62nd Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture
 Member Preview August 5, 2011
Public Festival August 6-7, 2011

Festival Schedule

Featuring Insights Presentations and Performances by:

  • Zonnie Gorman, Historian of Navajo Code Talkers
  • Films by students of the STAR School Media Program
  • Theresa Boone Schuler, ethnobotanist
  • Larry King, linguist
  • Kalley Keams Lucero, weaver
  • Exhibit of photographs and presentation by Kenji Kawano: “WARRIORS: Navajo Code Talkers”
  • Weaving exhibit featuring pictorials from the MNA collection and A Mother’s Embrace by Kalley Keams Lucero
  • Readings by author Seraphine Yazzie (Beauty beside Me, Stories of My Grandmother’s Skirts and The Three Little Sheep)
  • James Bilagody, Master of Ceremonies
  • The Pollen Trail Dancers
  • Aaron White and Anthony Wakeman-Flute Music
  • Radmilla Cody
  • Demonstrators and Artisans
  • Creative Corner, Food, Fun and more

DINÉ ARTS AND LIVING HISTORY
In August of 1949, through the cooperation of traders on the western portion of the Navajo Reservation, 15 trading posts submitted ten of their best rugs to the Museum of Northern Arizona to compete for prizes. The Museum intended to interest both weavers and traders in keeping alive the old styles of weaving and improving the quality of yarns, dyes, and designs. This was the beginning of the Navajo Festival.

On Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7, the 62nd Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture will gather 75 artists from all corners of the Navajo Nation at the Museum, continuing the tradition of bringing artwork to market and sharing what makes their artwork distinctive. These two days of cultural immersion promise prominent musical performers, a traditional dance troupe, and Heritage Insight talks from the region’s experts, all giving visitors a Navajo experience.

“The festival’s theme of ‘A Walk in Beauty’ describes the weekend’s experience well,” says Museum Director Robert Breunig. “It’s a lovely way to spend a high country summer day among the Flagstaff pines, here at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, or in Navajo, Dook’o’oosłííd. This year’s entertainment under the big tent is some of the region’s best, and there will surely be a monsoon shower or two.”

Heritage Program Manager Anne Doyle says she is excited about the Navajo Festival’s Heritage Insight presentations this year. “These talks are meant to give visitors an intimate, in-depth understanding of our neighbors, the Diné people. Sponsored by Arizona Humanities Council, the talks are on subjects with cultural, historical, scientific, or artistic significance.”

Heritage Insights Talks
Zonnie Gorman is an expert in the field of Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. She talks about their history and the experiences of her father, Dr. Carl Gorman, who was one of the original Code Talkers. Zonnie Gorman has lectured on this subject throughout the U.S. at universities, colleges, and museums, including MNA and the Museum of the American Indian.

In a community with few jobs, no public utilities, and high drop-out rates, the STAR School has set out to be a model small community school delivering a superior education. It promotes sustainable living, self-reliance, alternative building methods, and energy sources such as solar power, and it is the first solar-powered charter school in the U.S. Award-winning educator and media arts instructor Rachel Tso will introduce five student films at the festival including “RedBird Saves the Corn,” a traditional Spider Woman story told through Lightbox Animation; “Ta’che’e’,” a short documentary on the sweatlodge ceremony; “STAR Energy,” which took Best of Fest at the Arizona Student Film Festival about using solar and wind power; “Nitsidigo’i,” about making kneel down bread; and “Dook’o’oosłííd,” about the role of the San Francisco Peaks in the lives of the student filmmakers.

Theresa Boone Schuler, a Diné educator from Flagstaff, will again lead the very popular ethnobotany walks along the Museum’s Rio de Flag Nature Trail. She will discuss the traditional Navajo uses of regional native plants. Schuler gained her knowledge from her father, a noted Diné herbalist who urged her to pass on the knowledge of traditional healing plants by teaching about plant identification and usage.

Navajo Linguist Larry King is a cultural bright light who walks visitors along a path of history and legend, highlighting the resilience of the Navajo Language and the way Navajos use humor to cope with hardship in their lives. He will also share humorous examples and fun stories about how new words and ideas are introduced into the Diné culture.

Weaver Kally Keams Lucero’s work is exhibited in more than 18 US museums and institutions and she participated in an indigenous weavers exchange, which took her to New Zealand and Japan. Lucero recently created a textile titled A Mother’s Embrace, which was purchased as a gift to MNA’s collections from a Collector’s Club member. It will be on display during the festival in the Navajo Textile Gallery and she will be talking about the process of the rug’s weaving and the story it represents. Dr. Robert Breunig will follow Lucero’s talk to discuss the role of collecting and how this rug came to be part of the Museum’s collections.

Under the Big Tent
Navajo entertainer and singer James Bilagody will emcee the big tent activities throughout the day. Bilagody has worked as a deejay at KGHR Navajo Radio in Tuba City and KRCL in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Handprints of Our People is a new CD by Native American Music Awards winner and Grammy-nominated flute player/guitarist/singer/songwriter Aaron White (Navajo/Ute) and his newest musical partner, flute player Anthony Wakeman (Pottawatomi/Lakota). Etched in the Native traditions of Mother Earth, listeners hear in their music the cascade of trickling canyon waters or swirling prairie winds summoning inner calm and balance from their acoustic guitar and cedar flute.

The Pollen Trail Dancers will perform storytelling dances meant to be performed in the warm season. Group leader Brent Chase accompanies the dance troupe with his humor, insight, and Navajo flute playing. The Sash Belt or Weaving Dance tells the story of Spider Woman’s influence in weaving, the Basket Dance depicts the important role of baskets in Navajo life, and the Bow and Arrow Dance honors the warriors of old who have protected the Diné way of life.

Singer Radmilla Cody, a former Miss Navajo Nation (1997/1998) and winner of the Best Female Artist at the 2002 Native American Music Awards, will sing Navajo songs from her CD Spirit of a Woman. Her stunning, emotionally-charged voice offers a memorable listening experience.

Additional Festival Activities
Artist demonstrators Lola Cody (weaver), Melissa Cody (weaver), TahNibaa Naat’aanii (weaver) Sally Black (basket maker), and Alice Cling (potter) will be on hand to show how they make their award-winning artwork. All five of these artists are recognized for their accomplishments in their art form.

The Museum’s weaving exhibit in the Navajo Textiles Gallery changes periodically throughout the year. It showcases examples of fine historic and contemporary weaving styles from MNA’s Navajo Textiles Collection of over 900 weavings. During the festival pictorial rugs and the Kally Keams Lucero’s rug will be on display.

Outside in the courtyard at Creative Corner, kids and creative adults will be able to make take-home crafts. This year, make feathered horse head pendants, jeweled bow guards, and animal track bookmarks.

In addition to the 75 booth artists, Museum volunteers will present consignment sales, allowing artists who produce only a few items a year a chance to sell their work. Hundreds of distinctive art pieces including paintings, weavings, jewelry, pottery and more will be on display and for sale in the consignment area.

About the Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is the largest tribe in the U.S., covering nearly 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. With a population that has surpassed 250,000, this sovereign nation is focused on health care, economic development, and employment to benefit the Navajo people. Thousands of tourists each year are attracted to its natural wonder at Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and Chaco Canyon. A resort casino, the Navajo Nation’s first in Arizona, is currently under construction in Twin Arrows, Arizona, 24 miles east of Flagstaff on Interstate 40. This $150 million project, slated to open July 1, 2012, will include a hotel, conference center, spa, and golf course.

Upcoming Festival
The 8th Annual Celebraciónes de la Gente, October 29-30, 2011 is part of MNA's Heritage Program.  Make plans now to attend this upcoming festival!

Program Sponsors

Home   Contact MNA     Contact WebMaster

© Museum of Northern Arizona. All Rights Reserved.