An exceptionally deep mystery

One of the most common questions we hear at Twin Rocks Trading Post is, “So what do Navajo people think about that?”
“That,” can encompass a wide variety of topics from art to culture to race relations to Bears Ears National Monument to local and national politics.
There are, of course, a few concerns that arise when trying to address the inquiry:
1. It assumes all Navajo people are the same, with identical opinions;
2. That I have any insight into what Navajo people are actually thinking; and
3. That the answer is universal, static, unchanging.
As Priscilla has confirmed, none of the assumptions is accurate, and all can be dangerous.
As Priscilla will also testify, many visitors to the trading post conclude Navajo culture specifically, and Indigenous cultures of the Southwest in general, have not changed in hundreds of years.
It is common for people, often, but not exclusively Europeans, to come into Twin Rocks Trading Post and say, “Where can we find real Indians?”
When I point to Priscilla, they shake their heads as if to say, “I...just...don’t...understand. “No, no, no,” they say, “REAL INDIANS!”
Well, I inform them, Priscilla is about as real as they come, but the guests want to see half-naked individuals with dark skin, preferably wearing eagle feathers; riding a painted pony; and carrying a spear, bow and arrows, or Winchester carbine – you know, like the ones in a Wild Bill Cody show, a John Wayne movie, or an Edward S. Curtis photograph.
Last week I found myself in Santa Fe, NM with time on my hands. As a result, I decided to visit the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
If you haven’t been, you should go; it is an amazing place, with gobs of exquisite Southwest art.
As I ambled among the displays, awed by the beautiful items on exhibit, I noticed a series of baskets by well-known Navajo basket weaver Peggy Black. Without going into detail, let’s just say the explanation attached to the pieces was not exactly comprehensive.
That may have been because the staff didn’t speak with Peggy when the museum acquired the baskets, or maybe because the weavings came from a collection where the original collector did not preserve the information.
In any case, it was a notable set that could have had a much more interesting explanation.
How do I know, you might ask. Well, the design was created by Damian Jim when he worked at the trading post, and at the time Barry, Damian, and I had many conversations about its origin, meaning, and history.
The weavings were interesting enough to stand on their own, but the history is fascinating and could have added much more to the display.
I don’t fault the curator for not knowing the set’s importance, there are many amazing art pieces at the museum and only a limited amount of time, information, and space to explain their importance.
The experience reminded me, however, that interpreting the artwork, stories, and opinions of others, especially Native people, can be a minefield.
When I was younger, I was all too happy to venture in and stake out some territory. That, of course, was before I realized that, as Francis Bacon is known to have said, “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery [and confound the viewer].”
And, before I realized that among Indigenous people there are many topics where the mystery runs exceptionally deep. Maybe that’s why Priscilla always says, “It’s a mystery to me,” when I ask her questions about Navajo culture.
And that is the latest from Twin Rocks Trading Post, where no news is not always good news, and facts are unnecessary when there is a story to be told.