Zuni arts festival planned at NAU

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

FLAGSTAFF — The 18th Annual Zuni Festival of Arts and Culture will be held at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on May 24-25.

A:shiwi philosophy, emergence and migration beliefs, world views, values, and current-day issues on the Zuni Indian Reservation will be the focus.

Zuni Pueblo, about 35 miles southwest of Gallup, is the largest of 19 New Mexican pueblos, with 11,000 members spread out over 600 square miles. They are often considered the most traditional of all of the Southwestern pueblo people, having managed to preserve their core beliefs and identity while integrating useful parts of the modern world.

The fact that the A:shiwi language bears no similarity to any other known language is indicative of their isolation.
Eighty percent of Zuni families are involved in making fine arts, home-based work that makes it possible for Zunis to remain in their community.

Each piece of inlay silver jewelry, stone fetish carving, or pottery represents generations of tradition, paired with the artist’s individual unique style.

The MNA and the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, at Zuni Pueblo, are collaborating to bring back the annual Zuni Festival, which was last held in 2003.

The spiritual and ancestral landscape of the Zuni or A:shiwi includes the San Francisco Peaks or Sunha:kwin K’yaba:chu Yalanne in the west, Steamboat Wash in the north, Mount Taylor in the east, the Salt and Gila River Basins to the south, and of course, the Grand Canyon, the Zuni place of origin.

The Zuni People believe they emerged from Mother Earth within the Grand Canyon and migrated across the Colorado Plateau to Halona Idiwana’a or the Middle Place of the World, home of the Zuni for at least the last 1,300 years.

Among the award-winning and emerging artists at this year’s festival are Colin Coonsis, Kenneth Epaloose, Rolanda Haloo and Silvester Hustitio.

Zuni Festival’s Heritage Insights programming was made possible through a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council.

Additional sponsors of this year’s festival include the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arizona ArtShare, Flagtaff Cultural Partners, and the City of Flagstaff.

The Museum of Northern Arizona is located three miles north of downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180.

The Zuni Festival is open from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. both days. Admission is $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, $4 Native people, and $4 children (7–17).