A PASSAGE TO INDIA: 2006

Where have we been?

You may have noticed the absence of a recent Tribal Artery newsletter or blog.

Part of the reason was just the rush of seasonal business. But that should be no excuse for a business that always “booms” at this time of year.

The most recent complication was a gall bladder attack sending me, Bill, to the hospital on the Sunday morning (December 10) I was planning to compose the newsletter/blog. Since the symptoms for gall bladder infection and a heart attack are similar, after four hours of distress, it was off the Lee Memorial Health System’s HealthPark.

The care was extraordinary, especially for an early Sunday morning.

It started with a catscan, followed by ultrasound, followed by the cut de gras.

Not to make too much out of a personal story, I’ll stop there, except to say it turned out be massive surgery – “one of the 10 worst gall bladders I’ve seen”, said the surgeon.

Anyway, I am deeply appreciative and grateful for the care from the professional staff at LMHS.

Standing even higher on my Pantheon of heroism in care is my wife. Susanne was remarkable. Always there when I need something – pulling up a blanket, helping me out of and into bed, getting a cup of ice chips, calling for staff assistance when needed and countless other things, including just “being there.”

Through it all, she has continued to receive orders, process credit cards, pack and ship.

While I am home now, with access to the computer, my activity beyond the key board is severely limited.

Susanne continues to accept and fulfill orders, so if you are planning a Christmas order from any of our web sites, ZuniLink, TribalWorks, Native-PotteryLink, and Native-JewelryLink, we still can take your order and ship in time for Christmas.

The Post Office tells that USPS Priority can be shipped as late as December 20^th for Christmas delivery. After that, special arrangements must be made for overnight delivery or FedEx, which clearly are more expensive. Nevertheless, even though it has passed the qualification time, on any jewelry order in excess $100 after discounts, we will deduct the normal USPS Priority shipping rate for any overnight or FedEx shipment. In other words, you will only pay for difference between USPS Priority and the Express shipping you use. Of course, until December 20^th we will ship USPS Priority unless you request otherwise.

Finally, if you find yourself against the wall and it is flat out too late for your order to reach you or your gift-receiver before Christmas, there is another solution. We can create and email a gift certificate. It can be for a flat sum of money or, if you are concerned about sharing the cost of your gift with its intended receiver, we can prepare a gift certificate for the actual gift item, including a picture of it.

The recipient will need only to contact us by email and we will arrange for the gift item to be shipped.

There is no extra charge for this service, although free shipping is not included in this offer..

What if the person receiving your gift is unhappy with it? We have extended our approval return privilege for seven days after Christmas. All they need to do is notify us, NOT THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY, within that seven day period after Christmas Day and send it to us in a reasonable time after that, and we will provide a refund of the purchase price.

Sorry, there isn’t more “other news from the world of tribal art”. As strength returns, so will the frequency of blog entries and Tribal Artery newsletters.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!! (Can’t say that too often, can we?)

Thanksgiving Past

SWAIA’s Winter showcase this weekend

Wilson Romero’s Nativities

Have you jumped on the blog train?

(Ear)Ring in the New Year

Many minis have been posted.

Free Palm Fiber Train to be Given Away

T’is the season.

Problems at the Portal

Don’t Mess with Stolen Artifacts

Look for us in Native Peoples

American Indian Arts Celebration

We are “secure”.

New Zealand Maoris furious over plans for a themed apartment complex in Texas

By Jason Edward Kaufman (Reproduced here under the fair use rules.)

NEW YORK. A proposed Maori-themed apartment complex outside Dallas recently served as a platform for the New Zealand natives to proclaim their pride. In June, after California-based Legacy Partners announced plans to build a residential complex featuring Maori themes and folk art in suburban Plano, the company received dozens of emails charging the company with “cultural theft.” Complaints centered on the name of the complex, “Kiora Park,” taken from the Maori expression of welcome. The problem was that the phrase is properly transliterated as “Kia Ora.” "How many more mistakes will there be?" Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia asked. "We're all very proud of the culture and more than willing to share it with people who come here, but to have it transplanted into Dallas, that sounds a bit incredible," she said. No harm was meant, explains Richard Brownjohn, a vice president in Legacy’s Dallas office. “Our marketing people thought it had an unusual ring but was something people would easily pronounce. It was spelled as one word at first because Americans might butcher the spelling and we wanted it pronounced right. We didn’t think it would get Maoris upset,” he says. The name was quickly changed to “Kia Ora Park”. Mr Brownjohn—a New Zealander who is not Maori—is overseeing the $30m, 15-acre, 250-apartment complex which broke ground in June and will open by next summer. The apartment buildings have Maori-inspired steeply pitched roofs with finials, and landscaping includes ferns, a significant motif in Maori culture that appears on Kia Ora promotional literature and the web site. “The theme came from us looking for something new and different,” he explains, noting that Tuscan and Spanish-colonial themes are more common in Texas. “My being from New Zealand was the impetus that got us going in that direction,” he says, noting that the complex is more broadly New Zealander than merely Maori with some buildings imitative of Victorian colonial architecture. “We are not trying to create a theme park, but trying to create name recognition,” he says, “and we are trying to be sensitive.” But Maori activist Ken Mair has called the plan "cultural theft and possibly theft of intellectual property" and suggested that Legacy consult with Maori advisors. Mr Brownjohn says the company has no intention to do so, but he did contact the New Zealand consulate in Washington which put him in touch with Maori Aotearoa (Maori Arts New Zealand) Red Feather Gallery in Auckland which is described as the only Maori-owned art gallery in New Zealand.

Michigan Indian Tribes Seeking New Business Opportunities

An important day of remembrance.

The 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month was designated by President Woodrow Wilson as a time of commemoration of those who fell in the battlefields of World War I. Subsequently, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated the entire day, November 11th, as the day each year to remember the fallen and others who have risked their lives in defense of the nation’s freedom and lived to talk about it. Veteran’s Day, as we know it in 2006, should be one of our most somber days of thoughtful remembrance.

We owe these heroes greatly. Among them are the Native American code talkers who were instrumental in helping the Allies defeat Japan and Germany by using their native dialects to to communicate about military movements and coordinate plans. The enemy forces, which were prepared to decode systems using English language, were befuddled by the use of Native American languages. Most well-known of the groups was the Navajo Code Talkers. Others, such as the Choctaw, Chippewa/Oneida, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Sioux, Crow, Missisauga, Cree, Comanche and Hopi, also participated and contributed their patriotic part in the victory over Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism.

Among Susanne's and my most treasured carvings is a set of Navajo Code Talkers (above) marching as a U. S. Marine Corps color guard as carved by Navajo Renzo Reed.

This year, we will take the few moments to remember them and all who have answered the call to arms in the nation’s defense from the Revolutionary War to the streets of Baghdad and the mountains of

Afghanistan

. It’s the least we can do. Thank you.Code Talker Reference Links:http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/codetalkers/main.htmhttp://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-2.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker

~~~~~~~~~~~~Tribal Artery is a periodic blog about the world of tribal art from Aboriginals: Art of the First Person and its allied web sites at ZuniLink.com for authentic Zuni, Cochiti and San Felipe carvings; Native-JewelryLink.com for authentic and beautiful Native American jewelry; Native-PotteryLink.com, for outstanding examples of Native American Pueblo pottery and TribalWorks.com, for a potpourri of Native American folk, Australian Aboriginal art and African tribal art. You are invited to visit.

The belt is gone...

What will November bring?

Why are they saying those things about us…

Web site updates

We have been working industriously on updates to our web sites. In no special order of importance – because it is all important when it comes to you –

We have added secure protection to our order form at Native-JewelryLink.com. It is a work in progress, however. Each and every link to the order form must be coded to refer to the new secure form, instead of the old order form.

With hundreds of links from various pages, it is a long and time-consuming process. So far, Cases #1, #1A, #2, #3, #3A, #4, #5, #6, #6A, #7 and #7A have been upgraded so that all the order form links on those pages, and for the items listed on them, should link to the secure order form page. You can tell it is “secure” by looking a the browser bar. If it is yellow, has "https" at the start and a padlock icon at the end, it is secure for transmitting confidential information, such as that associated with credit cards.

If you land on the order form and it doesn’t have those indicators, it is not secure. But – GOOD NEWS – there is a link on the insecure order form that will take you to a secure version of it. Check the browser bar to be sure. That's good advice no matter who you are dealing with.

Second, we have added about 50 new fetish carvings to the ZuniLink site. They are scattered around the site. Sorry. It’s the way the site is organized. But, if you see a red header with the word “NEW” in it, the carving is either new or very recent. They tend to be at the bottom of the page they are added to, so scroll down.

Third, we have added two new Michael Kanteena pots to the Native-PotteryLink site. We also are in process of repairing links, especially to the order form. If you have trouble getting where you want, please call us on the toll-free 800 line – 800-305-0185. We are here and available almost every day from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time (Daylight Savings at the moment). If we are not here, leave a message on the answering machine and we will call you back as soon as we get the message.

So, have had a busy week – with more work ahead – accounting for the delay in getting this blog, and the email newsletter alert, posted. Thank you for your patience PS: You may comment on this blog at any time and we will get your feedback, which we appreciate.

Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women

The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College presents Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women Painters, a groundbreaking exhibition of paintings by thirty-three indigenous female artists from across the Australian continent. On view October 7-December 10, 2006, Dreaming Their Way is the first-ever exhibition of its kind in the

United States

. Featuring intensely colorful canvases and intricate bark paintings, this exhibition demonstrates these women's bold and often experimental interpretations of their cultural heritage. Works from renowned artists such as Dorothy Napangardi and the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye, as well as emerging painters such as Abie Loy and Regina Wilson express the Indigenous relationship to the land, understanding of the world and how it came into being, and sense of obligation to their culture. While Indigenous art is difficult to characterize as a whole, similarities in palette, dotting styles, use of symbols, and themes do appear in certain geographic areas. Many artists have developed distinctive personal styles as well, together contributing to one of the greatest contemporary art movements of the age. Linked to the spiritual realm, Indigenous Australian art is rooted in ancient stories-or Dreamings-as well as each artist's deep connection to the land. Simply interpreted, the Dreaming is the period of creation, when spiritual ancestors created the land and the life upon it, including humans, while establishing the moral code known as the Law. These all-encompassing religious and spiritual beliefs govern the lives of the Indigenous peoples of

Australia

. For thousands of years, Dreamings have been ceremoniously communicated through painting, dance, storytelling, and other artistic expressions, creating a strong, living bond between the people and their homeland. Rendered mostly on ephemeral materials, such as sand, these sacred images were intended only for private, initiated eyes. During the last thirty years, however, this has changed, to the manifest benefit of the international art world.While artists in the northern part of the Australian continent have been painting with natural ochres for audiences outside of their culture since the early part of the twentieth century, this represents a more recent development in central

Australia

. In 1971, a non-Indigenous teacher named Geoffrey Bardon encouraged Papunya community elders in the central Australian desert to use boards and acrylics to represent Dreaming designs that had previously been used in ceremonial contexts with ephemeral materials. Today a network of art-producing communities crosses the continent's vast expanse.Painting was initially a male occupation in a society in which the roles and responsibilities of men and women are clearly delineated. In the 1960s, however, women started painting in northern

Australia

, and two decades later, in the central deserts. Over the last decade women artists have received ever more attention and are often a major financial support for their families and communities. What distinguishes Indigenous Australian art from other contemporary work is its basis in ancient tradition and in the artists' relationship to the land. In their depiction of Dreamings, artists are stating their position in the world using a prescribed repertoire of imagery. Within these well-defined limits, women artists have become resourceful and imaginative in creating new ways to represent their peoples' ancient stories. The diversity and variety of the paintings in Dreaming Their Way is as remarkable as their array of colors and motifs.At the 1997 Venice Biennale, the three artists chosen to represent

Australia

were all Indigenous women. In 2005, the winners in all five categories of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA)-the most prestigious Indigenous art award-were women. This marked the first time in the twenty-two year history of the awards that the entire field of winners arose from one gender.Dartmouth College has a well-established interest in Indigenous Australian culture, and the Hood Museum of Art has long celebrated the role of art in historical and cultural heritage. Dreaming Their Way illustrates the extraordinary variety of Indigenous artistic styles and the diversity of the land that inspires these pieces, from the arid desert regions of the central terrain to the plush tropical landscapes of the north. This exhibition also gives insight into the separated gender spheres that still exist in these societies and highlights the important contributions female artists make to this unique contemporary art.This exhibition was organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. Its presentation at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, is generously funded by the George O. Southwick 1957 Memorial Fund, the Marie-Louise and Samuel R. Rosenthal Fund, and the William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Hall Fund. A full-color illustrated catalogue features essays by BRITTA KONAU, curator of the exhibition and Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; MARGO W. SMITH, Director and Curator of the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; and BRIAN P. KENNEDY, Director of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, and former Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. The catalogue includes statements by and biographies of the artists and is available through the Hood Museum of Art Shop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tribal Artery is the periodic blog about tribal art from Aboriginals: Art of the First Person, an online gallery with 25 years of experience in collecting and selling Australian Aboriginal art. Additional web sites include African, Arctic, Navajo folk art and other tribal art at TribalWorks.com, Native-JewelryLink.com, Native-PotteryLink.com and ZuniLink.com.The painting below is NOT part of the exhibition at the Hood Museum,but is typical of the genre and is one of several in the collection ofand available from Aboriginals:Art of the First PersonWomen's Body Painting, Acrylic on linen, 26" x 22", Gabriella Possum Nungararrayi, daughter of deceased master, Clifford Possum

Ann Arbor businessman, philanthropist, art collector, and devoted UMMA supporter Helmut F. Stern has given his extraordinary collection of African art to the Museum of Art. The collection of ninety pieces—regarded by experts as among the most significant collections of Central African material—is noted for its outstanding objects from many cultures, with a primary focus on art of the Congo. Many of the Stern pieces will be highlighted once the expanded Museum—with dramatically enhanced gallery space for African art—opens in 2008.

Originally from Hanover, Germany, Mr. Stern began collecting modern European and American art in 1950s, later becoming increasingly interested in Asian and African art. During the 1980s, under the guidance of then-UMMA director Evan Maurer, a noted expert on African art, the collection and its focus on the art of the Congo region took shape as new works were acquired from art dealers across the United States and Europe. Over the years, Stern generously gave numerous works of art to UMMA and provided the Museum with funds for key art acquisitions. Previous Stern gifts to UMMA include a significant collection of Japanese paintings, masterworks by Swiss artist Paul Klee and English master J. M. W. Turner, and several individual African works.

The Stern collection of African art given to UMMA has been broadly studied and published, and was presented in a major exhibition and accompanying catalogue at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1999 entitled Spirits Embodied: Art of the Congo—Selections from the Helmut F. Stern Collection, which was curated by former UMMA Director Maurer and Niangi Batulukisi.

In recent years, UMMA has stepped up its presentation and acquisition of African art, an especially dynamic and exciting field, and one with increased scholarly attention at the University due to the appointments of African art historians Ray Silverman and David T. Doris to the faculty.

In addition to expanded exhibit space for African art, the Museum's new wing will provide a variety of object study classrooms and open storage galleries, as well as housing the Charles Sawyer Center for Museum Studies. Collectively, these will allow faculty and student researchers, in particular, and the public in general, fuller access to all the Museum's outstanding works of art not on gallery display.

University of Michigan Museum of Art is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the gateway to the University’s historic central campus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tribal Artery is the periodic blog of tribal art news and information ofAboriginals: Art of the First Person, an online gallery with more than 25 years of experience in the collection and sales of authentic tribal art from Africa, Aboriginal Australia, Native America and the Arctic, with web sites at ZuniLink.com, TribalWorks.com, Native-JewelryLink.com and Native-PotteryLink.com

The William W. Brill Collection goes to auction.

PBS Announces American Indian Heritage Month schedule

Indian Country Diaries – November 2006 – is a new two-part series that goes inside modern Native American communities to reveal a diverse people working to revitalize their culture while improving the social, physical and spiritual health of their people.

In part one, “A Seat at the Drum” features Native Americans living in Los Angeles. Part two, “Spiral of Fire.” features the Eastern Band of Cherokees in their North Carolina homeland.

Seasoned With Spirit – November 2006 – This five-part series features a culinary tour combining America’s bounty with Native American history and culture with delicious, healthy recipes inspired by indigenous foods.

Gulf Coast Originals, covers native influences on Cajun cooking. Cuisine of the Desert Southwest, focuses on the three-day Tohono O’Odham harvest of saguaro cactus fruit, wild spinach with cholla buds and chiltepine peppers, tapary beans with ribs, ash bread and sweet, refreshing mesquite juice. Return of the Buffalo, travels to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation to explore sun-dried bison with chokecherries, chokecherry soup and grilled bison with sage-chokecherry jus. Bounty of the River’s Edge, shares the Yurok feast of alderwood-smoked salmon, dried sirfish and eels served with sturgeon egg bread. Food Upon The Waters, explores the wild rice harvest of the Ashinabe, or Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes, including wild rice and maple syrup cake, buffalo, wild rice and cranberry –stuffed acorn squash, buffalo stew, and swamp tea.

The Journey of Sacagawea – November 2006 – This program provides an historical account of Sacagawea’s life and the legends about her.

The Mystery of Chaco Canyon – November 2006 – Discusses how an ancient civilization , without a known written language was able to arrange its buildings in virtual celestial calendar reflected the annual sun cycle and the 19-year cycle of the moon, in area roughly the size of Ireland.

Vis A Vis – November 2006 – Australian aboriginal actress/playwright Ningali Lawford and American Indian performance artist James Luna meet through a series of digital video links to share their lives and work, and explore how each uses humor and storytelling to confront the stereotypes of native peoples in their own countries.

Check your local listings for dates and times.

Do you blog?

Calvin Begay Fans – Listen up.

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Celebrates American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

Contact: Amy Drapeau, 202-633-6614 or drapeaua@si.edu; Leonda Levchuk, 202-633-6613 or levchukl@si.edu, both of the Smithsonian Institution; Public only: 202-633-1000

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- To celebrate American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month in November, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., will host a variety of free public programs.

Panel Discussion: On Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Rasmuson Theater, a panel discussion will be held on "Indigenous Archaeology: Respecting Objects, History and Place."

Dance Performance: The Lepquinm Gumilgit Gogoadim (Our Own Dance in Our Hearts) Dance Group from Alaska, will present heritage songs and dances from the Tsimshian culture Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 5, at 10:30 a.m. and noon in the Rasmuson Theater.

Storytelling: Hope and Company, led by Ishmael Hope (Inupiaq/Tlingit) and storytellers, will share stories about Alaska Native heritage Tuesday, Nov. 7 through Thursday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 and 3:30 p.m. in the Rasmuson Theater.

Art Demonstration: David Boxley (Tsimshian) will demonstrate the art of wood carving from Friday, Nov. 10 through Sunday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. in the Potomac Atrium.

Family Day: A Family Day program on "North Pacific Coast Weaving Traditions" will take place Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Education Workshop on the third level. Tlingit weaver Lorene Boxley will talk about Tlingit women's weaving and participants will have an opportunity to create their own mat or basket to take home.

Performance: Tobias Vanderhoop (Aquinnah Wampanoag) will present "A Wampanoag Thanksgiving" Tuesday, Nov. 14 through Thursday, Nov. 16, at 10:30 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. in the Rasmuson Theater. Through story, song, drumming and dance, visitors will learn how Wampanoags traditionally offered thanks before contact with non- Natives.

Film: "Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii" will be screened in the Rasmuson Theater Friday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 25, at 1:30 p.m.

All programs are subject to change, for a complete schedule of public programs, visit http://www.AmericanIndian.si.edu .

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