Nina Sanders (Apsáalooke)
Before I share my thoughts and reflections, I would like to acknowledge that I live and work in O’ga P’ogeh Owingeh (Santa Fe), the current and ancestral land of the Tewa people. Home also to the Towa, Tiwa and Keres speaking Pueblo peoples and the many other tribes who followed including the Diné, Apache and Comanche. As I live and breathe in this magnificent and sacred place I offer my deepest respect and thank you to the original people of this land.
Aho.
K’uunda wo ha
For most of us, returning to Indian Market is a bittersweet celebration. We’ve lost so many of our loved ones amid the pandemic that things feel a little less glorious, a bit incomplete. How does one return to a significant gathering like this knowing many things will never be the same? Can we process the immense change and trauma in a way that allows for deep and meaningful healing? I believe one way is through the same methodologies our ancestors used—art.
Resilience is built into our DNA. It’s in the way we wrap our little ones and sing the songs our grandmothers sang to us even amidst crisis. It is in our senses as they perk to a shift in the wind and weather reminding us to plant or prepare for the hunt. Resilience is the gift of tireless and passionate creation as we prepare to dance and sing amid droughts and tragedy. It is the gentle brushstroke of mineral paints along the smooth surface of a water jar meant for a daughter’s wedding, even when we are without.
Life is a precious moment of artistic possibility, with the potential to communicate culture and meaning as well as invoke love and healing. For Native people, there has always been art, a gift provided to us at our creation. It is within us and takes many forms: singing, dancing, cooking, praying, hunting, educating, speaking, painting, beading, joking. Our art, our gifts, provide us with the capacity to give love, provide strength and manifest hope.
Today we celebrate because we are still here, together, in a safe and wonderful place. We are dancing, singing and creating to honor the life and legacy of our ancestors who came before us, to those we lost before they could fully live, and to our children who must remember why we celebrate. We return together to remember that the gifts we carry within us must be shared and used, as we are not separate, and we need each other to grow and heal.
Shiinuk dii awaakawiik! Aho!
Nina Sanders (Apsáalooke)
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