Southwestern Souvenirs

Love for Indian arts meant staying at the SWAIA Indian Market from 7 a.m. through 5 p.m. Pottery was a big seller, along with popular jewelers’ goods. I didn’t get a report about kachina carving. There seemed to be fewer Kewa Pueblo (formerly Santo Domingo) heishe makers than I remembered. However, en route to and from Santa Fe, I saw a roadside sign on I-25 for that pueblo’s annual market to be held over this coming Labor Day weekend. Could it be that some of those artists are instead putting their energies into this market?

One thing everyone agreed on was how unusually hot and humid it was that weekend. (Even though it’s monsoon season in the Southwest, it’s been a more humid summer than usual.)

Lifesavers at Indian Market: The water brigade from St. Michael's High School, Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Indian Market goes through various cycles over the years, always trying to tack forward with modernized artist entry processes. It may be that in the years ahead, the older, more traditional artists who never learned to use computers trail away from this modernizing process. One complaint that never goes away, however, is how some booths contain works with designs that have been appropriated from other established artists. Most artists frown on having their works photographed. This comes from a realization that Indian arts still continue to be plagued by fraud, imitation, and misrepresentation.

One last note: Despite being on my feet all day, I still didn’t get to see every artist’s booth, and in fact missed some good individuals.

On your feet all day in Santa Fe!

Actually, after such a strong headline, I have to hedge. This was my first Indian Market since 2001. Nine years’ absence has good and bad features. I have it on good report that the middle 2000s were prosperous years for IM. Storm clouds lurked around the 2008 Market, and last year definitely showed some signs of the recession.

A view of Santa Fe Indian Market (along the Plaza).

What I did notice, however, was a change in the early morning crowds. These are generally the collectors, devotees who camp out and cluster possessively around their favorite artist’s booth. Their numbers were lighter than I’d ever seen before. Now, this doesn’t mean that high end and major collectors weren’t buying; they reportedly were doing so but were quieter about it, arranging sales through dealers established at the local hotels. Indian Market early morning collectors, however, often are the very people (like myself) who find themselves having leaner, less discretionary-type funds this year.

The artists have the most telling report, and theirs was generally positive. Popular artists sold out quickly or went home with most of their inventory gone. Many felt upbeat, but the long term mood remains wary. This recession is still out there.