March Events
The Fredericks Hopi Yungyapu Collection is a cumulation of many years of Hopi ceremonies where the Third Mesa style of Basketry played a role in our family. It includes gifts from the Katsina spirits to my children, the pay back from female partners in social dances, a marking of the stages of growth for males/females, gifts for participation in ceremonial races and special events for my children.
The Hopi Third Mesa Wicker Basketry is a tradition from the Basketmaker Period of time, about AD 100-500. This basket weaving tradition continues today and plays a special role in strengthening relationships among the Hopi Clans.
The lecture and demonstration is a show and tell of the different types of weaving patterns, names and methods that have not changed since prehistoric times. These baskets are ceremonial and were not made for sale.
Marilyn Fredericks, Bamboo Clan will share the family collection and will explain why and how the baskets played a role in the lives of her family over the years. Marilyn is an Arizona Site Steward and is devoting volunteer time to monitor and protect ancestral places on State, National Forest and BLM lands.
Leslie Robledo, named “Le ta hep nem” is her Hopi name. The name means, “looking for fox." Leslie is of the “Reed” Clan from Bacavi Village.
Leslie has exhibited her baskets in the 2000 Fiber Art Festival, Santa Fe, Annual Heard Museum Market for 6 years, Museum of Northern Arizona, Hopi Show, Hopi Tuhisma and Eight Northern Pueblo Market.
Leslie learned Hopi basketry from her grandmother and older sister. She is a third generation basket maker who watched the weaving process, helping harvesting the raw material and preparing the natural fibers in the weaving process as a child. At about age 30, Leslie became more serious about her knowledge and skills of Hopi basketry weaving.
Leslie tries different techniques, such as making traditional yungyapu, yucca sifter baskets, piki trays, cradles “taa’ pu” and wicker bowls: “My first wicker bowl came out really nice!”
Leslie’s hope is to create awareness and understanding of the craft to preserve and keep Hopi Yungyapu Basketry alive.
Chris Glenn and Sandy Sunseri
Chiles & Chocolate:
Sweet and Spicy Foods in the American West
Saturday, March 18th at 1:00 pm
Come have a taste of the rich and savory history of these food favorites, explore how early peoples used them, and how they have evolved and spread to all corners of the world. Food is a portal into culture and can convey a range of cultural meaning including occasion, social status, ethnicity, and wealth, depending on the social context. Discover how chiles and chocolate became identity markers in gender roles and relationships, essential in rituals and religious customs, popular in aesthetic fashions and lifestyles, and how they changed through time and space.
Chris and Sandy have been speaking about the land and people of the Colorado Plateau since 2012, after completing docent training at the Museum of Northern Arizona. In-depth research and related interviews have resulted in lectures to their fellow docents, local social and educational groups, and at public venues such as Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff. Some topics are presented in costumes of the time period, at some we serve food, and in every case with a thorough exploration of the events and personalities of the time from multiple points of view.
Discover Third Mesa Style Basketry
Saturday, March 11th at 11:00 am
Ice Age Arizona
Plants, Animals, & People
Saturday, March 18th at 11:00 am
Dick (Richard) Ryan was a field Archaeologist in the American southwest for 10 years. He received a Master’s in Archaeology from Northern Arizona University in 1983. As an Archaeologist, he worked for Desert Research Institute, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and a number of Contract Archaeology companies. He was a government Archaeologist with Prescott National Forest in 1987 and 1988. He has published in Quaternary Research, the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, the Nevada Archaeologist, and the Journal of the Southwest, among others. His main area of interest: Ice Age mammoth hunters of the Paleoindian Period.