The Sheep Dog Trials

by John Aldrich

If you're looking for an event which combines supporting ANE together with witnessing an amazing display of canine training, plan on coming to the annual sheep dog trials known as the Soldier Hollow Classic over Labor Day weekend in the beautiful Heber Valley September 3-6.

The main event is a truly remarkable display of teamwork between the sheep dog and his/her trainer. Controlling the dog with a combination of whistles, gestures, and voice commands, the trainer guides the dog to herd a small flock of sheep through a challenging and far-ranging course which is laid out at the site of the 2002 Olympics cross country skiing events.

This has become an increasingly popular event with thousands attending over the four days it is held. In addition to the actual sheep dog trials there are a number of ancillary events which are quite entertaining such as the dog jumping contest. For more information about the event visit their website.

To make the event an even bigger attraction there are many vendors who take part. One of these is the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program. Mark Peterson, the event organizer, has been very supportive of our Program, providing tent space in a good location. In turn, ANE provides demonstrations of Navajo weaving as well as offering for sale a large variety of rugs and jewelry. This is one those special events that help us to sell rugs from our catalog.

The tent attracts large numbers of visitors, and periodically throughout the day demonstrations are given by Navajo weavers who come from the rez for this event.

Here is Darlene Furcap standing in from of a selection of her rugs with Program rugs hanging on the wall in the background,

while her sister, Lena Cowby, demonstrates the art of Navajo weaving.

Everyone attending the trials is guaranteed a fascinating experience as well as a fine opportunity to support ANE. The event web site has a page dedicated to ANE which gives further information. If anyone is interested in volunteering to help staff the tent during the event, please contact Wendy Sanborn at 801-243-2295.

The Rug Catalog

by John Aldrich

Early in the history of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program Linda realized that one of the important ways of helping Elders support themselves in their traditional way of life was to help create a market for their rugs. This came about when several weavers asked Linda to take their rugs to Park City and try to sell them. This effort evolved into the annual rug show which will be in its 21st iteration this November.

Although the rug show provides the largest outlet for the textiles of our Elders, this is a once-a-year event. To provide a market for rugs throughout the year the rug catalog was developed to facilitate additional sales.

The inventory of rugs held by the Program constitutes "the catalog". Rugs are added to the catalog continuously, but the bulk of the new weavings are acquired during the spring and fall food runs when Elders bring their rugs to the events. Most are purchased outright although a few are taken on consignment.

This photograph shows Elders and their families displaying their crafts at the conclusion of the Big Mountain food run this spring. Many items will be purchased by volunteers attending the run and Linda will acquire many of the remaining rugs for the catalog.

At any one time there are typically 250 to 300 rugs available for purchase. The weaver determines the price for the rug, and the Program adds no mark up. So every dollar spent on a rug purchase ends up in the hands of the weaver.

A printed rug catalog is produced once a year after the rugs that were acquired at the spring food runs have been processed. This tradition started years ago, and the Elders take great pride in seeing their rugs in a printed book. The current version of the catalog is sixty pages and contains pictures of all the rugs in our inventory when it was created in late June. The book can be purchased through the Trading Post section of the web site.

But since rugs are being added and sold throughout the year, the printed catalog is not the most up-to-date source of information. The web site's Rug Catalog represents the most current listing of available rugs.

In addition to the on-line rug catalog and the rug show, sales are made at a variety of special events such as the Park City Farmers' Market, annual sheep dog trials at Soldier Hollow, and other sales events.

Here rugs are offered for sale at a one-day sales event at the 10,000 Villages store in Sugar House last year.

At The Park City Farmer's Market

by John Aldrich

The Farmer's Market is a popular weekly event in Park City during the summer months. In addition to farmers with their produce, many other vendors come to sell a variety of wares.

For the past 14 years ANE has maintained a booth at the market as a means of selling rugs and jewelry for our Elders as well as promoting the Program. During most of that span of time Linda has done all of the work by herself although in recent years it has become a volunteer activity so she now has more help.

Cheryl Wehmanen and Suzy Bagley are two of the volunteers who regularly help man the booth.  The cost of the weekly space rental, $40, is generously donated by Volker's Bakery.

Besides rugs and jewelry a variety of other options are offered to market-goers who might wish to support the Program in some manner.

On this particular market day there was an added attraction at the ANE booth. For several years three Elders from the Big Mountain area of the reservation have come with their families to spend the July 4th holiday with Linda. The market gives them an opportunity to make sales directly to people attending the event.

Here is May Shay with one of her rugs and some of her jewelry.

May's sister, Elsie, also holds a rug along with some of her jewelry.

Katie Furcap is a third sister who proudly displays one of her weavings.

One of Katie's daughters, Lena Cowboy from Chilchinbito, shows her jewelry to a prospective buyer.

Katie's other daughter, Darlene, has set up a beautiful table display of her jewelry.

Darlene's daughter, Patrina, made these spectacular beaded necklaces. Each one involved two to three weeks of work.

The Farmer's Market wasn't the only chance these artists will have to sell their wares. On Saturday July 3rd they will set up in front of the Park City Clothing Company on Main Street. This opportunity was made possible by the owner, Doug Hollinger, who is a generous donor to the Program and the Elders and is also an ANE board member.

Craft Day 2010

by Gina Zimmerer

The Christmas Ornament Program was started several years ago as an additional means to support our Elders through the harsh winters on the reservation. At the annual rug show these ornaments are placed on a tree where show-goers can select an Elder they wish to support.

The actual creation of these ornaments takes place at the Craft Day held at the warehouse in June. This year it happened on June 12th, and there was a great turnout of volunteers. A total of 184 ornaments were artfully designed by those attending the event. Each ornament features a photo and a short biography of the Elder plus a list of items needed by that Elder.

This composite image shows a finished ornament together with the material on the back which allows the purchaser see just what the Elder needs.

Each volunteer began by selecting an Elder’s picture and biography; and, for some, this project was very personal as they made ornaments featuring the Elder they have adopted.  From the Elder’s picture, they determined what color papers and which embellishments to use to highlight the Elder.

Here, turquoise and coral stones were used to create a 3D necklace.

While here, the skilled, patient hands of Ericka Norton work with seed beads.

 Celeste Williams  put a lot of love into decorating an ornament for her Grandmother, Alma Williams.

The Norton family created several beautiful ornaments.  Ericka Norton said, “We had a good time together.  It is an honor for us to help the Native Elders and to feel the comfort of those who were around us at the warehouse”.

Here are a portion of the completed ornaments.

These ornaments will be hung on a Christmas tree during the November Rug Show.  Certainly, the beauty, love and artistry the volunteers put into each ornament will catch the eye of those attending the Rug Show ... and ... hopefully, that will lead to many donations of firewood, food certificates and yarn for the Elders to help them through the long winter months.. 

Sunrise Ceremony - Canyon de Chelly

by Charles Keen

(Note: Charles is a volunteer from Chelmsford, MA who attended his first food run in 2008. He has returned annually since. His initial reference is to an optional sunrise ceremony which is held in conjunction with each food run.)

Sitting on the cold rocks overlooking the depths of Canyon de Chelly in the white light awaiting the arrival of the first yellow rays of the sun Linda Myers posed two existential questions:  “Who Am I?” and “Why Am I here?”.  The questions are embedded in the cosmology of Navajo creation stories of the Hero Twins, but of course they apply to each of the 40+ members of our circle.  We are asked to attempt answers.  We struggle with these lifelong imponderables as did the twins in her story; one spent much time seeking wisdom among buffalo and bear elders and was rewarded with deep insights while the other tried a short cut following the trickster coyote and finally recognized his failure.  The questions continue to resonate.

Who Am I?  I grew up on an Iowa farm with five younger brothers; we fed cattle and raised corn .  Dad was a self-taught agricultural economist; business and markets were discussed at every meal.  Mother was a teacher with a deep sense of education, history, and genealogy.  She insured that we all knew that we were 14th generation from the Mayflower; I later learned that Dad’s paternal ancestors only arrived in the 18th century from Sweden.  Both parents insured that all of us had extensive higher education and saw ourselves establishing careers off the farm. We did but with an imbedded sense of the Land.

Age and experience has burnished some of the sharp edges of youth.  Marriage, two fine daughters, years in Canada, travel, challenging work building and deploying Internet precursor technology in many countries, and death  have been part of my life’s journey.  I have sought experience and understanding.  I enjoy getting past national politics and propaganda to discover the common elements of family, work, and culture in our individual everyday lives.

Why Am I here?  Over the years I have gained a sense of place in several countries and in the American Midwest, Northeast, East, and Pacific Coast.  However my sense of the history, culture, and place of the Southwest United States had been shaped only by Westerns and 30+ thousand foot airplane window views.  I had some sense of the sorry and sordid history of the treatment of American Indians but with details only from the East.

Exposure to the Adopt-A-Native-Elder organization and the opportunity to go on food runs – I have now done four – has given me a ground level sense of place and the lives the Navajo live.  It is a close-up view of agriculture, commerce, health care, diet, housing, culture, history, and intergenerational family life I could never gotten from books.  Visiting the Navajo Nation Museum and Zoo at Window Rock gives a sense of the Navajo view of themselves.  Stopping at the Hubble trading post at Ganado provides the context for the sources of the colorful rug weaving art practiced today.  Spending time with experienced ANE volunteers has given me a sense of the deep respect they share for the Navajo culture and elders they support. 

Navajo history now has a distinct shape.  One cannot look down into the Canyon de Chelly and not see its walls as the site of their 1862 US military roundup and forced Long Walk to a New Mexico multi-year imprisonment; many died.   One then remembers depression era Bureau of Indian Affairs enforced culling of sheep herds and the recent Peabody Coal engineered police enforced family resettlements to clear title and access to rich Indian coal.

ANE food runs provide countless small insights into Navajo life.  Diet and medical problems are apparent. Loose sheep, cattle, and horses grazing on street and highways reflect both limited rainfall and an early New England sense of town common grazing lands.  (I always shudder at the sight thinking of many youthful, dangerous episodes chasing our escaped farm cattle off the busy US Highway 30.) The sense of common lands is reinforced as homesteads seem plopped in random clusters without separating fences or individual driveways.

 Flashes of humor and financial need are apparent during giveaway activities and in the types of supplemental medical supplies some elders receive.  The numbers of grandchildren who bring elders to food run sites reflect parents working off the reservation.  Noting whether elders speak Navajo or English to the grandchildren gives a hint of the durability of the culture.  Carrying supplies into an elder’s trailer, hogan, or house gives an intimate sense of both income and living arrangements. 

Details aside, the overwhelming sense one gets from elder faces, smiles, gentle handshakes, or a thank you given in broken English or Navajo is of genuine gratitude.  We volunteers are privileged to support a proud people who have lived hard lives with little income in a harsh land that they cherish deeply.   We are welcomed as caring outsiders who truly want to help.  Food runs, of necessity, are well organized; the pace is hectic and the physical conditions sometimes brutal.  Still, I feel privileged to be part of the ANE process; it has given me a sense of a special place and a people whose rural sheep herding traditions are under immense economic and cultural pressures for change from the larger American society.  I treasure the time spent on the food runs with these unique People.

The Final Spring Food Runs

by John Aldrich

The final runs of the spring food run sequence, Sanders, Big Mountain, and Teesto are again based out of Winslow, AZ. During the previous week the base was Chinle, AZ, for the runs to Many Farms, Tsaile, and Pinon. Wind remained a dominant factor throughout these events and was particularly forceful at Many Farms and Sanders.

According to the Navajo Times the wind reached a velocity of  77 mph near Leupp on the day of the Sanders run. This was actually stronger than the wind two weeks earlier when all the signs blew over and the power went out in Winslow. But following that we had beautiful conditions for the food runs to Big Mountain and Teesto.

At the start of each set of food runs the volunteers pose for a group photo. Here we are out on the Land in Sanders. The wind was blowing but didn't reach full force until an hour or two later.

Sanders is located in an area of the reservation referred to as the New Lands. As a result of the land dispute in the 1970's and 1980's many Navajos were relocated from areas near the Hopi reservation such as Big Mountain and Coal Mine Mesa. This area, south of I40 near Sanders is where many ended up, many miles from their original homelands.

The hospitality of the White family in hosting the Sanders food run is represented here by the pot of coffee on the fire. All are welcome and made to feel at home.

Inside the shade house the "kitchen committee" headed by Sharon Prescott (near left) prepares sandwiches for the meal that is served at each run. The structure provided relief from the wind although sand and dust could easily find a way through the cracks in the siding.

Michelin Man, aka Steve McGeeny, shows how the wind can turn a jacket into a balloon.

Thankfully, by the next day the wind had abated, and the weather was ideal for the Big Mountain food run. This is the largest of all the food runs with 89 Elders. It is also the area where Linda initially established the Program 24 years ago.

In this photo the Elders are seated in a large circle around the tarp which has clothing items which they will be able to choose from later. Between Elders, their families, and the volunteers, there are easily three hundred people here at the Homeland of the Robertson family.

Following the food run program and the meal, volunteers have an opportunity to view and purchase rugs, jewelry, and other crafts brought by the Elders and their families. Due to the size of this food run, there are many choices.

At Teesto we were again blessed with a beautiful day. The Teesto food run is hosted by Anita Jackson and her family who have built a special structure for the event and cook for several days in preparation for the run. This photo shows members of the South Valley Unitarian Church (Salt Lake City) youth group and their parents. Through the inspiration and effort of Mac and Sheri Lund, longtime ANE volunteers, this group was able to attend the Big Mountain and Teesto runs. They spent nearly a year planning for this event which appeared to be a rewarding experience for everyone.

Devoice Medford greets Anita in this photo. Devoice and her daughter drove from North Carolina to Winslow for the second year in a row to be a part of this food run.

Members of the youth group, along with volunteer Alice Sikorsky, pose after preparing clothing for the tarp. Clothing is collected throughout the year at the warehouse in Salt Lake City and then transported to the reservation for the tarp event at the food runs.

This photo shows people lined up for the meal being served at the run. The large structure resembling an open-sided  hogan was built by the Jackson family to host the Teesto food runs.

A final image shows an amicable scarecrow erected on Anita's property. Her grandson thought it was to "keep the coyotes away", but the friendly expression suggests that everyone is welcome here.

Now that the spring food runs are completed, we will be turning our attention to summer events for the Program and looking ahead to the fall food runs and the rug show.

The Hubble Trading Post

by John Aldrich

For those interested in the Trading Post era of Navajo History or just  Western Americana in general, a visit to the Hubble Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona is a must.

John Lorenzo Hubble established a trading post here in 1878, only ten years after the Long Walk period  ended. He purchased 160 acres for roughly $37. At that point Ganado was not yet part of the reservation so his purchase was from the U.S. Government, and the site remains an in-holding within the current reservation.

He quickly established a successful business by learning Navajo and maintaining scrupulously honest and fair trading practices. Ultimately he created a trading empire by buying or establishing a number of other trading posts. The Hubble Trading Post was turned over to the National Park Service in 1965 but remains an active business trading with the local Navajo. It is the oldest continuously operating business in northern Arizona.

In addition to the trading post itself,  a highlight of a visit is a tour of the Hubble home next door. Hubble was active in politics as well as the arts and hosted many luminaries of his era including Teddy Roosevelt and the painter Maynard Dixon. The home has not changed since the last Hubble descendant moved out in 1967.

The walls remain covered with the original art he collected. He often accepted pieces of art in lieu of payment for services. The ceiling between the beams is filled with an extensive collection of Native American baskets from throughout the Southwest.

This is one of the two Maynard Dixon paintings in the collection.

This is Tina Lowe, a Navajo woman who was our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable, and much of the information that I am passing on here was gleaned from her discourse during the tour. In addition to working for the Park Service, Tina is a grandmother and weaver. She also was aware of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program and had been to Salt Lake City to volunteer during the Olympics.

This exterior view shows problems with the adobe walls. Tina explained that their adobe expert had left and that currently they had no one to perform the repairs that are needed on a nearly annual basis.

A wall hanging in the kitchen displays a variety of corn.

The museum aspect of the site isn't limited to the trading post and home. The grounds are full of tools and farming implements. There is a large barn as well with many artifacts from the Hubble era.

The stone hogan on the left was used for ceremonial purposes in Hubble's time and is now used as a guest house for an artist-in-residence program. At the top of the hill in the background John Lorenzo Hubble and his wife are buried.