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| On Tribal Lands, a Time to Make Art for Solace and Survival | On Tribal Lands, a Time to Make Art for Solace and Survival |
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| For over 30 years, Marvin and Frances Martinez have risen with the sun to drive from their home at the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico to the centuries-old Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. They arrive early to snag a prime spot beneath the rough-hewed wooden beams of the portal, a colonnade where they sell pottery blackened by blue smoke that recalls the legacy of Maria Martinez, the grande dame of Native American pottery and Mr. Martinez’s great-grandmother. | For over 30 years, Marvin and Frances Martinez have risen with the sun to drive from their home at the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico to the centuries-old Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. They arrive early to snag a prime spot beneath the rough-hewed wooden beams of the portal, a colonnade where they sell pottery blackened by blue smoke that recalls the legacy of Maria Martinez, the grande dame of Native American pottery and Mr. Martinez’s great-grandmother. |
| They are among the 70 or so Native American artisans gathering here to earn a living, artfully arranging their silver and turquoise jewelry, polychrome pots, ubiquitous feathered dreamcatchers and other items on Pendleton blankets. This living museum of craftspeople, a program of the New Mexico History Museum, is a Santa Fe institution that draws 300 to 1,000 tourists a day. That was before the yellow caution tape went up and downtown Santa Fe became a ghost town. | They are among the 70 or so Native American artisans gathering here to earn a living, artfully arranging their silver and turquoise jewelry, polychrome pots, ubiquitous feathered dreamcatchers and other items on Pendleton blankets. This living museum of craftspeople, a program of the New Mexico History Museum, is a Santa Fe institution that draws 300 to 1,000 tourists a day. That was before the yellow caution tape went up and downtown Santa Fe became a ghost town. |
| “Our great-grand folks went through the Great Depression,” said Mr. Martinez, whose kitchen windows look out onto mountains sacred to his people. “Now I feel like I’m reliving my ancestors.” | “Our great-grand folks went through the Great Depression,” said Mr. Martinez, whose kitchen windows look out onto mountains sacred to his people. “Now I feel like I’m reliving my ancestors.” |
| As the pandemic wreaks havoc on millions of lives, it has had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of Native American artists and artisans, who are collectively responding with a creative resolve born from centuries of adversity. New Mexico’s 23 tribal communities make up almost 60 percent of reported cases and half the deaths, though they comprise just 11 percent of the state’s population. The Navajo Nation has one of the country’s highest per capita rate of coronavirus cases — 4,689, with 156 deaths and still surging. Many tribal communities have mandated curfews and lockdowns. | As the pandemic wreaks havoc on millions of lives, it has had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of Native American artists and artisans, who are collectively responding with a creative resolve born from centuries of adversity. New Mexico’s 23 tribal communities make up almost 60 percent of reported cases and half the deaths, though they comprise just 11 percent of the state’s population. The Navajo Nation has one of the country’s highest per capita rate of coronavirus cases — 4,689, with 156 deaths and still surging. Many tribal communities have mandated curfews and lockdowns. |
| The portal in Santa Fe, now forlorn, reflects a deep cultural tradition in which the vast majority of artists rely on communal, up-close-and-personal Indian markets to sell their work. | The portal in Santa Fe, now forlorn, reflects a deep cultural tradition in which the vast majority of artists rely on communal, up-close-and-personal Indian markets to sell their work. |
| Last month, Santa Fe Indian Market, the country’s oldest and most competitive market, announced that it would be going virtual this August, spawning ripples of anxiety among artists untutored in e-commerce or living in isolated areas with little or no internet connectivity. “Most Native artists rely heavily on the principal markets as an economic lifeline,” said W. Richard West, Jr., president and chief executive of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. “To have it all come crashing down is really tough.” Along with the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, the Autry hosts a major market, still scheduled for November. | Last month, Santa Fe Indian Market, the country’s oldest and most competitive market, announced that it would be going virtual this August, spawning ripples of anxiety among artists untutored in e-commerce or living in isolated areas with little or no internet connectivity. “Most Native artists rely heavily on the principal markets as an economic lifeline,” said W. Richard West, Jr., president and chief executive of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. “To have it all come crashing down is really tough.” Along with the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, the Autry hosts a major market, still scheduled for November. |
| For jewelry makers like Reyes and Farrell Pacheco, residents of Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, internet connectivity is “a 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. thing. ” In this place of red earth and blue sky, the couple make the intricate mosaic inlay jewelry for which their pueblo is justly famous. They depend on Santa Fe Indian Market, organized by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, for half their income: Lately they have been bartering jewelry for potatoes, flour and even livestock. They spend much of the year crafting inventory, reserving their finest turquoise, coral, silver and spiny oyster shells. “We don’t invest in stocks,” Mrs. Pacheco explained. “Our stocks are our supplies.” | For jewelry makers like Reyes and Farrell Pacheco, residents of Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, internet connectivity is “a 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. thing. ” In this place of red earth and blue sky, the couple make the intricate mosaic inlay jewelry for which their pueblo is justly famous. They depend on Santa Fe Indian Market, organized by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, for half their income: Lately they have been bartering jewelry for potatoes, flour and even livestock. They spend much of the year crafting inventory, reserving their finest turquoise, coral, silver and spiny oyster shells. “We don’t invest in stocks,” Mrs. Pacheco explained. “Our stocks are our supplies.” |
| Karen Abeita, a celebrated potter on the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona, primarily sells her work at the Santa Fe and Heard Museum Indian markets and makes about 25 pots a year. She gathers her materials by hand, always tasting the clay to make sure there is no salt in it, which can cause spidery fissures. Her paints come from mustard seed plants outside her door boiled to a tarlike thickness. The firing — wood and sheep manure chips heated into white-hot coals — is always the trickiest part of the process, the time she prays “to the Man Above,” as she put it. “I always tell my pots — I’ll see you when you come out,” she said. “Show us your beauty from the earth.” | Karen Abeita, a celebrated potter on the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona, primarily sells her work at the Santa Fe and Heard Museum Indian markets and makes about 25 pots a year. She gathers her materials by hand, always tasting the clay to make sure there is no salt in it, which can cause spidery fissures. Her paints come from mustard seed plants outside her door boiled to a tarlike thickness. The firing — wood and sheep manure chips heated into white-hot coals — is always the trickiest part of the process, the time she prays “to the Man Above,” as she put it. “I always tell my pots — I’ll see you when you come out,” she said. “Show us your beauty from the earth.” |
| Ms. Abeita supplements her income fighting forest fires during the summer and has always had a waiting list for her pots. But clients who regularly trekked to the Hopi reservation to select works are not traveling. “Everybody’s pretty much struggling,” she said. “There’s no income. It’s a scary and sad time.” | Ms. Abeita supplements her income fighting forest fires during the summer and has always had a waiting list for her pots. But clients who regularly trekked to the Hopi reservation to select works are not traveling. “Everybody’s pretty much struggling,” she said. “There’s no income. It’s a scary and sad time.” |
| Mark Bahti, who owns galleries in Tucson and Santa Fe, noted that many artists come from large extended families. “When people support an artist, they are supporting a community,” he said. | Mark Bahti, who owns galleries in Tucson and Santa Fe, noted that many artists come from large extended families. “When people support an artist, they are supporting a community,” he said. |
| At Zuni Pueblo (pop. 7600), in a hard-hit part of New Mexico, some 77 percent of households have at least one self-identified artist at home. A young cooperative called ARTZ — for Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni — includes Zuni fetish carvers, who sculpt small animals and other spirit world figures from alabaster and other stones. But the tour buses and visitors stopped coming after the virus outbreak. | At Zuni Pueblo (pop. 7600), in a hard-hit part of New Mexico, some 77 percent of households have at least one self-identified artist at home. A young cooperative called ARTZ — for Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni — includes Zuni fetish carvers, who sculpt small animals and other spirit world figures from alabaster and other stones. But the tour buses and visitors stopped coming after the virus outbreak. |
| Even before the pandemic, more than one-third of Zuni residents lived below the federal poverty level, and the fetish carver Jeff Shetima, 42, a ceremonial leader, recently steeled himself to apply for food stamps. | Even before the pandemic, more than one-third of Zuni residents lived below the federal poverty level, and the fetish carver Jeff Shetima, 42, a ceremonial leader, recently steeled himself to apply for food stamps. |
| The Zuni way of life is an intricate weave of religious and cultural rituals and extended family ties. “Social distancing doesn’t translate into Zuni language or lifeways, and graphs from the C.D.C. aren’t always the most effective messaging for Indigenous people,” said Joseph Claunch, executive director of the nonprofit Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. He recruited an artist, Robin Lasiloo, instead. Mr. Lasiloo created a poster promoting fitness for kids stuck at home using clan figures — among them a buff coyote demonstrating a forearm plank | The Zuni way of life is an intricate weave of religious and cultural rituals and extended family ties. “Social distancing doesn’t translate into Zuni language or lifeways, and graphs from the C.D.C. aren’t always the most effective messaging for Indigenous people,” said Joseph Claunch, executive director of the nonprofit Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. He recruited an artist, Robin Lasiloo, instead. Mr. Lasiloo created a poster promoting fitness for kids stuck at home using clan figures — among them a buff coyote demonstrating a forearm plank |
| On Highway 160 on the Navajo reservation, where jewelry vendors once set up stalls, a black and white mural by the street artist jetsonorama uses the haunting image of a masked Indian in a headdress to underscore, in both Dine’ and English, the urgency of following public health protocols. Here as elsewhere, grass-roots groups have flourished to deliver water, food, firewood and other supplies to elders in remote areas. | On Highway 160 on the Navajo reservation, where jewelry vendors once set up stalls, a black and white mural by the street artist jetsonorama uses the haunting image of a masked Indian in a headdress to underscore, in both Dine’ and English, the urgency of following public health protocols. Here as elsewhere, grass-roots groups have flourished to deliver water, food, firewood and other supplies to elders in remote areas. |
| The pandemic has also disrupted the ceremonial calendar of dances dedicated to abundant corn and other crops as well as summer powwows and feast days upon which artists — not to mention those selling mutton stew and Kool-Aid pickles — depend. “Within the art world, money often is a taboo subject, with an artists’ need for sales implying their intentions are not ‘pure,’ ” said America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), curator, artist and editor of First America Art Magazine. “But for Native Americans, art is survival and putting food on the table for your children.” | The pandemic has also disrupted the ceremonial calendar of dances dedicated to abundant corn and other crops as well as summer powwows and feast days upon which artists — not to mention those selling mutton stew and Kool-Aid pickles — depend. “Within the art world, money often is a taboo subject, with an artists’ need for sales implying their intentions are not ‘pure,’ ” said America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), curator, artist and editor of First America Art Magazine. “But for Native Americans, art is survival and putting food on the table for your children.” |
| Even an internationally known painter like Dyani White Hawk has had a major residency, speaking engagements and a solo exhibition canceled or postponed. Ms. White Hawk lives in Minneapolis with her mother and stepfather, who have health issues, so she has not ventured to her studio in a shared building for months. “It’s hard not to be making,” she said. “In a lot of ways, my practice is my grounding, my sanity, where I feel best.” | Even an internationally known painter like Dyani White Hawk has had a major residency, speaking engagements and a solo exhibition canceled or postponed. Ms. White Hawk lives in Minneapolis with her mother and stepfather, who have health issues, so she has not ventured to her studio in a shared building for months. “It’s hard not to be making,” she said. “In a lot of ways, my practice is my grounding, my sanity, where I feel best.” |
| The economic importance of traditional cultural practices extends to regions not widely associated with the arts. A market study of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota by the First Peoples Fund, a nonprofit that supports Native artists and culture bearers found that 79 percent of home-based businesses were in traditional arts like beadwork and quillwork. A solution was Rolling Rez arts — a roving arts studio, credit union, internet hot spot and mini-trading post on wheels that until the virus struck — fanned out across 11,000 square miles to reach artists in far-flung settings. Buyers from the Red Cloud Heritage Center gift shop board the bus once a month to purchase works from local Lakota artists, saving wear and tear and gas money. | The economic importance of traditional cultural practices extends to regions not widely associated with the arts. A market study of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota by the First Peoples Fund, a nonprofit that supports Native artists and culture bearers found that 79 percent of home-based businesses were in traditional arts like beadwork and quillwork. A solution was Rolling Rez arts — a roving arts studio, credit union, internet hot spot and mini-trading post on wheels that until the virus struck — fanned out across 11,000 square miles to reach artists in far-flung settings. Buyers from the Red Cloud Heritage Center gift shop board the bus once a month to purchase works from local Lakota artists, saving wear and tear and gas money. |
| The Fund, based in Rapid City, is among the organizations stepping up to provide financial relief for Native artists in 25 states, who have reported losses ranging from $150 to $38,000 since March 1. | The Fund, based in Rapid City, is among the organizations stepping up to provide financial relief for Native artists in 25 states, who have reported losses ranging from $150 to $38,000 since March 1. |
| Updated June 22, 2020 | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | |
| Yet the currents of ingenuity and resilience run deep in Indian country. Jaunty new institutions are springing up around the clock, from the Social Distance Powwow Marketplace Facebook page, which posts works for sale, to curbside silver pickup for artisans at the Iskasoktu Gallery on the Hopi reservation. | Yet the currents of ingenuity and resilience run deep in Indian country. Jaunty new institutions are springing up around the clock, from the Social Distance Powwow Marketplace Facebook page, which posts works for sale, to curbside silver pickup for artisans at the Iskasoktu Gallery on the Hopi reservation. |
| The Poeh Cultural Center in Pojoaque, outside Santa Fe, has started its own Facebook marketplace and peppered its website with Covid-19 support, including‘Talking Circles” for artists and videos on marketing basics, “Artist Product Photography 101” and the like — a foreshadowing, perhaps, of virtual markets still to come. | The Poeh Cultural Center in Pojoaque, outside Santa Fe, has started its own Facebook marketplace and peppered its website with Covid-19 support, including‘Talking Circles” for artists and videos on marketing basics, “Artist Product Photography 101” and the like — a foreshadowing, perhaps, of virtual markets still to come. |
| The unwitting virtual pioneer is The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor Me., which pivoted to digital after making the difficult decision to cancel its third annual market in mid-May. Among the artists on Facebook Live was the Penobscot basketmaker Theresa Secord, an N.E.A. National Heritage fellow and founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. She set up “a little Indian Market booth” in a spare bedroom, she said. She has been teaching her 28-year-old son Caleb how to use tools and basket forms passed down from her great-grandmother. “It’s my responsibility as a culture bearer,” said Ms. Secord, who is 62. “What if something happens to me?” | The unwitting virtual pioneer is The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor Me., which pivoted to digital after making the difficult decision to cancel its third annual market in mid-May. Among the artists on Facebook Live was the Penobscot basketmaker Theresa Secord, an N.E.A. National Heritage fellow and founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. She set up “a little Indian Market booth” in a spare bedroom, she said. She has been teaching her 28-year-old son Caleb how to use tools and basket forms passed down from her great-grandmother. “It’s my responsibility as a culture bearer,” said Ms. Secord, who is 62. “What if something happens to me?” |
| Rapheal Begay, a Navajo artist and public information officer, said that it should be up to Native artists, rather than outsiders, to interpret the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the community. “It’s about aesthetic and visual sovereignty,” he said. “How will Native artists define this moment?” | Rapheal Begay, a Navajo artist and public information officer, said that it should be up to Native artists, rather than outsiders, to interpret the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the community. “It’s about aesthetic and visual sovereignty,” he said. “How will Native artists define this moment?” |
| One response comes from Carly Tex, a Western Mono basketweaver in Fresno, Calif., who may well be the Julia Child of acorns. She demonstrated her techniques in a recent video for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, comparing the “old way” of grinding acorns with a mortar and pestle to her Ninja blender and sifting the flour in a tamoya basket she had woven. | One response comes from Carly Tex, a Western Mono basketweaver in Fresno, Calif., who may well be the Julia Child of acorns. She demonstrated her techniques in a recent video for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, comparing the “old way” of grinding acorns with a mortar and pestle to her Ninja blender and sifting the flour in a tamoya basket she had woven. |
| Being ready for times of scarcity, be it storing acorns, dried beans, or basket materials, “is innately present in our culture,” she said. As food hoarders descended on supermarkets, she realized she had a lot of acorn stored if the household ran out of food. “In a way,” she said, “it felt like we were preparing for this all along.” | Being ready for times of scarcity, be it storing acorns, dried beans, or basket materials, “is innately present in our culture,” she said. As food hoarders descended on supermarkets, she realized she had a lot of acorn stored if the household ran out of food. “In a way,” she said, “it felt like we were preparing for this all along.” |
| Masks, an essential element of ceremonial regalia for millenniums, are also being redefined anew. First American Magazine recently published “Masked Heroes: Facial Coverings by Native Artists.” Brent Learned, a South Cheyenne/Arapaho in Oklahoma City, was inspired to create a painting of a masked chief after losing two friends to the virus. Keri Ataumbi, an acclaimed Kiowa Nation jeweler, made a mask out of brain-tanned buckskin adorned with celestial bodies, its interior lined with red and blue trade cloth and a beaded turtle. | Masks, an essential element of ceremonial regalia for millenniums, are also being redefined anew. First American Magazine recently published “Masked Heroes: Facial Coverings by Native Artists.” Brent Learned, a South Cheyenne/Arapaho in Oklahoma City, was inspired to create a painting of a masked chief after losing two friends to the virus. Keri Ataumbi, an acclaimed Kiowa Nation jeweler, made a mask out of brain-tanned buckskin adorned with celestial bodies, its interior lined with red and blue trade cloth and a beaded turtle. |
| Her mask connects to centuries of medicine men and women. “You’re breathing through your ancestors,” she said. | Her mask connects to centuries of medicine men and women. “You’re breathing through your ancestors,” she said. |