Indigenous cultures celebrated

Guide Page 10

Since it was first established 72 years ago, the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff has worked to broaden public understanding about the people and lands of the Colorado Plateau. Visitors to the museum can learn more about the area's natural history and Indigenous people by visiting the museum's collections, touring its exhibits and, each summer, taking part in the festivals and marketplaces that make up the museum's summer heritage program.

This year's summer heritage program will celebrate the art and culture of the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and Pai people.

"Our mission is the Colorado Plateau," explained Michele Mountain, marketing manager for the museum. "And that area is portions of the four states-Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. And during the summer, we highlight the Native people of the Colorado Plateau in those marketplaces and festivals."

The main difference between the marketplaces and the festivals, Mountain explained, is that the marketplaces are bigger events, mainly because they have been going on longer and are better established than the festivals.

"The Hopi and Navajo are the largest ones. The Zuni's coming up pretty quick after that. And that is because they're the longest running and also because the artwork is so popular and so well-known from those groups and they tend to be the bigger draws. But we're hoping that they all develop into the large marketplaces," Mountain said.

The idea of organizing an annual marketplace to celebrate Indigenous arts and culture came from the co-founders of the Museum of Northern Arizona-Harold S. Colton, who was a zoologist, and Mary Russell Ferrell Colton, who was an artist.

"So what you'll see here at the Museum of Northern Arizona is a blend of those two disciplines coming together," Mountain said. The marketplaces, too, were the result of that blending, designed as a way to help encourage Native artists to continue the traditional arts, and to give them a marketplace to show and sell their work.

Visitors to the 69th annual Hopi Marketplace on July 6 and 7 will have a chance to see both master artists and those newer to the craft demonstrate their skill. Hopi pottery, katsinas, baskets and silverwork will also be available for purchase at the marketplace.

The Hopi Hoiyum and Hopi Tewa/Senom dance groups will perform Hopi social dance, and flute performances are also planned.

In addition to seeing parts of Hopi culture, visitors will also have a chance to taste it, watching as Hopi piki and parched corn are made, and then sampling the finished product.

Children attending the Hopi Marketplace can experience the Hopi art first hand at the Creative Corner, where they can make their own treasures to take home with them.

The Hopi running tradition is also celebrated during the marketplace, with the Nuvatukya'ovi 5K foot race scheduled for July 7.

New this year to the Hopi Marketplace is an ethnobotany tour by a Hopi Native guide, who will take visitors on a walk along the museum's nature trail and tell about native plants and their uses, both as food and medicine.

Navajo weavers, silversmiths, folk carvers and painters will be demonstrating their crafts and selling their creations during the 53rd annual Navajo Marketplace on Aug. 3 and 4. Visitors will also have a chance to watch Navajo social dances, learn about Navajo history, and enjoy contemporary Navajo music. Children's activities in the Creative Corner are once again offered, as is an ethnobotany tour, this time with a Navajo guide pointing out the plants traditionally used by the Navajo people.

Zuni carvers will work along-side craftspeople creating Zuni jewelry and traditional Zuni pottery during the 16th annual Zuni Marketplace on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Performances by Zuni dancers, and a puppet show will also be part of the marketplace, along with a lecture on Zuni culture.

Pai arts and culture will be the focus during the Festival of Pai Arts on Sept. 21 and 22, showcasingthe traditional and contemporary arts and crafts of the Havasupai, Hualapai, Yavapai and Paiute Nations. Paipai artists will be on hand to demonstrate the creation of traditional pottery, hunting tools, weaving and baskets. The Ram Dance of the Guardians of the Grand Canyon will be performed, alongside traditional Hualapai song and dance performed by the Sylvia Querta Group. Visitors will also get a chance to taste traditional Hualapai foods, and learn about the history of the Pai tribes.

One new feature of this year's summer heritage program is that visitors to the marketplaces and festival will be able to view the museum's anthropology collections, which are located in the museum's research centre, and aren't always open to the public.

For more information about the Museum of Northern Arizona, call the museum at 928-774-5211, or visit the museum Web site at www.musnaz.org.