Nizhoni Ranch News

Hopi Katsinas

Two-year old Kelly Shupula with gifts she received from the Katsinam at a ceremony.

Central to Hopi religion, Katsinas are supernatural beings believed to live on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona. Hopi men embody the Katsina spirits during ceremonies that take place between Winter Solstice and mid-July. The Hopis believe these spirits enable them to live in harmony with nature, ensuring rain, crops, fertility, and good hunting. The Hopi men embody the spirits of these Katsinas by wearing masks and dancing in the plazas of the villages. The dolls, which are carved replicas of the dancers, are given to the children so that they may learn about their people's traditions. The art of carving Katsina dolls has evolved from the old-style block-like figures into today's highly detailed, all-wood dolls with realistic form and action.

Over time, Katsina Dolls became more and more sophisticated and included bases for the dolls to stand on and showing the Katsina in “action”- such as dancing or hunting. All Katsina Dolls are carved out of the root of the Cottonwood tree. The Cottonwood tree’s vigorous roots travel far and deep in search of water. There is spiritual importance in this fact, as the Hopis are dry farmers in an arid part of Arizona and the search for water is of critical importance to their culture. 

Click to view our collection of Katsinas for sale 

For more about Katsinas keep reading... 

Holy Girl Is Back!

Yei - Holy Girl Pictorial : Historic : GHT 1041 : 48" x 102" : (4' x 8'6") : $12,000

This female Yei stands over 8 feet tall!  It is woven with beautiful light gray background, vibrant red, deep black and cream wool in the design.  A lovely stepped border stands between two Spider woman cross borders. 

This weaving was part of the 2016 Woven Holy People exhibit at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery and is on page 13 of the catalog for the show.

Taking part in the Tucson Desert Art Museum Exhibit Titled: Sacred Dancers: Ceremonial Navajo Weavings.  December 15, 2021 to June 25, 2022.

More Pictorials:

Pictorial Navajo Weaving : GH : Churro 1692 : 25.5" x 32" (2'1.5" x 2'8") : $1,200

Pictorial Navajo Rug : Ervin Phillips : 3425 : 19" x 23" ( 1'7" x 1'11") : $1,500

 
Yei : Navajo Pictorial Weaving : Anita Tsosie : 3422 : 70" x 84" (5'10" x 7'2") : $12,500

 
Night Sky Yei be Chei Pictorial Navajo Weaving : Berlinda Nez Barber : Churro 227 : 48" x 105" (4' x 8'9") : $25,500

We have many more pictorials to choose from.  Please click here.

Future 5th+ Generation Navajo Weaver has arrived!

This lovely ones comes from strong weaving roots - arguably from the most talented weaving family today!  Welcome little one!

Wine Down Open House Friday 4-28, 5:30 to 7:30

We are excited to announce we will be holding a Wine Down (Open House) Friday April 28, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Gallery.

It is the perfect time of year to enjoy beautiful weavings, wonderful friends and gorgeous sunsets.  Please bring your favorite wine (or drink) and a dish to share.  

RSVP to steve@navajorug.com or 520-455-5020.

Hope to see you there!

Special Place in Arizona!

November 25th, Native American Heritage Day

The month of November is more than Thanksgiving. It's also Native American Heritage Month, a time designated to honor and recognize the contributions Indigenous people have made to the United States.

"Our resilience and our strength as the first peoples of this land should be celebrated every day," said IllumiNative founder Crystal Echo Hawk.  

"As Indigenous peoples, we stand in our power every day. We continue to pass down traditions through ceremony, protect the wellness and health of our communities, and fight for clean air and water," she said.

Native American Heritage Month provides a national platform for Indigenous people to shed light on their communities by leading discussions about culture and tradition, educating the public about tribal communities or celebrating culture by wearing traditional footwear for a week.

"The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people," according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).

"Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges."

“Native American communities play a critical role in the growth and prosperity of our state,” Ducey said in a news release. “Arizona is enriched by the many diverse contributions from people all across our state, and this month, we are proud to celebrate the Native American community’s vibrant heritage, civic leadership, and history of service to our state and nation."

Arizona is home to 22 tribes, and tribal land makes up approximately 28% of the state’s land base, according to the governor's office.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!!

 We give thanks for family and friends this Thanksgiving Holiday!

Safe travels to all!

Remembering the Navajo Veterans

All of us at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery would like to thank the Men and Women of the U.S.A. who served in the military and support services for our country,  especially those of WWII. Many years ago this country came together in a valiant effort to help end an unbeatable war at great odds. In a state of great depression and poverty ourselves, the USA pulled together to go from the 8th military power in the world (behind Romania) to Number 1 !

Men, Women, Black, White, and Native Americans came together to work together to make this happen. The Navajo played a special part in this effort....

Seventy-five years ago, 29 young Navajo bi-lingual men joined the Marines and started boot camp. From there they went to Camp Pendleton in California and devised the Navajo Code - an undecipherable code by any one except those who spoke the language and knew the code.

These young pioneers, the Navajo Code Talkers, forged the path for a total of 421 young men. These WWII Warriors served at Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Tarawa, and Iwo Jima, and served as Code Talkers in assaults conducted by the US Marines in the Pacific from 1942 -1945. As of 1945, more than 500 Navajo had joined the Marines.

The Navajo Code continued to have value after the end of the war and remained classified. In 1992 the Code Talkers were honored at the Pentagon.

Today fewer than 10 of the code talkers survive. Two years ago it was estimated that 9,000 veterans live on the Navajo nation. Many Americans who live away from the Navajo area don't realize that the Navajo Nation encompasses 27,000 miles... the size of West Virginia.

Nizhoni Ranch Gallery helped Red Feather renovate then 94-year old Navajo Code Talker, Dan Akee's 4-bedroom home, so he could move back into it for his final days. Here is a short clip from Channel 12 News, before the project was finished....

 The Red Feather organization partners with Hopi, Navajo, and Northern Cheyenne homeowners and community members to repair and winterize their homes by assembling volunteers, professionals, seeking grants, and donations. We applaud their efforts bringing the communities together to help themselves. 

2022 Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Is Almost Here!

We are getting ready for this years Ceremonial.  So far it looks like 22 rugs will be entered for judging.  We are so proud of our weavers and know that most if not all will win ribbons!

Booth Western Art Museum - Native Hands Exhibit!

Do You Know The Way to Santa Fe?

Celebrate Native art and culture at the largest and most prestigious intertribal art market in the world. Purchase jewelry, textiles, baskets, beadwork, carvings, sculptures, and drums directly from more than 1,000 of the “best of the best” Native artists, representing dozens of Tribes. And don’t miss the Indigenous fashion show, as well as the music, dance, storytelling, and comedy performances. 

100th Annual Santa Fe Indian Market on the Plaza!

Free and Open to the Public!
No tickets necessary.
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
 

2nd Phase or 3rd Phase? Actually In-Between!

It is inspiring when Navajo rug collectors are born. Many immerse themselves so deep it is not long before they become experts.  This collector is a perfect example of when the student becomes the teacher.

Please enjoy the following article!

May 1, 2022

Somewhere, Sometime, Somehow In-Between
by Ed B. from Minnetonka, MN

Somewhere, deep in a canyon or atop a high mesa, early Pueblo wearing blankets became the inspiration for the The First Phase Chief-Style blanket, or “beeldlei” in Navajo. This style was a simple broad striped weaving made of native hand-spun churro wool, wider than long and so tightly woven that it shed the rain. These blankets kept one safe by offering protection from the elements. Expensive to trade for, Navajo blankets became highly sought after as a sign of important social status and wealth.  Hence the name Chief-Style Blanket.

Sometime in the 1840’s, The Second Phase of the Navajo Chief-Style Blanket began to evolve. The arrival of crimson colored cloth and yarns into the Navajo region and renewed experimentation with designs produced rectangular blocks and bands in the new colors. Positioned onto the simple broad striped pattern, this arrangement created the illusion of space by establishing a stable figure-ground relationship. When small shapes are placed upon larger shapes, the larger shapes are understood to be the background.  

Somehow, by the 1860’s, the rectangular blocks and bands were slowly being replaced with triangular and diamond shapes that would define the Third Phase Chief-Style Blanket. Some shapes grew so large that they seemingly reversed the previous figure-ground relationship of the earlier Second Phase.

In-Between, there were early design ventures and continued experimentation with new shapes, colors and yarns that incorporated both the rectangular blocks typical of the Second Phase, combined with early stepped triangular shapes. Examples of this design combination are very rare.  

In this early transitional or variant blanket, 1860-1870, stepped triangular shapes have just germinated, appearing to grow out of the straight bands of the Second Phase borders. Observe how these new shapes seem to burst into the broader striped areas.  These triangular shapes help to create a newly defined border-contrast phenomena which is surely intensified by the triangular shapes when compared to the earlier straight bands. There exist only a few examples of this blanket design. Some refer to it as simply a Second Phase Variant or an early Third Phase.