Crooked Knife. Also, notes on other museum exhibitions coast to coast. By Wendy Weston (Diné).

Music
Jamie “Makwabid” Mehigan (Abenaki) explores his Eastern Woodlands roots and Native language in Wampum Road, a rare work that combines his Native musical heritage and contemporary forms. Plus, reviews of Flash of a Firefly by Jana, Skywoman: A Symphonic Odyssey of Iroquois Legends by Joanne Shenandoah, and Traditional Songs of the Salt River Pima by Earl Ray. By j poet.

Books
Our books editor presents reviews of a handful of books ranging from children’s stories to a book about Native children’s books. By Deborah Utacia Krol (Salinan/Esselen).

BUY THIS ISSUE