Artistic Dynasties Thrive in Native Jewelery

THE MIGHTY CHEYENNE DOG SOLDIERS
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JEWELER
DYNASTIES
THRIVE .~
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WINNING
ARTISTS
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CULTURES
A R I ZONA' S
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N URDUR IN G
YOUNG ARTISTS
TOURING
HAWAII'S
JAN/FEB2011
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BIG ISLAND
NATIVEPEOF LES.a".GM
partnership, collaborating on sor»e works. Haloo bc~~an to distinguish
her ivork by developing designs of her own creation in addition to the
2004. That same year, at age 23, he received a first-place aN;ari' ~
-place m
an inlaid pendant necklace ar rhe Heritage Program Marke.
-ca
fa<nily designs. She makes butterAy, hirmmingbird and dragonfly
t he jMuseuru of Northern Arizona. In 2009, his necklace + .
maidcrl designs with complex inlaid wings ofcorat, lapis lazuli, opals,
turquoise, abalone ar>d black marble. She says, "I ar» just expressing
myself tlirough art and kecpirig the art going from my mom arid dad."
Your @lings Like Fire" avon a First-place ribbon «t the Zuni Fes ~
oF the Arts at th» M use<rm of Northern Arizona. The complexareE
Colirr's inlay designs «nd his use of subtle color changes distin== -:
his ivork. Most recently hc cc~
She has won aivards for her v'ork
lahorared with N avajo jeaaeL
at tlie M u scurn o f N o r t h ern
Arizona, the Gallup Inter-Tribal
Indian Ceremonial, and Indian
5'market in Santa Fe.
Rolanda and I-Iarlari's son,
Colin C,oonsis, learned to make
jewelry initially by observation,
though hi s
Cody Sandcrson to m ake a a
Qlir n>orle o 'enrlr r))
lated dragon Hies.
tllr ce err nti!>I i II'I)i » i c')!!nlrb,ilrr)]re
The
Peshlakai Family
the y «]Ier rrti r)]I n/ I OOl,i (r/r' nr.ti,gati C
p a rents separated
when hc was 11. Colin ivatchcd
his mother closely ivhile she
worked at her jeweler's table.
Rolanda sho~vcd Colin aspects
of inlay, taught him to solder
using brass a nd copper, and
offered him general encourage
8 Jl]initirr'S tllll?>I]ill i ]l' fill
~~ ~ / 'fti?>e
nr't .r'e'e'Iie n r) lr ] ] n l ] i lC' tl]C/t 1S]I()l
lr]ri rllle i]t nr t l)rrt is pn]ti r itin?'ll}
t h e m o r e t e c hnical
a spects of
m e t ahvorking a n d
T he
rX a v aj o
I 'eshlakais
son
clan
i%orb»rt.,
A a ron
and
dau g h : e=
Natasha — are another nota'
jewelry-making family, kneern
For their silverwork. At r i mes.
nr t ro]]r!IIII]ri t».
~/
makes jeivelrv; iitorbcrt's ivor
»ncouragcd him to pay attention
to details in his work. Cojin has fond rn»rrrories of his mom driving
him and his sister Holly from Zuni Pueblo to Santa Fe in the early
rnornirig horrrs in order to sell her jeivrlry at Indian Market. Seeing thr
people crosvdins his mother's booth to make their purchases would
have a lasting effect. on Colirr. When he was a teenager, hi also traveled
N orbcrt's w i tr..a Linda,
complex stampwork and inter
esting textures he accomplishes in silver. He is also one ef thefirst
artists svho made small silver seed pots, beginniiig in 1?7Ci, and h
has continued to develop the art form, becoming thc most prnl'.-..
and diverse artist working in this mcdiun>.
Norbert I ' r shlakai i s a
f o u r t h -generation silvcrsniiti.
ancestors include Slendrr Maker of Silver, a noted early ~il
F air 5: Market. He recalb, "These kinds of things nxotivated me t h « t
(scr Sept./Oct. 2007 issue). Norbrrt learned some nrrt«i
exhilaration and exciten~cnt."
Coonsis first participated in the Heard Indian Fair K. Market in
a l so
is distinctive because oF tbe
ivith his aunt, Phyllis (.oonsis, to the Heard Wuseuni ( uild I ndiari
46 NATIVE PEOPLES
ot
Irr>tnl)lr. ill tl],r r-=Air')irr]I
m ent. I I is father taught h i m
some of
inlaid bracelet Featuring artie
skills From family members and also by takirig jew»lri
classes «t I I«skell Junior College in Kansas. Some of his ted '
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ON lHE COVER:
lessica Roid is a Niember ot
lhe Salt River Pirra-Maricopa
38 // An 0'odharnJourney
indian Cornmuii ity. lOCated
first east ol Phoenix Arizona
Visit the lands andexperience the
arts and culture of the 0'odharn
peoples ol Arizona. the Cila Rrver Indian
Cornrnunity, Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community, Ak-Chin indian
see related storrr p.38).The
i8-year-otd attends Scottsdale
Con.mUnity
Collegeand hasbeesa
~resecitative on her tribe s Young
=rre. PeCqleS' COuncil fci mare
-air;ivo years ln addition, stie
«W : a :ce as lunlor Miss Salt
bra IAgA School and as Miss Salt
By GregoryMcNarnee.
SeleCIed 'ASS Indian Air ZOnaFirSt
44 // Generations; Artistic
Dynasties Thrive in NativeJewelry
. ==-"'. for 701G-20] l by the
: - . . ~ ianna schc4rsfiip
:.-;-=-: ~e is adorried bete ~|lh
Artistic legacies thrive in Native arts, as
l atCe clay paint
~:. > ~ g oodham wrnen lor
with thesetwo prominent f'eNelry-making
s '-treast4eatirN. and aeNsces
troin shelts collected in the
families,: the Coonsis clan, including
Rolanda, Harlan andColin, and the
~ try tnbaf me; onpilgrimages
Peshlattai family, includingNorbert,
,a lhe PaAc Eb n. Porto
Aaron and Natasha. SyDiana F.Pardue.
try Ar f toriy 'Thosh' Cotlins
fPin.a/Osa;e).
• I •
Young artists are actively nurtured
by several speciaprograms
I
at the
Heard Museum inPhoenix. ByPatty
Talahongva (Hopi)
Commun
ity andTohono0'odharnftation.
~2 00S 20lo, and+asrecently
Vs ' -
50//Talent Pipeline
FeedsYoungArtistic Visions
56/f Mere Comethe
Judges (AwardWinnersj
Profiles of four award winners at the
2010 Heard Indian Market; weaver
Lisa Telford (Kaida), painter Chris
Pappan (OsageJNaw/CheyenneRiver
Sioux), and jewelers OrlandoDugi (Oinfsj
and RebeccaTanibah Begay(Dinfs).
Also, details on the Nl j event.
ByGussieFauntleroy
nativepeoples.corn
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JAIEUARV,'rCBRUARY 2011 5
nas ies
a ive ew e r
ri v e
lis IC
in
hat a svondcrful opportunity it is to )car» a skill from
Rolanda Haloo, in
a family mcrnber — to bc guided and mcntored by a
turn, is from a fan>ily
loved onc. Many i4ative artisrs have learned their craft
of 7uni jewelers huirjcri
from their I>arents, grandparents or other re)ativcs, and artist fanti
by her fa ther, )acob
lies frequently work together «nd sharc ideas. Some of these 6rnilics
H elno,
have been making jewelry lor gerIcrations.
h er mothers l& l « P i n t o
This indudes many families worl'irg in jewelry that have pro.
BY DIANA F. PAROUE
who
re u r h r
Haloo, to t nake jew
ducecl generations af talented artists. The (eaussoi» «nd Pnb)ano
elry. Thc couple colleh- o ~ .
families are twn who have become widely admired. Connie Tsosic
orated on works, with
Ciatrssoin and hcr sons David and Wayne have xvorked in thc same
Jecoh kcusinhr on rhc
studio For years, Connie has prnvidcd her children with a skill
» octa lsvork a nd L o l a
set and a sc»se of design; in return, David and Wayne have intku
on thc inlay. )acob divas
enccd her, as well as each other, as they undertook studies at thc
knownfor hisRainbow
University of Ycw Mexico in Albuquerque, the Schon) of the Art
Sian and knife-wing
It1stit«tc of Chicago and tJ>c I»stitute of American Indiari Arts in
designs and
Santa Fe. Sin>i)ar)y, i'eronica Poblano taught hcr chi)drc» Dy lan
birdimagery.Although
an<I Jovanna the basics of designing and making jete(ry. Dylan
hcr father died when shc was I I, Rolanda recalls watching him make
continued to study design at thc I ashio» Institute of Technology in
jewelry in their home in 7uni Pueb)o. As a yotInggirl, Rolanila says
Xcw York and Veronica at the Revere Acadcrny of jewelry Ar ts i»
shc ivould "plav at bcino a jeweler" by rubbing hits of sandsto»e
San Francisco. Unlike her mother and brother, ivho vvork in silver,
together to e m ulate jewelry-n>aking tasks. Shc rccal)s standing
Jovanna has focused her efforts nn contct»porary bcadcd jewelry.
behind her parents and watching them ivork. I ike many families,
1 )mesc two families, who are on the cutting edge of contemporary
Rnlanda, her brothers and her sister wnuld hc)p v'ith smal) tasks as
jewelry design, arc anto»g thc mostreel)-known fami)ics of jewelers.
they grew older. ()ne ofhcr tasks includeil sanding the in)aiil stones
iMniv herc's an in-depth look at tsvn morc.
The CoonsisFamily
Co)itt Coonsis co>»cs from a tnultigcncrational dynasty nf jete)erh
His »anther, Roland; > Halno, taught hitn how to cut and inlay stones
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5
th u n <ler- I
and shel)s unti) they >vere flusli with the mctaL
'IX'hcn shc was I4i, Rolanda weightto boarding school at tt. John' s
Indian School in I aveen, Arizona. Shc took jewelry classes, butshc
already knew many of the basic skillslike cutting out the metal and
soldering parts together. She quickly advanced and began to sc)l her
jewelry to cover some of her incidental expenses Shc mct )Harlan
Coonsis xvhcn she was )7 svhi)c honte «t Zuni front boarding school.
in jewelry, as ivcl) assome basic si)vcrsmithing skil)s. I lc learned addi
I-Iar)ar1's far»i)y was known tor th eir cabochon-set jewelry. iVhen
tiona) silvcrsrnithing techniques from his tathcr, Harlan Coonsis.
Ha)oo and Harlan become a coup)e, they also developer) a working,
Above; Shat terd bett buckle by Colin Coonsis. Heard MuseumCollection. Colin with his father Harlan at the 2009 Zunt Show Facjng page- Necklace by Co>inCoonsis.
NATlvE PEoPLES HEARD FAIR cutoK 2011 45