Colorado Indian Market & Southwest Showcase
Denver, Colorado
More than 20,000 people attend the annual Colorado Indian Market and Southwest Showcase in Denver every January. People from around the world come to the market to see, smell, taste, hear and learn about Native American and Southwestern culture.
About 300 artists participated in the 2015 market, and although the market is open to any heritage, about 60 percent of artists are of Native American descent. Artists sell paintings and photography as well as silversmith work, beadwork, baskets, woodcarvings and more. The Colorado Indian Market requires participating artists to be present throughout the weekend to show their work and talk with guests. Many also choose to do live demonstrations at their booths.
“We think it’s important for the customer coming to the show to be able to say, ‘You made this? What were you thinking? What gave you the inspiration? How did you do this?’ — those types of things you can’t get from the dealer or the trader,” said Randy Wilkerson, producer-director of the event.
The market also includes live music, dance performances and other entertainment throughout the weekend. Although the 2016 lineup has not been announced, 2015 entertainment included country-Western singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and Brulé, a nationally known group that combines Native American music with contemporary rock while performers drum and dance in traditional regalia.
The three-day market, which will be January 22-24, 2016, will also have a food court featuring various Native American foods such as Indian fry bread, Indian tacos, venison stew, corn chowder and buffalo chili.
Taos Pueblo
Taos, New Mexico
The oldest parts of the Taos Pueblo buildings date to between A.D. 1000 and 1450. The adobe dwellings are stacked on top of each other and originally had no doors — those came with the Spanish in the 1500s. Entrances were originally in the roof, and when the pueblo was under attack by a rival tribe, the Taos people would go into their homes and pull in their ladders.
“That was for safety from raids; the enemy isn’t going to hop into a house where they can’t get back out,” said Ilona Spruce, tourism director for the Taos Pueblo just outside of Taos, New Mexico.
That’s the kind of history that visitors will learn during tours of the pueblo. Guides are community members, often college students, who speak firsthand about contemporary times and share the pueblo’s history, from Spanish conquistadors to American conquest. About 100 Taos Indians still live in the pueblo, but each home is owned and maintained by a family, even if they don’t live there full time.
“The buildings aren’t just buildings; they’re our homes,” Spruce said. “They’re kept up and maintained to make sure the everyday life we’ve known for thousands of years continues on.”
There are many shops throughout the pueblo, and some artists can be found working on artwork in their stores, Spruce said. The pueblo is especially known for micaceous pottery made from clay that glitters in the sun because of its mica content. The Taos people are also known for drum-making and use elk or deer hides, as well as local cottonwood trees, to make drums.
