This Indigenous life.

photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013

The goal for this blog is to highlight aspects of Indigenous Adornment in the American southwest. I have done this faithfully and have been blessed by the response and opportunities that have been afforded so far. I truly believe we are all born on this precsou earth for a divine reason, whether it is to be a leader or a participant, Creator has given us this life.  Part of the 21st century daily ritual concerns visiting the river.I am a child of water and therefore, continue the ritual of blessing myself: spirit, mind, soul and body.

I have begun a series of photographs concerning adornment, in this case the Indigenous foot.

In memory of a great man

Alfred Naswood Padilla Yazzie Sr.

 

In this wonderful season on family, my own is absent of one, my grandfather Alfred. We lost our love in August of this year and still our hearts are broken, but we will go forward with his memory. I would like so share this with the global community becuase my papa's legacy deserves such attention.

The one word that most describes him is hero. The English word evokes images of colorful, animated characters from Hollywood movies. Superman, Batman, but what is a hero? What does the word hero mean to you? Does your hero have to have bulging muscles, supernatural powers, a nice ride?

In the Navajo language there is a word that goes beyond that English term. Dine’kejigoo, in the way of Navajo it is nataani, which refers to a leader, and this is what my papa Alfred was.  He lived a simple life yet he was a leader in the family, and therefore was a hero in my eyes.

Today I’m here to share with you how my papa was my hero.  For he was my father and, he was my grandfather and my friend. He encompassed what a hero leader was in the world of little Navajo girl who was born in the 1970s.  I used to think of his superpowers where turning pretty rocks into candy. I was fortunate to grow up with my cousin as we were always together as kids, she was my sister, or should I say cousin-sister! But our papa would tell us as kids to go out and find some pretty rocks and he would turn them into candy for us. So we’d go out and look and look for these rocks, then we’d run inside to him and give him the rocks. Then he would do his magic and soon we’d seen hard candy pieces emerge from his hands. Are papa was a magic man, he was our hero.

My papa and grandmother took me into their home and loved me unconditionally as their very own. For that I am blessed. Our great God blessed my life with two wonderful people truly. I was not at home when papa left this world, I was driving back from Albuquerque, when my aunt told me the news. At that moment I was driving near a place there was a landscape full of sandstone. I stopped and I got out of my car and walked around. I didn’t cry though, I just looked at the landscape in awe. Everything thing at that moment was so beautiful in my eyes, there was a peace. When I got back into my car a stared driving a song can to mind.

The song that kept coming into my mind was one that I learned as a child. It’s one I learned while spending my summers at my great-grandparents home, when all the grandkids stayed over the summer. I learned about the man, the wise man who built his house upon the rock from a missionary at vacation bible school. The song talks about foolish men and one wise mane who were building their homes on different surfaces of land. One built his on the sand, one built his another unstable surface, but one built his on a rock, he was the smart one.

My papa did build his house upon the rock. In 1947 he bought land in Farmington, and begin the process of building up his house for this young family. In a time the harsh reality of small town racism and prejudice my papa endured and made the dream of a home real. The home he built by hand at Bluffview Avenue is the house that is on the rock. It is the place that the family, extended family, and even cousins and friends lived at some point. My papa was a generous and compassionate man and he always wanted to help in any way he could to better another.

I feel blessed to be a part of this story, as I too needed a place to call home when I was born. The song I learned as child attending vacation Bible school at Huerfano, NM comes to mind when I think of my papa, it goes “the wise man built house upon a rock...” that was my papa’s way, strong. As a child I took this song literally and did not fully understand the symbology of the song, but now as an adult I do understand. Later in this life my papa accepted the teaching of Jesus Christ and made that spiritual agreement in this heart with the Creator God. I believe that is when he learned about what hope meant. God has blessed my family in many ways, including material and spiritual blessings. He sent seven wonderful people to this earth in my aunts and uncles, and shared my uncles for awhile until He took them home again.

Truly I want to acknowledge that my family was very blessed to have wonderful grandparents and were blessed because Our Creator God had his hand on us, and forever He will so we have hope.

The River is Constant.

During this season I am in awe of the change that is happening on the land of the desert southwest. The Dine' term 'adornment' is set into constant motion in these frigid cold mornings and ice blue, clear skies. The desert is so very alive in the season of winter.

As an avid outdoor enthusiast I frequent the two rivers that flow through the town in which I dwell and make my home. I have been quoted as say I would like to return in a next life as a river. The river holds so many metaphors for life, but for me the river is female. The river is constant and perpetually in motion, everyday flowing for the desert to stay alive and nourished. I often sit at the banks of the Animas and San Juan River and breathe in the water, the moisture fills my lungs and I am made new again, and in a way healed again.

My Dine' people hold great reverance for these two rivers that flow through their ancestral homeland in the San Juan Valley of northwestern New Mexico. My Dine' people have used these two water resources for personal and ceremonial use, they have songs made for occasions such as these.
So you could say the rivers are the souls of my people: constant. The rivers here are a reminder of the great past of my nomadic, desert people.

I had the blessing of visiting the San Juan River near the Four Corners area of the U.S. this month. What I found was a river alive with sacred sounds of ice clinking against the frozen banks of desert snow and sand. The river there was strong and was singing her witner song. I stood in awe visually of the beauty as the white ice contrasted against the deep red of the canyon walls, and I was silenced by the deep songs of the river as if flowed strong to the Pacific waters.  The river that days humbled me and calmed my spirit and aided in healing my heart.

As you move from space to space this season stop and pay reverance to the rivers of your homelands for they are the life blood of our world. Like Langston Hughes said, "..the rivers run deep like my soul." You will surely  be blessed.

Blessings.

Tibetan.Dine' Turquoise Link.

I am continually amazed on the parallels and direct links that exist culturally between the Dine' Naiton of the American southwest and the Tibetan people of Asia!

Astounding!

Lately I have been researching this topic and have found great things!

The most exciting knowledge gained is that the Tibetan use/used TURQUOISE as a weapon.
So ADORNMENT was like putting on armor....what a thought to ponder. The faith of the people of Tibet
is much like the faith of the Dine'.

This quote took and held my attention:

"The tenacity of the gem was utilised most effectively b the Tibetan hero Gesar who fashioned his arrowheads from the finest turquoise."

Thankful.

vj

Dine'.Male Historical Adornment

Dine' males. Three generations of Indigenous adornment.
Internet photograph via Google.

This historical photograph showcases desert southwestern INDIGENOUS male ADORNMENT.

The three generations of these picture males are Dine' (Navajo) tribal members who are wearing early 1900s tribal regalia. This era in Navajo history is what many tribal people call Post-Long Walk, the time lived after the forced exodus and incarceration and release of Navajos as prisoners of war in American society.

After the infamous Long Walk the tribal regalia of the Dine' changed tremendously. Before the exodus the Navajo still wore garments made of buckskin and for many women, they wore woven dresses. After the Navajo returned they brought cotton and poly-cotton materials back to their homelands. Among the various European fabric was the inclusion of Velveteen material, which the Navajo women held in high esteem for its shining, vibrant reflection.

This photograph showcases the men wearing cotton pants, including the popular calico cotton fabric which the boy is wearing. They are wearing long-sleeved velvet shirts ADORNED with silver button accents, each is ADORNED in silver concho-inspired belts around their waists and each of the males are wearing the traditional Indigenous foot wear via their moccasins.

Each is wearing traditional head-wear. The elder Dine' man on the left is ADORNED in a Dine' men's war-bonnet or chief-bonnet, which is likely made of buckskin and turkey feathers. The other two men are wearing headbands probably made of cotton fabric.

Also, the two men on the left are ADORNED with traditional Dine' male satchels which is worn on the side of the hip. The satchels are usually made with a thick, cow leather or buckskin and ADORNED with silver buttons.

They are standing upon a Navajo-woven rug made in the design of the era.

Overall, this is a great historical photograph that tells much in its depiction of Navajo male ADORNMENT.

Blessings. 

SW Indigenous. Trade.

Four-string necklace
Photo by VENAYA YAZZIE 2013

The perpetuation of southwestern Indigenous trade is ongoing in the 21st century with many desert peoples. Historically the Pueblo, Navajo, Apache and the Native people of Mexico and the Baha of southern California have traded earth mineral and plant materials with each other via a bartering system.

The Navajo of New Mexico continue this tradition with their Pueblo neighbors including the: Jemez Pueblo, Kewa Pueblo and the communities of Laguna and Acoma. Most likely the trade items including materials used for making jewelry items, but this also includes the trade of food items.

I made this four-strand necklace item (pictured above) after I acquired the abalone shell beads from a tribal member from Walatow (Jemez) Pueblo. I traded some woven goods for a batch of various beads including heishe shell, which I use as "spacer" in making necklaces with turquoise.

I have mixed the turquoise stone with heishe shell beads and squared abalone shell beads in making this item. I was inspired to make this piece after I saw an elder Dine' woman's necklace in Shiprock. Her necklace was more ancient-looking, and more of a mix of mother-of-pearl shell beads.

The materials involved in making this necklace originated in two places. The turquoise developed in the dry, desert lands of the southwest, whereas the abalone shell originated from the ocean region.

The trade involved in this necklace speaks volumes about INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT but most especially INDIGENOUS trade in the southwest.

Blessings.

Ring.Bug Ring.

Bug ring.
Photo by VJ Yazzie

This recent purchase was made in Gallup, New Mexico. My aunt bought this ring for me for my birthday in September. I just fell in love with this bug, or choosh (bug) ring. The inspiration for this piece seems to have been a lady bug. Its made of sterling silver, black onyx and turquoise.I ADORN my hands in the fall season, with happiness.

Rectangular Inlay Earrings With Spiny Oyster Square



Mosaic Inlay Earrings made  by Mary Coriz Lovato

 I found these Pueblo style earrings on the Santa Fe Shiprock Gallery website. They are made by Kewa artist Mary C. Lovato. Truly lovely earrings!

Bio from the wesite:

Mary Coriz Lovato, daughter of Santiago Leo Coriz, was born to the Corn Clan. Besides raising five sons to become accomplished silversmiths, Mary finds time to turn out some of the finest Indian jewelry found today. Mary's forte is inlaid shell earrings and pendants, a blend of the contemporary and the traditional.

Her work has become the standard by which shell inlaid jewelry is measured. Slivers of turquoise, pipestone, serpentine, coral, jet and mother-of-pearl reflect the colors of the Sun's glow.

Since time immemorial, the Santo Domingo Pueblo has traded seashells from the Gulf of California and the Pacific over regular trade routes. Pendants cut from the glossy shells in various forms were overlaid with designs in abalone, jet and turquoise.

Since the 1860's, craftsmen have created "traditional" silver jewelry. In the 1960's a "new look" in Indian jewelry emerged. And new work being done today has a quality all of its own. It's not like the old stuff...it's better!

For more info visit: http://www.shiprocksantafe.com/beta/items/view/22219

Kewa.Mosiac.Inlay.Earrings




Earrings from Kewa Pueblo
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 
These earrings are so beautiful!
I was able to purchase these earrings directly from the maker on a visit to the winter feast days at Ohkay Owingeh, which is the Tewa expression for San Juan Pueblo reservation.

The earrings were made by a young man from Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) which is located in northern New Mexico halfway between Albquerque and Santa Fe. During this time I was able to talk with the artist and ask about the earrings. He explained that they are made in the tradition of Kewa jewerly makers using on authentic earth elements.

These earring are made in the Indigenous jewelry way of mosaic inlay. For this particular pair of earrings the Pueblo maker used materials including: clam shell, mother of pearl shell, onyx, turquoise and silver.

As you can see the entire earring is made using the halved clam shell as the main foundation of the piece. They then inlaid atop the shell using symbolic geometric designs as they applied the various elements.

These earrings are among my treasures in my jewelry collection. I ADORN myself and wear them in times of celebration and during gallery openings. Truly, many of the the Kewa Pueblo people  have a spectacular Indigenous designs to ADORN the People!

Doll making.Dine style.

Doll Adorned.
Photo By Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My grandmother and I designed and made the cultural clothing and jewelry ADORNMENT itesmf or this doll. she is dressed in the Navajo style of womens' colthing.

It was a blessing doing this project with her. During the making sessions I was able to see the joy and happiness in my grandmother's eyes as the doll's adornments came together.

Blessing moments all around!

-vj

EarringsbyVenaya

www.earartdesigns.weebly.com

Dine' Song & Dance.ADORNMENT






Moccasins, southwestern Indigenous style
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RES ERV ED

  This weekend I was able to attend a social dance of the Dine' people in the Four Corners area of the southwest. The Dine' Song and Dance is a dance adapted from the traditional Dine' ceremony, the Enemyway, which is a healing event.  The dance itself requires two people in which the woman gets to choose a partner to dance with, she must not be refused, but if she is then the male must pay her. This part of the traditional dance has intentions of general socializing between young men and women with hopes that they may each find a suitable mate that is not clan-related. In many ways this dance could be equated to the formal dances of American culture. The difference is that this dance is done with enhanced respect and honor of traditional Dine' cultural ways of being and belief.

During the Dine' Song and Dance the people dance clockwise in a cirlce with their chosen partners. They look regal in their Dine' best! Each dancer ADORNS themselves with the best their families can do, the finest turquoise and silver jewerly, woven dresses, satin skirts and velvet shirts, and moccasins can be viewed as each dance in unison with the singer and thee water drum. Their are two styles of dance: the Two-Step and the Skip Dance. The dancers innately know which dance is which as they can tell by the beat of the drum.

It is during this time when both men and woman are ADORNED in INDIGENOUS fashion for a reason, to be beautiful and as an Dine' elder put it, "shining for the Creator to see." The way in which the male and female are ADORNED is distinct to their gender. For men the common (modern) regalia is a velvet collared shirt, white pants, dyed rust colored cow hide moccassins, shoulder-bag, bow guard, silver belt and plenty of TURQUOISE ADORNMENT via necklaces, earrings, bracelets and pins. Traditionally the males will wear their hair (if long hair) in a bundle tied with white cotton string. This is called a ts'ii yaal.

The Dine' women, as matriarchs of the People, are ADORNED beautifully. The ADORNMENT expression is varied from the interests of each woman, but the basic outfit will include: a velvet or satin blouse and skirt, or a woven wool dress called a biil dress. She will also wear distinct foot wear which is called ke'lchii, which roughly translates to "red shoes." The moccasins are made from cow hide and dyed a rust color and attached to them are wide bands of white buckskin, which are tied continuously around the womans ankle up to the calf and knee. For her Dine' ADORNMENT in the Song and Dance the woman will also wear her best turquoise and silver squash blossom necklaces, and earrings, rings and bracelets. Her hair will be also tied up in a hair bundle made to sit higher on the back of her head, she will have tied her hair with 12 strings of cotton and will make it longer at the ends so it can hang.

The Dine' Song and Dance is a wonderful dance with beautiful songs and rich heritage or southwerstern INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT. It is a special place where ancestral history is learned and also perpetuated, it is surreal in many ways.

I have included a video recording of the Song and Dance below.

Blessings,
Venaya.

Youtube video by Venaya:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg_49pqpXQ

Ring.connection to Masani.

Heirloom Silve and Turquiose ring.
Photo by Venay Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I was fortunate to have my great-grandmother in my live until I was 18 years old. I was a Senior in high school when my Masani' left this earth. I always remember that last day I spent in her presence, her face and our conversation is as clear and vibrant as if were yesterday, its my medicine that keeps me living a good life.

When she left, I was given two of her personal items. One was her Pendelton shawl blanket and the other was this beautiful silver and turquoise ring.

I have treasured this ring and wear it often. This ring is a connection I have with a great past of beautiful Dine' Matriarchs of the Many Hogans clan, this ring is my grandmother's laughter and love.

blessings.

BlueBird.Handbags by Venaya VJ Yazzie.Dine.

BlueBird Handbag made by Venaya Yazzie

Blue Bird Handbag made by Venaya Yazzie

Blue Bird Handbag made by Venaya Yazzie

Kewa Earrings.



Pueblo-style Earrings.
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013

 One of the treasures I found during the annual Navajo Fair was at the Indian Market.

These are the earrings I purchased directly from the maker, a Kewa Pueblo man from Santo Domingo, New Mexico. He called this style of work, mosaic. There are three different types of stones presented here, one of them being turquoise.

Such amazing work...!

Blessings

Southwest Beauties.



Turquoise necklaces from Kewa Pueblo, NM @ Shiprock, NM
Photo by Venaya Yazzie 2013

 I am fortunate to have roots in the desert Southwest. I am happy about my land and my People, the Dine' and Hopi people. This weekend I was very glad to be amidst the celebration of fall harvest during the annual Dine' Nation Northern Fair in Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo reservation.

This fair takes place accordingly in October, which is the New Year's beginnings for the Navajo people, and when the Dine' harvest is in full effect! Indigenous farmers are reeping and sharing their crops with the community via the community Farmer's Markets and along the roadside. The great thing about the crops is that they are GMO-Free products! Many Dine' people still farm using traditional Indigenous farmingon techniques which includes using 100% organic soil and family-heirloom seeds, truly a strong and sovereign food source.

Among the many varities of melons, squash, corn and other organic vegetables, is tuquoise in its many forms. Necklaces, earrings, pins, bracelets, rings, hat bands and buckles are scattered throughout the fair community. This includes jewerly made by the Navajo and Pueblo people of the region.

This photograph I took was made by jewelers from Kewa Pueblo of New Mexico. The necklaces showcase the variety of turquoise made ADORNMENTS. The use of raw chunk turquoise stones to stabilized, formed turquoise are evident and also the use of shell varieties.

The annual Northern Navajo Shiprock Fair is the beginning of the Dine' cultural calendar. It is a blessing in its many form because it truly bring the community of many cultures of the area together.

Many Blessings!

Happy Bday.Shima'.



Photo by Venaya Yazzie 2013
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


The month of American society's September is the uneventful ninth month of the year, but for the Dine' it is a month of many cultural events including the most important activity of harvest. And too, it is a most important time for my family as we have more than seven birthdays in it.

For the Dine' this month concerns everything about crop harvest. It is what we call,
Bini'ant'aatsoh, or Large Harvest as it is related to the arrival of the Harvest Moon.

Everyday I feel so very blessed to have my maternal 'shi'/Masani' in my life. Everyday I am fortunate to see Dine' ADORNMENT perpetuated in the 21st century. She wears turquoise faithfully, it is her ritual, it is her lifeway and I try everyday to reflect such a matriarch.

To my family I express: Baa Hozhogo Nii Deseschii. Happy Birthday! esp. Masani./Shima'.

Dine' Concho Belt.history.




Navajo Leather Turquoise Concho Belt by J. Williams

 
This Navajo made belt is grand in its complex-simplicity. The basic design concerns a circular motif in the concho-style. The Dine' (Navajo) people have become world reknown as the master of silversmithing design, method and technique and this belt showcases such brilliance.

The Dine' have been creating concho belts since the earliest days of the initial introduction to metal work, and in its early creation the concho belt was purely Dine'. The major inspiration for them in the design of the belt was from their first views of the Spanish silver via the armor used on their person and their horses.

Unlike the Dine', the Spaniard conquistadors would ADORN their horses with silver-work on their bridles and body pieces.

As the Dine' became more skilled at the technique of making jewelry pieces the concho belt was born out of the arid desert lands. First, the belts were simple in silver, then would come the stamp designs and curves. Among the many oral histories of the Dine', it is said that the first group to actually add tuquoise to the belt was the neighboring Zuni people.

Whoever made it first, the conch belt ADORNED with turquoise continues to shine in the southwest and perpetuaally make a grand statement.

Blessings.








Silver Adornment. Pins.



SWAIA Fashion Show participant.
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013



1940s ERA. Navajo Outfit.



SWAIA Fashion Show participant in Santa Fe, NM
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013

 I captured this images during the SWAIA Indigenous Fashion Show in August 2013. This Navajo child was participating in the Children's Traditional Clothing Fashion Show.

Here we see the full outfit which includes a five-tiered gathering skirt and collared blouse made in some type of velvet material. The designer, which they announced was the child's grandmother, used rick rack trim to re-create that uniquely NAVAJO design made popular in the 1940s era of the southwest. Her outfit is finished with a woven wool sash belt, silver concho belt and traditional Navajo hair ADORNMENT.

Dress Adornment.Dine'-Navajo.





Photo by Venaya Yazzie
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013

 Every year I attend the Santa Fe Indian Market I feel blessed. Among the myriad of events and art activities I always make sure to be at Market early on Sunday to find a front row seat for the Indigenous Fashion Show, which features various of fashioned designed and created by tribal people.

This year's fashion show was exceptional in that it seemed SWAIA really focused on fusing traditional tribal wears with edgy Indigenous fashion. The fashion show content therefore included many layers of traditional and neo Native expression. Even more the show included fashion for the Indigenous male.

I am posting this photograph I took of a young Dine' female child ADORNED in a modern Navajo women's dress, but with more traditionally oriented design. In the picture we see the back of her dress; blouse and  skirt.  We see the use of rick rack trim on the sleeve and back of her blouse, a throwback to the early Navajo womens' dress attire of the 1940s - 1950s era in the southwest.

The use of rick rack trim for ADORNMENT practices was popular amond the Dine' women as  way of supplimenting the prohibition of use of American coins for ADORNMENT. During this time Navajo women were using dimes and quarters on their velveteen blouses as a way of decoration. Later as more and more Navajo silversmiths arose the use of silver-made ornaments were commissioned and used on the blouses.

This picture showcases the use of modern fabrics, but still claims the traditions of Dine' women's ADORNMENT.

Adorned Indigenous Hands.




Hands of a Navajo Woman.  Photo by Michael Mauney

 For me, the hands of the Indigenous Elder brings me back HOME. I was fortunate and richly blessed to be raised by my maternal grandparents and so have my maternal great-grandparents until I was a student in high school.

When I think of my grandmothers, my MATRIARCHS I alway invision their wise hands ADORNED with silver and turquoise beauty. As an adult I am greatful they instilled the importance of Indigenous Navajo ADORNMENT in my life. Today in the 21st century ADORNMENT is part of my personal ritual, and silver and turquoise is my daily mantra.

Diné woman and child. 1930s




Diné woman and female child. Circa 1930s.

 

The strength in this historic photograph lies in the hands of this beautiful Diné woman. When analyzing historical photographs I tend to look closely to the body posture of the individual and this incluedes the hands. In this case her hands are positioned in a strong way that emits, in my opinion the strength of her character and virtue as an Indigenous woman.

Her wrist is ADORNED with a classic Navajo style bracelet of the 1930s. The asthetic design and structure of the bracelet is fashioned in a star or floral structure and most likely inland with turquoise stones. She also wears a ring on her finger inset with a stone.

Both individuals are dressed in post Long Walk cultural clothing styles which consists of a veleveteen long sleeved, collared blouse and a tiered skirt probaly made of satin or some calico cotton fabric. They both are ADORNED with Navajo silverwork in their belt, and silver buttons. The woman is wearing what looks like a bead strung necklace with jacloo added and a silver concho belt.

Blessings in all things.

Original Art by VenayaYazzie2013 All Rights Reserved

The new month of September is momentus for several reasons. It is the month of the ripening of crops for Indigenous peoples of the desert southwest. It is the month of my birthdate with many of my family members including my materal grandmother.

I adore the coming fall season and for me September is the month that begins that change. As an artist this month stands as my muse. I am inspired by September's air outside, I am inspired by the slight turn of warm breezes to cool. And, I am inspired by night star constellations that fall brings.

This too is about ADORNMENT. The change of the night star life is continual, the dark universe perpetuates ADORNMENT in how the may constellations change from season to season. I would consider this male ADORNMENT, as in many Indigenous cultures of the Northern Hemisphere consider the sky as male. So it is the Father Sky that is ADORNED in night and day.

As a visual artist I can only express my inspiration through my paintings. At this time I share my original works above. They are my current visual interpretations of ADORNMENT. They are my medicine for my well-being and I hope they travel with to the community with good thougts and blessings of a beautiful life.

Painting, creating is my healing. It is a must.

Blessings in all things.

Art by Venaya In Window Rock, AZ

Visit my art at Navajo nation Museum in Window Rock, AZ

Artist: Venaya Yazzie

Grandfather.Hero.

Photo by Venaya Yazzie 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When I was born, my maternal grandparents took me into their home and raised me as their own child. On Wednesday my papa left this world, he was my hero, he was my rock. My papa lived a good and full life on this earth. He made my life a happy one and filled it with much unconditional love and support. Today I am so very humbled and thankful, for it was Creator God's plan for us to walk the same paths on this earth. My papa, Naaswood, was and will continue to be my hero throughout my life path. RIP

Huerfano. Homelands.

When I think of the land of the Navajo, I always think first of the center sacred mountatin.
It is the called Huerfano Mesa in English and is listed as such on the maps and in online maps.

The mountain is very special to many Navajo. For me and my family it is the place of our homelands,
the land handed down to us for generations of Navajo matriarchs.

The place is in my soul, shimmering turquoise thoughts through my veins.

In beauty.

my. homeland. Huefano.ancestral

photo by VenayaYazzie

Huerfano Mountain is a mountain summit in San Juan County in the state of New Mexico (NM). Huerfano Mountain climbs to 7,441 feet (2,268.02 meters) above sea level. Huerfano Mountain is located at latitude – longitude coordinates (also called lat – long coordinates or GPS coordinates) of N 36.425843 and W -107.845061
Dzil Na’oodilii is one of the sacred mountains of the Navajos, and is said to be suspended from the sky with sunbeams.
Dzil Na’oodilii is considered to be the “lungs” of Navajo country.
It is also the home of Yódí’ashkii (Goods of Value Boy), and Yódí’at’ééd (Goods of Value Girl), and one of the homes of ‘Altsé Hastiin (First Man), and ‘Altsé ‘Asdzáá (First Woman).
In the beginning DzilNa’oodilii was decorated with pollen, rugs, hides, cloth, and Male Rain for the coming of a special child (Changing Woman)

Connections of Cultural People. Turquoise.

When I think of turquoise my mind smiles.

Turquoise in the diverse culture of the Dine' people is about happiness.

In most cases turquoise ADORNMENT gleams ideas and thoughts about beauty for the wearer and too for the people in their daily circles.

I have always believed the Dine' had a cultural connection to the people of Mongolia the regions of Tibet, including the Chuk Chi people. The connection I found is through turquoise ADORNMENT.

For the Dine' turquoise evokes wellness, happiness, health, good thoughts and this is the same for the people of Tibet. For some Tibetans, only unprocessed turquoise is worn, and is worn for ceremonial and celebratory times.

It is truly amazing to me to see this tangible connection between two groups of beautiful people.

Global Connections. Turquoise Adornment.




Tibetan women ADORNED in Turquoise.

 


Dine' woman ADORNED in Turquoise.



just wear it. Turquoise.

Just thinking about the importance in of turquoise in the lives of 21st century Dine' people.

Yes, it has monetary value, but moreover I really believe it has greater spiritual value for many.

As Dine', we refer to the stone as dootlizhi, simply it refers to the color of the stone.

For many it is the end all be all of true beauty.

Dootlizhi is Dine'. It is the essence of our laughter, and history and lingers in the strands of our

desert hair. We ADORN ourselves for recognition by our Creator. 

  Dootlizh is beauty, it is what makes our world beautiful.

Mental & Spiritual Adornment.Navajo world.

Mixed media conceptual art from Eternal Matriarch series.
Venaya Yazzie 2013

Thankfully it is true. For in the 21st century there exists a word in Dinétah that concerns the organic perpetuation of Diné lifeways on many levels, but I will talk specifically about the idea of ADORNMENT as an act of mental and spiritual well-being.

Growing up amidst the tangible cultural jewelry of my matriarchs, I acquired the jargon of female ADORNMENT, and too I learned the language of what Navajo ADORNMENT. The expression is ha'dít'é. As a young girl I did not fully understand what the act of wearing turquoise, white shell, abalone shell or coral jewelry meant, but as an adult desert woman I fully grasp the meaning.

Ha'dít'é is the essence of the Diné act, or ritual of the Emergence. As a Diné woman I understand that when I put on my coral and turquoise string of beads, I am re-enacting the motions of Diné presence and existence on the earth. We express earth as Nahasaan Ni himá, and it is because of Her that we have a continuance of life.

Ha'dít'é is the re-enactment of daily blessings in Diné epistemology.
As Diné I, we ADORN ourselves with earth's hard and soft goods as a way of perpetuating hózhó, as a way of ensuring the blessings of the Holy People.

For me, Ha'dít'é, is a visceral act.  This need is an innate act to ensure my mental and spiritual well-being as a woman of the desert, a woman of Diné and Hopi descent.

Nizhoni go ha'dít'é dooleeł

Venaya Yazzie2013

Southwest.INDIGENOUS native.

I truly believe in destiny and so I feel that everyday I wake I must fulfill that path that was made just for me.

I was born in the fall in the high desert southwest on the sovereign Dine' (Navajo) Nation. I was born among strong, spiritual Indigenous matriarchs, they raised me up to be the image of their best ways of being. I am happy about this.

I have recognized that my destiny is to ensure that their matriarchal ways are not forgotten and that they are perpetuated into the 21st century.

So, I ADORN myself on a daily basis. I wear my turquoise and sometimes white shell or abalone to show my respect for the beliefs and custom of tribal identity for my elder matriarchs.

In the Navajo way, we have a specific (holy) word for ADORNMENT. It is a great word that perfectly describes the sacred action of Navajo Adornment. This word is not stagnant, it is verb-oriented, it holds power and speaks volumes about such an act. I am thankful this word is a part of my daily vocabulary and dialogue. This word blesses me: above, below, in front and in back. I am balanced.

Nizhonigo Naasha.in every way. Everday.

Inspiration.EarART



EarART Designs by Venaya Yazzie


As a part of my work in the area of INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT practices in the 21st century I have created a line of earrings for ADORNMENT purposes.

My earrings are inspired by my original Art Paintings and are made on light weight Balsa wood.
You can visit my website at
www.earartdesigns.weebly.com


Blessings

EarART Designs.by Venaya

EarART Designs by Venaya Yazzie

The designs featured here are my own designs. I began making a version of these earrings in 2009 and was inspired by the images of women I paint. One day a collector of my paintings jokingly if I could make her a necklace of my small paintings. I did, and from that first jewelry piece I expanded my vision and started making the EarART jewelry via earrings.

 I am happy to say that ART can be worn as jewelry, the wearer of the piece is wearing Fine Art on their ears.  What could be more of a blessing!

Community workshop.INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT

Indigenous Adornment workshop in Aztec, NM.

I have been fortune to be sponsored by the Northwest New Mexico Arts Council, it is a blessing to me to be able to hold my Southwest Jewelry ADORNMENT workshops.

Originating within the southwestern INDIGENOUS lands I know what it means to practice ADORNMENT. INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT is who I who I was brought up to be amidst of, to perpetuate such a human way of living is a blessing. I live it, so I can only keep moving forward on this journey of the BEAUTY Way as a Navajo/Hopi woman.

Adornment.Workshop in Aztec.NM



Participants in workshop wearing their creations.



Sacred Mountains.song.

It's Tuesday so I am sharing one of my favorite songs. This one is called "Sacred Mountains" and was written and performed by Sharon Burch.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK47KZyxdYk&noredirect=1

Diné Masání.Adorned.



Dine' elder at local Navajo market.



Most Saturdays I can be found at one of the many local community markets such as the Shiprock Indian Market in Shiprock, New Mexico. Just a couple of those days ago I was at such a market and spotted this lovely Diné elder walking through the market.  She was in full INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT with all her lovely Diné turquoise and silver jewelry.

She is wearing post-Long Walk Diné attire, a velvet-type shirt with collar and a three-tiered gathered skirt. She wears her hair in a bun and is ADORNED with several strings of coral beads as a necklace with a sting of turquoise tied at the end, this is called ja’atłó   This masání is also ADORNED with a large, round silver and turquoise pendant.

I love to see our Diné elders ADORNED in their cultural attire. If you are fortunate to live in a community that has a large INDIGENOUS Native community, such as in the Four-Corners area, you will no doubt see such ADORNMENT practices in your local markets and even at Wal-Mart (the other Gathering of Nations)!!!

Song & Dance.Dine'.Regalia.

Navajo man and woman at Song and Dance. Window Rock, AZ
Photograph by Venaya Yazzie

After I graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts I planted my roots again in my homelands in the San Juan Valley and the high desert lands of Huerfano, NM. This was in 1996. I was longing for the sage views and two rivers that run through the community and too I was in need of Dine' ways of dress, song, music and dance.

With the help of some female clan relatives I was soon dressed and ADORNED in the dancing regalia of the Dine' Song and Dance. I fell so in love with the ritual of INDIGENOUS Dine' ADORNMENT, and all that a participant must do. I soon learned most of the songs that the singers sang for the dances as I was frequentling a social dance nearly every weekend. It was a good time for me, it was my healing, it was my happiness.

I am so very thankful for such an experience as a young Dine' woman, I absorbed much and learned the traditional ways of acting, behaving and presenting myself.

About this photograph: I took this at the annual Navajo Nation Fair Song and Dance in Window Rock, AZ. The dance is a social dance that requires dancing with a partner and foremost it is a woman's choice dance where the woman chooses her male partner. The modern song and dance is adapted from the traditional social dances of the Enemyway Dine' ceremony called, N'daa. This part of the ritual is a time for the young people or single people to dance with the one person they may adore.

The dance also gives the Dine' individual a chance to dress and ADORN themselves to the nines. To put on their very best and present themselves to other dancers and possibly their sweethearts.  As you will see in the picture above the elder Dine' couple is wearing matching outfits and the woman is wearing her hair in a traditional Dine' hair bun that is ADORNED with a Navajo design hair pin. She is also wearing Ke'intsaa, or her moccasins with dear skin wraps on her legs. They were good dancers too!

I am planning on attending a Song and Dance event in Monument Valley this week and will be taking some photographs to share.

Be ADORNED!

Hopi Girl. AZ

Historic photograph of a Hopi girl in Arizona.

Masani. My matriarch.

Venaya and her maternal grandmother, Jane Werito Yazzie.

The pure blessing of my Dine' elders is medicine for my soul and my life. I spent the day last Saturday
with my grandmother in Durango, Colorado. Here you can see her in her INDIGENOUS ADORNMENT as she is always wearing her turquoise.

Dine' prayer.Blessing

Prayer in the Dine' language is a blessing, blessing, blessing, blessing
all around.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R3C9xN5teU

Coral.

Coral necklace.
Photograph by Venaya Yazzie 2013

This Navajo-made necklace was made by my grandmother using a type of sting called sinew (processed). It is a strong material and better to use instead of cotton or even polyester. Originally the sinew was made from the tendons of game animals such as deer.

This coral was acquired through a family friend and the heishe shell used as the spacer beads inbetween the coral pieces as bought from a local trader's shop. The necklace was finished by knotting the sinew to secure it and then it was wrapped in cotton string.

As you may know (or not) coral is a cultural item that has historically been favored among the Navajo and Pueblo people. Coral is a traditionally INDIGENOUS trade item that ancestor peoples traded from the southwest to other Pacific coast Indigenous groups in the past.  For the Dine', coral is a significant cultural item that is used in both social and ceremonial settings, and has great importance in Dine' Epistemology. Coral necklaces have historically been used to showcase wealth of and individual or also to exemplify the leadership skills of and individual in Navajo society.

In this current environmental state, coral has become an item that is very difficult to get. Due to pollution in the Pacific ocean near the Baja of California many of the coral is not growing healthy or at time is found to be bleached white, so alot of the coral in the markets are dyed.