American Indian Literature and Cultures Pueblo Art and Artists

Reed Homepage English 201 Homepage Pueblo Culture Week 2 Handout GENERAL LINKS Native American Resources on the Internet American Indian Quarterly Native Web E-TEXTS Native American Electronic Text Index Laguna Pueblo Taos Pueblo Laguna Pueblo Sign

INTRODUCTION Scientists and anthropologists will tell you that the Pueblos are the descendants of the Mongollon and Anasazi people who settled in the southwest over 10,000 years ago (Edward Dozier, The Pueblo Indians of North America, 1). Many Pueblos, however, will tell you otherwise, since the oral tradition tells of their emergence from the underworld.   Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton argue that "the emergence of human beings from the underworld is a fundamental theme in Pueblo Indian myth, ritual, and architecture" (Native American Architecture 348). Like the structure of the Pueblo, this circular spiral is reminiscent of emergence designs. As you read the story about the "origin of the whites" in Ceremony (pp. 132-38) you might want to consider the importance of defining your own origin (as well as the origin of others). How do the artists below define themselves and their origins? How does this relate to the definitions of "American Indians" and American Indian art that we have discussed so far? Historic Pueblo Art INTERNET LIBRARY OF PUEBLO POTTERY     This is an amazing web site with a superb history of the Pueblo peoples and their art. It contains photographs of many historically significant Pueblo pots. Contemporary Pueblo Artists LEE MARMON (Laguna Photographer; father of Leslie Marmon Silko). Also visit this site, which includes an exhibition of his photography, as well as this gallery of his work. THOMAS NATSEWAY (Laguna Potter)   D. ANDREW RODRIGUEZ (Laguna Sculptor)   LEWIS SISTERS (Acoma Potters)   POTTERY FROM THE ACOMA PUEBLO [back to top]