Recession? Not in Albuquerque, where Gathering of Nations pumps millions into economy
As many as 200,000 people were expected to have attended the Gathering of Nations that ended last night in Albuquerque. TV station KOB reports here that the event, which bills itself as the world’s largest powwow, will bring in $22 million to $35 million for the local economy.
Early Inuit art commands very high prices
Inuit art from the 1950s and 1960s brings impressive prices, as Jane George of the Nunatsiaq News, who attended a recent auction of Inuit art in Toronto, writes here. A carving called “Hooded figure,” by the late John Pangnark of Arviat, went for $14,000, and a 1959 Cape Dorset print, “Polar bear and cub in ice,” by Niviaxie, who died that same year, sold for $22,800.
Art by Native inmates finds market on the outside
And speaking of art, Native inmates inside the Mike Durfee Prison in South Dakota are creating artwork that could help support them on the outside. State corrections spokesman Michael Winder says art is encouraged in the prison. And Laurie Apple tells the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, here, that she buys art from Native inmates for her art store and gallery, Osage Lakota Artworks, in Kimball.
Two novels draw inspiration from Northwest Coast tribes
Today, Bellingham (Wash.) Herald book reviewer Barbara Lloyd McMichael takes a look, here, at two novels that focus on Northwest Coast Native American culture – John Pappas’ “When Wolf Comes,” that McMichael terms an historical novel that reads like a captivity narrative. The second is a book recently brought back into print: “Raven Stole the Moon.” It’s the first novel by Garth Stein, who went on to write the bestseller, “The Art of Racing in the Rain.”
Gathering heralds First Nations, Metis and Inuit learners
A recent gathering hosted by the Edmonton Public Schools’ Board of Trustees was the first such event for First Nations Chiefs and other leaders from First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities from across three territories, the Edmonton Journal reports here. The idea was to build on the work of the board’s Aboriginal Education Task Force.
Dine soldiers home with their families after 10-month tour in Iraq
We love stories about soldiers coming home safe. Here‘s one from the Navajo Times, about the 300 soldiers of the New Mexico National Guard who returned after a 10-month tour in Iraq. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was on hand to welcome members of the 1115th and the 720th companies. “I’m very proud of our National Guard, particularly with the Navajos who are serving,” Richardson told them.
We’ll ignore the reference in this piece to the Custer Battlefield in pursuit of the greater good.
And there’s no greater good than fry bread, right?
Savannah Tranchell of Rapid City, S.D., is looking for recipes. Help her out. We think she deserves help because of her humble plea:
I found a recipe on Food Network, but somehow I feel like a cheater making this Native American food based on a recipe I found online, so I’m not going to post it. I also don’t want to try to make it from one of those instant-kits. This is one of those foods I believe must be made from scratch, at least the first time.
And yes, this plea involves massive amounts of self interest. We have every intention of copping the recipes for our own use.
Gwen Florio
