By Catherine Ellerton
Moapa Valley Progress
It was a day to celebrate – to celebrate life, to celebrate our differences, to celebrate our uniqueness, to celebrate our sameness. The Lost City Museum made it all possible during the Native American Day they sponsored on Saturday, October 23. The weather cooperated beautifully, the food was plentiful and good, the vendors/demonstrators were numerous and eager to share their crafts and the entertainment was outstanding.
It was also a celebration of the 30 years that Kathryne Olson has dedicated to the museum and its many programs during her career as Museum Director.
John Olsen a potter from Utah gave an entertaining demonstration on creating the uniqueness of each handmade piece. Olsen stated that it was “experimental archaeology in rediscovering technologies of the past.” Just a bit of crushed clay, tempered with quartz rock to help eliminate shrinkage and thermal shock, which the artist then molds with his hands into a unique piece of pottery.
“After all,” John continued, “it’s just dirt and rocks that you can make neat stuff out of.”
His neat stuff bore testament to his artistic abilities and educated prowess.
At the end of the day, closing the circle of knowledge, Dr. Jerry Brody was featured in an informative talk on pottery. Dr. Brody was a Professor of Art History at the University of New Mexico and the Past Director of the Maxwell Museum in Albuquerque, N.M.
Filling this circle of knowledge were many events of sharing. The intriguing booth holding the marvelous beadwork of Museum Exhibit Manager, Tom Cunningham was a crowd pleaser; from the elk teeth dress to the human hair shirt which held tassels of family member’s hair and was a sign of dignity and goodness. From the medicine balls attached to items – cedar which invites in good spirits and sage which drives away evil spirits – to a discussion on brain tanning of hides.
A question was raised on why there seemed to be a colored bead out of place in most items. Cunningham advised that “Traditional beaders always have one misplaced bead as only the Great Spirit can make something perfect.” Awesome!
The Damon Polk Dancers, The McCabe Family Dancers and The Ballet Folklorico Dancers shared the wonderful stories of their heritage and explained the costumes and the dances. From the Eagle feather bustles wherein each feather represents a nation/people and the stand up feathers represent the passage to the center to the healing dress or jingle dress where each cone is a day in the life of the dancer. Each group then danced the joyous dances communicating a story of a particular region and people in this great country.
The well over 250 guests that took part in this joyous day had to come away with greater knowledge and understanding of the traditions and life of some of the people that formed this nation. I know I did.
