The Eleven, Coming in Hot

Introduction by Nina Sanders

The earth vibrated with creativity, delight, and Indigenous excellence the day these stars gathered. Friendship, hope, and imagination coalesced to provide the world with a bright and ambitious lense for the future of Native Art. As a witness to this gathering I am compelled to say we are fortunate to be living among such sensationally prodigious human beings, with marvelously gallant hearts, and exceptionally creative souls.

11 Indigenous artists came together in Oga’Pogeh Owingeh (Santa Fe) to celebrate and rep their connection and commitment to Native art and Santa Fe Indian Market. Each with prodigious talent, a legacy to draw from and protect, and a community of Native people to support them.

Look out for their work and performances at Santa Fe Indian Market this August 2021.

Hollis Chitto, Ko’chani

Tribe: Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna/ Isleta Pueblo

Booth: LIN E 740

IG Handle: @hchitto

Hollis Chitto is an accomplished Santa Fe based artist who works primarily in contemporary beadwork. Hollis says about his art, “My interest in art began at an early age. I’m told my grandmother was a beadworker. Although she died when I was very young, many people believe her talent was passed down to me. But I first started doing quillwork. I taught myself by looking at illustrations in a French Canadian book, and experimenting with beads and quills that my mom had used to try to teach herself this skill. The two art forms’ techniques are actually related: the two-needle band in quillwork is similar to the beadwork’s lazy stitch. People often say that beadwork takes patience, but I don’t see it that way. It’s like coloring to me; I see the designs and colors become reality in my hands. I never think of beadwork or quillwork as craft, but as fine art.”

Peshawn Bread

Tribe: Comanche / Kiowa

IG Handle: @the.pbread

Website: redambitionproductions.com

Peshawn Bread (She/They, Them) is a screenwriter, director and creative director from the Penatʉkʉ (sugar eater) and Yapurʉka (root eater) bands of the Comanche tribe. Her writing focuses on Indigenous women, sexuality, and humorous experiences.

In the winter of 2015 she was introduced and welcomed as one of Sundance Institute's Full Circle Kellogg Fellows. Peshawn was also a 2015–2016 recipient of the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab Fellowship supported by SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival), and in partnership with Longhouse Media, Sundance, and ITVS. She also attended the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, hosted by Joan Tewksbury. Throughout the years, she has worked on many sets, from Drunktown's Finest (2014) to Mud (Hast?'ishnii) (2017). In 2019, she had the honor of receiving Sundance’s Native Filmmakers Lab Fellowship where she had the opportunity to workshop her script The Daily Life of Mistress Red, a mockumentary short film about a Native dominatrix for hire who whips apologies out of white supremacists. The Daily life of Mistress Red is currently in post production. After graduating from Academy of Art’s Screenwriting program in 2020, Peshawn has worked with Amazon Studios on production. Currently, Peshawn is creating new film works while serving as creative director for Teton Trade Cloth.

Charine Pilar Gonzales, Turquoise Flower

Tribe: San Ildefonso Pueblo Tewa

IG Handle: @charinepilarpovi

Website: charinegonzales.com

Vimeo: Charine Pilar Gonzales

Charine (San Ildefonso Pueblo) is a Tewa filmmaker whose work supports the growing visibility of Native peoples through many forms of media, especially visual storytelling. She’s a 2021 graduate from Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied Cinematic Arts and Technology. Gonzales is lead editor for Native Lens, a crowdsourced series by Rocky Mountain PBS and KSUT Tribal Radio. She is a 2021 Native Lab Artist in Residence through Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program. She's a current Artist in Business Leadership Fellow through First Peoples Fund, and was selected to participate as a Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellow. Gonzales earned an English Communication BA from Fort Lewis College in 2017. Her favorite foods are red chilé and oven bread.

Santiago Romero

Booth: LIN W 756

Tribe: Cochiti/Taos/Santa Ana Tewa

IG: santiago_romero_art

Website: HexagonClay.com

Santiago Romero was born at the Santa Fe Indian Hospital but grew up in the heart of Los Angeles. After graduating high school, he attended Dartmouth College and received a Bachelor's degree in environmental science. Currently, he is a working ceramic sculptor, painter, and active cultural participant. He strives to integrate his education and experience into all of his work by incorporating different techniques, both traditional and contemporary, as well as themes of science, Pueblo iconography, and human nature. Santiago has won several awards for contemporary ceramic sculpture from SWAIA, including second place in Sculpture. He is currently represented by Faust Gallery in Scottsdale and resides in Phoenix.

Cree LaRance

Tribe: Tewa/Hopi/Assiniboine

Website: dlfineart.org

Cree LaRance is an award-winning Native American jeweler living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is an enrolled member of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, however his roots also include Hopi, Navajo, and Assiniboine. He is the son of renowned Native American artists Steve “Wikviya” LaRance and Marian “Kaawaadeh” Denipah. Cree works in silver and gold, turquoise, coral, and multiple other precious stones. His art is heavily influenced by his Native American culture, religion, family, and way of life. Cree’s work employs modern and classical approaches in jewelry making that creates an ever evolving style continuously rooted in a legacy.

Jo Povi Romero

Tribe: Pojoaque, Cochiti, Santa Clara, Ohkay Owingeh

IG: @jo.povi.romero.art

Website: www.jopoviromeroart.com or www.povimonsterart.com (links to same site)

Find Povi’s work at “Pathways Native Arts Festival’, August 20-22 Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, Pojoaque

Jo Povi Thung Romero was raised in Pojoaque Pueblo along the Northern Rio Grande River, she is also from Cochiti, Santa Clara, and Ohkay Owingeh. Her name in Tewa means “Cactus Flower Basket,” passed down from her great-grandmother. She was raised in the studio painting alongside her father, Mateo Romero, and learning traditional pottery techniques from her mother, Melissa Talachy, and grandparents, Joe and Thelma Talachy. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a major in Sculpture and Photography and a minor in Anthropology. She is currently an artist in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her main sculpture mediums include clay (traditional and commercial), plaster, and metal. Her photography is medium-format black and white film and she specializes in multiple exposures stacked in the camera. Women are her main models and she aims to capture their complexity and strength. Her work explores her identity as a Native queer woman as well as influences from ancient Mimbres pottery designs, Indigenous mythology, pop culture, and comic books. Through her work, she aims to transform the widespread lack of knowledge the public has of modern Native American people, our history, and our traditional knowledge. Her work has been displayed at the Black Family Visual Arts Center, Barrows Rotunda Gallery, Jaffe-Friede Gallery, and Nearburg Gallery. Recent projects include the SWAIA Drum Auction for Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and participation in the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture’s Mural Project led by the Living Legends Recepients (Diego and Mateo Romero). For the past two years Povi has been working for Cara Romero (Chemehuevi photographer) and recently began studying under Diego Romero (Cochiti potter). She is planning on pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in fall 2022 in Italy.

Kuu da woah (Thank you very much)

Ashley Browning, Yellow Butterfly

Tribe: Pueblo of Pojoaque/Pueblo of Santa Clara

IG Handle: @ybutterfly2

Find Ashley’s work at “Pathways Native Arts Festival’, August 20-22 Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, Pojoaque

Ashley Browning is from the Pueblos of Pojoaque and Santa Clara, in what is currently known as New Mexico. She received a bachelor’s of fine arts degree in Film and Digital Media from the University of New Mexico with a concentration on production.

During her time studying at the University of New Mexico, she honed her graphic design and photography skills. She explored different types of digital media, such as screenwriting, sound mixing, cinematography, and 3D animation. Not long after graduating from the University of New Mexico, Ashley had been selected to participate in the Full Circle Fellowship with the Indigenous Program with the Sundance Institute. Since completing her fellowship, she has worked on a variety of productions in roles that range from production assistant to sound mixer. Browning supports other local Indigenous filmmakers, such as Shaadiin Tome, Peshawn Bread, and Charine Gonzales.

Browning was introduced to the art by her grandmother, Lu Ann Tafoya. Lu Ann creates traditional Santa Clara deep-carved, red and black pottery. Ashley continues the family legacy through Tafoya’s mentorship and expertise. After school, Ashley would attend her local Boys and Girls Club where she continued to explore various art forms including painting, drawing, and digital graphics. By the time she was 16, Ashley had won numerous ribbons in local, statewide, and regional contests for her graphic and fine arts. Ashley’s family has been part of the Southwest Association for Indian Arts since its inception in 1922. During her first experience at the market, in 2013, she entered the painting, drawing, and photography division. She won two first-place ribbons for her “Paper Doll” and “Juxtaposition” pieces. Since then, she has entered the competition every year, taking home numerous awards for her contemporary/traditional art pieces. The highest award she received was a “Best of Division” for her piece titled “NDN iPhone, a photo that puts an Indigenous spin on the contemporary iPhone layout. Collaborating with her mother, Michele Tapia Browning, the two created an indigenous board game titled “NDN-OPOLY” and has since been featured in local and national museums and in several publications.

While pursuing her film and art career, she works in the marketing department for the Pueblo of Pojoaque’s Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino.

Edwin Allen Felter, Wiyeh Than (Two Suns)

Tribe: Nambe Pueblo Tewa

IG Handle: @edmiyster

Youtube: @Edwin Felter REZCREW

Spotify:@Edwin Felter

Edwin Felter is a singer, songwriter, educator, and engineer who was born in Nambe Pueblo, where he continues to live and work. Edwin’s love for music was born from and continues to grow through traditional songs and his cultural environment. Felter explores multiple genres, with hip hop and rap at the forefront and the source of his inspiration coming from artists such as Elvis, David Lee Roth, Lil Wayne, and Andre 3000. Edwin intends to continue to maximize his own understanding and experience in sound and style, and encourages other young artists to do the same. A large part of Felter’s time is dedicated to the Lightning Boy Foundation, a nonprofit organization in northern New Mexico that provides traditional hoop dance instruction and other dance programming to youth ages 2 and up. The organization’s mission is dedicated to nurturing and building confidence and integrity through culture and artistic expression. Edwin is the singer for the group and travels with them as they tour.

In addition to his music and work for the community, Edwin has a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Electromechanical Engineering and enjoys teaching STEAM workshops and concepts throughout New Mexico Public Schools as a member of the NNMC Mentor Collective at Northern New Mexico College.

Kaa Folwell, Kaa Ojegi (Frost on the Leaves)

Tribe: Khapo Owingeh (Santa Clara Pueblo Tewa)

Represented by: King Galleries Santa Fe / KingGalleries.com

IG: @xxkaaxx

Kaa Folwell received her BFA in studio arts from the Institute of American Indian Art in 2018. Kaa explores her creativity and heritage through mostly contemporary Pueblo pottery but not limited to. During her senior show titled Bridgework she created a series of turquoise and silver teeth grillz that represent the fluency and journey of relearning the Tewa language. During Kaa’s creative process she utilizes both traditional methods to build while incorporating contemporary design. Her work is often accompanied by Pueblo and graffiti inspired iconography. Kaa comes from a prominent artist family in New Mexico: She is the daughter of contemporary Pueblo potter Polly-Rose Folwell, niece of Susan Folwell and granddaughter of the legendary Jody Folwell, one of the first contemporary Pueblo potters. Kaa grew up in Santa Clara Pueblo, where she strengthened her cultural ties and developed her love for art. her thoughts on what art means, “Art was never considered a hobby in my family and is a part of daily life, it’s almost another family member. Being able to use ancient techniques to build contemporary pottery is in essence exactly what it’s intended purpose is, to be a vessel that sustains life.”

Jacob Shije, Kaa Tsire (American Goldfinch)

Tribe: Kha’p’o Owingeh (Santa Clara Pueblo Tewa)

IG Handle: @jacobshije

Website: linktr.ee/jacobshije

Spotify: Jacob Shije

There is blissful energy emerging in the music industry and, Jacob Shije is quickly becoming known for his empathy, guitar prowess, and singer-songwriter performances. Jacob embarked as a solo artist in 2019, inspired by artists like John Mayer, The Beatles, and Ritchie Valens. Like clay from his homelands of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, he molds music into something rhythmically groovy and sonically vivid with vintage textures like an old soul. Jacob is supporting his debut single “Hide the Heartbreak” with a series of club shows across the Southwest. Jacob is currently performing with the Levi Platero Band and is an endorsed artist with Delaney Guitars.

Del Curfman, Baatchilish (He Will Live a Fortunate Life), Xuhkaalaxche (Ties-in-a-Bundle) Clan

Booth: LIN W 756

Tribe: Apsáalooke (Crow)

IG Handle: @crow_colors_studio

Website: www.delcufman.com

Born in 1993, Del Curfman grew up in the divides between his Apsáalooke (Crow Tribe of Montana) heritage and the greater Western/Montanan/ Non-Native culture, forever influencing him and his artwork. A graduate and alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and emerging artist, his work has found significance as a reminder that American Indian culture and traditions have not faded into history or obscurity. His artwork is a conduit for cross-cultural dialogue. Through time, space, and movement, his paintings transgress the boundaries and limits of American Indian stereotypes. His work has been featured internationally, at the Field Museum of Chicago and the Neubauer, in local and national publications, and in galleries in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Bristol, England. Del is now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he remains concentrated on creating socially aware, community-engaged artwork.

Kelly Hubbell-HintonAugust 20, 2021