DOCSLIB.ORG

Your Name Here

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Your Name Here THE MAINTENANCE OF TRADITIONAL METHODS AND SYMBOLISM IN SOUTHWESTERN NATIVE AMERICAN ART by STEVEN JOSEPH HARRISON (Under the Direction of CAROLE HENRY) ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of contributing factors to the maintenance of traditional methods and symbolism in the production of Native American artwork in the Southwest United States. Interviews were conducted with Navajo and Hopi artists, as well as with traders/art dealers, to collect data for analysis of why and how Native American artists continue to produce art by methods and utilizing traditional materials and symbolism dating back centuries, in some cases. The research questions for this study were: 1.) What are the attributes of art versus craft in the Native American culture of the Southwest? 2.) How and by whom are they taught traditional methods and symbolism? and, 3.) How does commercialism affect their art? Interview questions were designed to elicit information about how art making techniques are passed from generation to generation, how art is assessed and valued, what threatens the production of traditional art, and how mentorship by artists and traders influences art production. The commercial aspects of collecting are also explored. INDEX WORDS: Native American art, American Indian art, traditional, arts and crafts, traders, mentoring, Navajo art, Hopi art THE MAINTENANCE OF TRADIONAL METHODS AND SYMBOLISM IN SOUTHWESTERN NATIVE AMERICAN ART by STEVEN JOSEPH HARRISON B.S., Medical College of Georgia, 1969 M.S., Medical College of Georgia, 1970 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2008 i © 2008 Steven Joseph Harrison All Rights Reserved ii THE MAINTENANCE OF TRADITIONAL METHODS AND SYMBOLISM IN SOUTHWESTERN NATIVE AMERICAN ART by STEVEN JOSEPH HARRISON Major Professor: Carole K. Henry Committee: Tracie E. Costantino Richard Siegesmund Thomas Valentine Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2008 iii DEDICATION Dedicated to my younger son, Christopher S. Harrison. And to the memory of my older son, Timothy S. Harrison. In beauty, I shall walk. In beauty, you shall be my picture. In beauty, you shall be my song. In beauty, you shall be my medicine. In beauty, my holy medicine. From Navajo ceremony, the “Night Way” (Matthews) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The path to and through my doctoral dissertation has been a long one, but as the Navajo would observe, it has been a travel of beauty, harmony, and adventure. I am fortunate to have met and spoken with many interesting people and have discovered many beautiful pieces of Native American art. Some I have added to my collection. There are many to thank. A special thank you goes to Dr. Carole Henry, who is the only individual to see me through every step of my journey. She always had words of encouragement, and kept me from straying too far from my path, which I am prone to do. I have much appreciation for my other committee members, who I didn’t get to know as well as I would have liked, but were enthusiastic and available whenever I needed them. Thank you to Drs. Tracie Costantino, Richard Siegesmund, and Thomas Valentine. You are the “Kachinas” (supernaturals) of teaching. Former committee members, Drs. Andra Nyman, Candace Stout, William Squires, and Pamela Taylor, deserve recognition for all their support and enthusiastic contributions to my education. I greatly appreciate my study participants for their time spent during the interviews and their sharing of experiences and their candor. In particular, I would like to thank my “gatekeeper” and friend, W. Bruce McGee, who deserves recognition for assisting with introductions to artists and other traders. I remember our first meeting in Keams Canyon; he sold me a bordered Wide Ruins Navajo rug that I treasure to this day – he does his job well. v I could not have completed this dissertation without the assistance of my office manager, Joyce Mentel. She is flawless, keeps me organized, and has been a godsend to me and our Medical Illustration Graduate Program. Finally, there no words to express the appreciation I have in my heart for my wife, Libby Harmon, who has always supported my educational goals, just as she has supported our goals in life. Her assistance, patience, and understanding have been instrumental to my accomplishments. Those are a few of the many reasons that I love her. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ..........................................................................................3 Research Questions ...................................................................................................4 Rationale for the Study ..............................................................................................4 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................6 Southwestern Indian Art Forms ................................................................................7 Traders and Posts .....................................................................................................13 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................16 II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...................................................................34 Failure to Consider the Southwest ...........................................................................35 Places of Memory ....................................................................................................39 Multiculturalism and Cross-culturalism ..................................................................43 The Indian Arts and Crafts Act ...............................................................................58 The Navajo Story Teller ..........................................................................................63 III METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................67 vii Introduction .............................................................................................................67 Research Questions .................................................................................................70 Pilot Study ...............................................................................................................70 The Interviews and Selection of Participants ..........................................................71 Interview Questions .................................................................................................73 Research Design ......................................................................................................74 Methodology Traditions ..........................................................................................76 The Interview Settings .............................................................................................77 Data Collection ........................................................................................................83 Research Ethics .......................................................................................................85 Coding the Data .......................................................................................................86 Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................88 Data Interpretation and Validity ..............................................................................90 Subjectivity Statement .............................................................................................92 IV DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION .........................................................94 Introduction .............................................................................................................94 Introduction to Interview Participants .....................................................................98 Art versus Craft .....................................................................................................109 Tradition and Symbolism ......................................................................................126 Teachers, Mentors, and Art Education ..................................................................144 Authenticity ...........................................................................................................169 Commercialism and Collecting .............................................................................187 V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................207 viii Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................207 Discussion of Research Questions ........................................................................218
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Indian Market
    2021 ARTIST DIRECTORY & BOOTH LOCATOR MAP INDIAN MARKET SANTA FE INDIAN MARKET SOUTHWESTERN ASSOCIATION FOR INDIAN ARTS LOOKING FORWARD: SWAIA’s Indian Market and the History of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian By Andrea R. Hanley (Navajo) Courtesy photos Plaza entry, 2021 Photograph courtesy of the Wheelwright Museum 72 2021 INDIAN MARKET The museum under construction, society. Children were removed from their homes and 1937. Photograph courtesy of the placed in boarding schools where they were punished Wheelwright Museum for speaking their own language and forced to adopt Christianity. To Klah, the future of traditional Diné religious practice appeared bleak, and the opportunity to collaborate with a sympathetic outsider such as Wheelwright was appealing and necessary. Wheelwright and Klah sensed mutual trust and quickly became close friends. It was not long before they determined to create a permanent record of Klah’s and other singers’ knowledge, and in this effort, they were joined by Frances (“Franc”) Newcomb. Klah dictated and Wheelwright recorded the Diné Creation Story and other important narratives that form the basis of Diné religion. By the early 1930s, it was clear to Wheelwright and Klah that a museum would be necessary to realize their goals. It could not be simply a repository for sound AST YEAR, the Southwestern recordings, manuscripts, paintings, and sandpainting Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) tapestries. It had to offer the public an opportunity to announced that the annual Indian sense the beauty, dignity, and profound logic of Diné Market, the largest and most important religion. Their chosen architect, William Penhallow Native arts market in the United Henderson, based his design on the hooghan, the LStates, would be postponed until 2021 due to traditional Diné home and the setting for Diné the COVID-19 pandemic.
    [Show full text]
  • An Early Mormon Enterprise on Point Loma by Bradley Hill
    The San Diego Coal Company: An Early Mormon Enterprise on Point Loma By Bradley Hill t he san diego Coal Company went into business with modest fanfare—but with no lack of fervor—in november 1855. the company excavated a mine shaft on the western slope of Point loma, about a mile and a half north of the lighthouse. the mine consumed thousands of man-hours spent in earnest labor. It also con- sumed thousands of investor dollars. near the close of its first year in business, the company was within a few vertical feet of exposing and exploiting a proven and potentially profitable coal reserve. toward the end of the second year, however, the company’s activities came to an abrupt standstill, and most of the original entre- preneurs and laborers abandoned the operation. since then, historians, journalists, and even geologists have occasionally written about this mid-century mining episode. their articles and papers usually focus on the mine itself, relying on scant contemporary documents and speculation to account for the actual men and motives that energized the original enter- prise. little has been written about the human drama that drove the digging. today, 154 years since its incorporation, few people have even heard of the san diego Coal Company. Many san diegans, though, are aware of a folk legend about a “Mormon Mine” or “Mormon Well” somewhere on Point loma. one version of the legend holds that mem- bers of the Mormon Battalion initiated the mine while garrisoned in old town as early as 1847, just after the U.s.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Museum Studies, Volume 8, Number 1 Journal of Museum Studies
    THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA COLLEGE OF LIBERAL STUDIES CLS Journal of Museum Studies, Volume 8, Number 1 Journal of Museum Studies e-Journal of the Museum Studies Program VOL 8 | NO 1 | DEC 2014 Foreword The Breadth of Natural History Research by Michael A. Mares Talking God and Father Peyote: Preliminary Quantification of Curator Religious Pluralism and Contemporary Diné Success in Life Science Natural History (Navajo) Art Collections by Daniel C. Swan and Dakota H. Stevens by Jessa L. Watters and Cameron D. Siler Edited by Michael A. Mares CLS Journal of Museum Studies, Volume 8, Number 1 CLS Journal of Museum Studies, Volume 8 Number 1 (Dec. 2014) http://jms.ou.edu CLS Journal of Museum Studies is currently published online by the College of Liberal Studies, MALS Museum Studies Program, the University of Oklahoma. Your use of the CLS Journal of Museum Studies archives indicates your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://jms.ou.edu. Museum professionals, students, and other readers are encouraged to distribute the articles published in this journal as widely as possible, to use them in classes, and to reprint them as needed. For commercial use of any of these articles Cover Photograph: Mother Earth, Father Sky and the Yeis (e.g., charging for articles, republishing figures, tables, text, etc.), Dancers, 2006. Jackie Black, Diné (Navajo), Red Valley, New permission must be obtained from the Editor. All questions Mexico. Acrylic on canvas. Sam Noble Museum. relating to the journal should be directed to the Editor. Journal Editor Publisher contact information available at http://jms.ou.edu.
    [Show full text]
  • An Adm I N I Strati Ve History of Grand Ca Nyon Nati Onal Pa R K Becomingchapter a Natio Onenal Park  - 
    Figure 1.Map ofGrand Canyon National Monument/Grand Canyon Game Preserve, National Game Preserve (created by Roosevelt in 1906),and unassigned public domain. ca.1906-10. President Theodore Roosevelt liberally interpreted the 1906 Antiquities Act The U.S.Forest Service managed the monument from 1908 until it became a national when he established by proclamation the 1,279-square-milerand G Canyon National park in 1919, relying entirely on the Santa Fe Railroad to invest in roads,trails,and Monument in 1908.The monument was carved from Grand Canyon National Forest amenities to accommodate a budding tourism industry. (created by President Benjamin Harrison as a forest reserve in 1893), Grand Canyon an adm i n i strati ve history of grand ca nyon nati onal pa r k BecomingChapter a Natio Onenal Park - In the decades after the Mexican-American War, federal explorers and military in the Southwest located transportation routes, identified natural resources, and brushed aside resistant Indian peo p l e s . It was during this time that Europ ean America n s , fo ll o wing new east-west wagon roads, approached the rim of the Grand Canyon.1 The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad’s arrival in the Southwest accelerated this settlement, opening the region to entrepreneurs who initially invested in traditional economic ventures.Capitalists would have a difficult time figuring out how to profitably exploit the canyon,how- ever, biding their time until pioneers had pointed the way to a promising export economy: tourism. Beginning in the late 1890s, conflicts erupted between individualists who had launched this nascent industry and corporations who glimpsed its potential.
    [Show full text]
  • Grand Canyon
    PETREA DAVID CLASA A 11-A C THE NATIONAL COLLEGE OF INFORMATIC ,,TRAIAN LALESCU” GRAND CANYON PROF. COORD. DAN SORINA Table of contents Contents Grand Canyon........................................................................................................ 3 Geography.......................................................................................................... 4 Geology............................................................................................................... 5 History................................................................................................................. 6 Native Americans..........................................................................................6 European arrival and settlement...............................................................6 Weather............................................................................................................. 10 Air quality....................................................................................................10 Biology and ecology..........................................................................................12 Plants............................................................................................................ 12 Animals......................................................................................................... 12 Life zones and communities.....................................................................12 Grand Canyon tourism......................................................................................15
    [Show full text]
  • Polishing the Jewel
    Polishing the Jewel An Administra ti ve History of Grand Canyon Na tional Pa rk by Michael F.Anderson GRA N D CA N YO N A S S OC I ATI O N Grand Canyon Association P.O. Box 399 Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 www.grandcanyon.org Grand Canyon Association is a non-profit organization. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the educational goals of Grand Canyon National Park. Copyright © 2000 by Grand Canyon Association. All rights reserved. Monograph Number 11 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Anderson, Michael F. Polishing the jewel : an adminstrative history of Grand Canyon National Park/by Michael F.Anderson p. cm. -- (Monograph / Grand Canyon Association ; no. 11) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-938216-72-4 1. Grand Canyon National Park (Ariz.)--Management—History. 2.Grand Canyon National Park (Ariz.)--History. 3. United States. National Park Service—History. I. Title. II. Monograph (Grand Canyon Association) ; no. 11. F788 .A524 2000 333.78’3’0979132--dc21 00-009110 Edited by L. Greer Price and Faith Marcovecchio Designed by Kim Buchheit, Dena Dierker and Ron Short Cover designed by Ron Short Printed in the United States of America on recycled paper. Front cover: Tour cars bumper-to-bumper from the Fred Harvey Garage to the El Tovar Hotel, ca.1923. Traffic congestion has steadily worsened at Grand Canyon Village since the automobile became park visitors’ vehicle of choice in the mid-1920s.GRCA 3552; Fred Harvey Company photo. Inset front cover photo: Ranger Perry Brown collects a one dollar “automobile permit” fee at the South Rim,1931.GRCA 30.
    [Show full text]
  • Origin and Development of the San Juan Mission in Southeastern Utah in Its Work with Indian People (Principally Since 1940)
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1976 Origin and Development of the San Juan Mission in Southeastern Utah in its Work with Indian People (Principally Since 1940) Lyle S. Heinz Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Heinz, Lyle S., "Origin and Development of the San Juan Mission in Southeastern Utah in its Work with Indian People (Principally Since 1940)" (1976). Theses and Dissertations. 4783. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4783 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. OUGINORIGIN AND developmentDEVELOPMENT OF THE SAN JUAN mlsMISMISSIONlonION IN southeastern UTAH IN ITS worewobWOEKWORKWOE K nithWITH INDIAN PEOPLEpe01 LE principally SINCESILNGE 1940 A thesis presented toL0 o the department of church history and doctrine brigham young univeuniversityrsitv 1 ITT t inn partial fulfillmentpuly L lit i e q i of tthelleilelie rcquiremenurequirementss folforfocyolyon theL he Ddesreedegreeiee reer masterlyklsteruster of religious education by lylelyieS reinrain april 19751976 this thesis by lyielyleS heinz is acceptedacceplaccept ed in its present foformfoyutrutyut
    [Show full text]
  • Desert Magazine 1947 December
    THE DECEMBER, 1947 25 CENTS TO SHARE IN THE INCOME AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY OFFERED BY America's Most Distinguished Desert Community UNIT NO. 4 Immediately adjacent to Desert Magazine Building, Lodge and pi/*«sy Desert Cultural Center Site OPEN SOON LARGE IMPROVED HOMESITES PRE-OPENING PRICES FROM $1200. Shadow Mountain Estate Area Prices START AT TERMS The opportunities for home seekers and for investors in income, business and building properties are limitless at Palm Desert. This 1600 acre community in the heart of California's fabulous desert empire is already one of the most talked of realty developments in America. You must see Palm Desert, its amazing construction program, its streets, its abundant water supply, its perfect location - where the sun ••..-—.,•••>• lingers longer. Today, plan to see Palm Desert - and investigate the opportunities it offers you! WRITE FOR COLORFUL DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE PALM DESERT CORPORATION Palm Desert, California CLIFFORD W. HENDERSON, FOUNDER, PRESIDENT Los Angeles Office. 6123 W. Third Street • Phone WEbster 3-2661 Tract Office on Property or See Your Own Broker Edith Ward, Tract Agent J***"* K^cr°.ot CALIFORNIA'S DATE EMPIRE PHOENIX AND ROUTES EAST 4 TO IDYLLWILD • HEMET • RIVERSIDE i THE DESERT MAGAZINE DESEkT CALENDAR Nov. 28-30—Desert Peaks section of Si- erra club to climb Picacho peak in Southern California and Castle Dome in Arizona. Niles Werner, leader. Dec. 1-6—National Indian Celebration, show and all-Indian rodeo, Mesa, Arizona. Dec. 4-6—National Congress of Ameri- can Indians, fourth annual conven- Volume 11 DECEMBER, 1947 Number 2 tion, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
    [Show full text]
  • Navajo Art--A Way of Life. INSTITUTION Getty Center for Education in the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 445 979 SO 031 913 AUTHOR Clover, Faith TITLE Navajo Art--A Way of Life. INSTITUTION Getty Center for Education in the Arts, Los Angeles, CA. PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 123p. AVAILABLE FROM Getty Center for Education in the Arts, 1875 Century Park East, Suite 2300, Los Angeles, CA 90067-2561; Web site: http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/ArtsEdNet/Resources. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom - Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS American Indian Culture; *Art Activities; Art Education; *Cultural Context; Heritage Education; *Navajo (Nation); Secondary Education; Spirituality; Student Participation; *Visual Arts IDENTIFIERS *American Indian Art; Sandpaintings; Weaving ABSTRACT This curriculum unit on Navajo art consists of three lessons, each of which can stand alone or be used in conjunction with the others. Teacher and students will explore Navajo traditions in the unit and use the insight gained to create artworks that connect people to their community and natural environment. The key artworks provide the foundation upon which the Navajo art curriculum unit is based; extensive questions and answers given for each of the key artworks allow teachers and students to explore the pieces in depth. The unit's first lesson, "Weaving as a Way of Life," introduces students to Navajo culture and its artworld through weaving. In this lesson students analyze the ways design elements repeat to create patterns in Navajo weaving and make compositions based on the repetition of design elements. The unit's second lesson, "Sandpainting: Traditions of History and Healing," introduces students to the role of sandpainting in Navajo ceremonies and to the controversial use of sacred imagery in contemporary art.
    [Show full text]
  • The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All USU Press Publications USU Press 2005 High, Wide, and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills Roy Webb Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs Part of the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons Recommended Citation Webb, Roy, "High, Wide, and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills" (2005). All USU Press Publications. 153. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/153 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the USU Press at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All USU Press Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. High, Wide, and Handsome High, Wide, and Handsome The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills Edited by Roy Webb With a foreword by Brad Dimock Utah State University Press Logan, Utah Copyright © 2005 Utah State University Press All rights reserved Utah State University Press Logan, Utah 84322–7800 www.usu.edu/usupress All photographs courtesy of the Special Collections Department, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City Cover design by Brad Dimock Manufactured in the United States of America by Sheridan Books Printed on acid-free, recycled paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nevills, Norman D., 1908-1949. High, wide, and handsome : the river journals of Norman D. Nev- ills / edited by Roy Webb ; with a foreword by Brad Dimock. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87421-602-8 (case-bound : alk. paper) -- ISBN 0-87421-603-6 (pbk.
    [Show full text]
  • Shonto Begay
    home Shonto Begay Artist, Author & Educator originals Speaking Engagements sold originals During visits to schools, corporations and organizations, Shonto uses demonstrations, visuals and kindness to convey his life as a Native American and how it shaped his art. Costs vary depending on travel, etc. To book Shonto to inspire bookstore your audience, please call Shonto at 928-213-0087 or e-mail [email protected] bio & booking A professional artist since 1983, Shonto speaks to audiences of all ages. Shonto spends his time painting and He presents his personal history as a media & cool speaking to audiences of all ages. Navajo who happens to draw upon his His art has been shown in more than sites culture in its modern context. He illustrates 50 shows in galleries and museums his talks with slides and prints and gives including The Wheelwright Museum short art lessons to students. PAST EVENTS of the American Indian in Santa Fe, the American Indian Contemporary Arts 's museum in San Francisco and "I have always had a love for art. From a very young age, I found excitement in the email Phoenix Art Museum. experience of drawing. To recreate facets of my universe in varying degrees has Shonto attended Bureau of Indian always been my life's adventure. Affairs boarding schools all over the Navajo Reservation and high school in Kayenta. He received an I was born in a hogan in Shonto, Arizona. Associate's of Fine Art degree at the My parents are traditional Navajo people. Institute of American Indian Arts in My father is a medicine man, and my Santa Fe, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts mother weaves rugs and herds sheep.
    [Show full text]
  • Descendants of John Tanner
    Descendants of John Tanner Born August 15, 1778, at Hopkintown, 'R .. I. Died April 15, 1850, at South Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Utah COMPILED BY MAURICE TANNER (his Great Grandson) PUBLISHED BY THE TANNER FAMILY ASSOCIATION 1923 Introductory The genealogy of the Tanner family by reason of its preparation and size may be divided into three parts. The fir.st is the most ancient records we have of the Tanner family and has already been.prepared by Reverend George C. Tanner, D.D., of Fairbault, Minnesota. His book is a 'marvelous work of pains-taking care and devotion. The: second part is the first division of the genealogy of John Tanner, born July 2, 1810, in Greenwich, New York. Most of his descendants are found in the West, John Tanner having joined the Mormon Church in September, 1832. The third part is the second division of the gen­ ealogy of John Tanner's posterity. It will remain for future prepara­ tion. The present volume includes "2,562 names and it is estimated that ,vhen completed his descendants will riumber something like 3,500. The Mormon Churclt has been noted for the numerous posterity of its early scions. No one c-0mpares in number of his posterity with John Tanner who arrived in Utah in 1848 and died in 1850. The Reverend George C. Tanner 'has given us_ a brief statement of the manner in which the data for ibis book was collected. Following his explanation there is included brief excerpts from his book. These excerpts connect the earliest family record with John Tanner.
    [Show full text]