Hubbell Trading Post

Walk into the main room (or “bullpen”) at the Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, AZ, and you are transported back in time. The old wood floor squeaks as you walk in. A big iron stove dominates the center of the dimly lit bullpen. Chest-high wood counters around the perimeter of the room separate the customer from the floor to ceiling shelves stocked with coffee, sugar, flour, blankets, knives, canned goods, fabrics and utensils. Hardware hangs from the ceiling. The oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Reservation still trades with members of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and other tribes much in the same manner as when its founder John Lorenzo Hubbell ran the post.

Hubbell purchased the trading post in 1878, ten years after the Navajos returned to their homeland from their exile at Bosque Redondo, Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. Very quickly Hubbell established himself with the Navajos not only as a merchant, but also as a trusted friend who helped them care for their sick, bury their dead, deal with their finances and deal with the government. The post itself was a place for Navajos to meet and socialize in the days before the automobile.

The Hubbell family operated the post for 89 years, until it was sold in 1965 to the National Park Service. Now operated by the Western National Parks Association and designated as a National Historic Site, the trading post today includes the original 160-acre homestead, the family home and a Visitor Center. Visitors can view Hubbell’s large collection of Navajo rugs and Indian baskets, as well as tour the Hubbell family residence, barn, bunkhouse, guest hogan, farm equipment and animals. You can also learn how to weave a Navajo rug on the visitor’s loom in the Visitor Center, or just watch as a Navajo weaver weaves her rug.

For more information on the Hubbell Trading Post and John Lorenzo Hubbell:

Window Rock Tribal Park

Of the many scenic wonders on the Navajo Reservation, the “window rock” that gives the town of Window Rock, AZ its name is my favorite. While the sheer size of attractions such as Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley are often overwhelming, you can get up close to the majestic natural stone arch. The “window in the rock” is a 47-foot in diameter hole carved into the redstone by centuries of wind, sand and water.

Balancing the natural beauty of the window rock are several Navajo made attractions offering insight into the Navajo. The Veteran’s Memorial at the base of the rock formation honors Navajos who served and are serving in the U.S. military. A circular path outlines the four cardinal directions. Sixteen angular steel pillars with the names of war veterans stand nearby. A healing sanctuary with a sandstone fountain provides a place for reflection and solitude. There is also a statute of a Navajo Code Talker. The Code Talkers were the World War II soldiers who developed a code based on the Navajo language, which was never broken by the Japanese and is credited with helping win World War II.

As the capital of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock is home to the Tribal Council Chambers and other tribal government agencies, including the headquarters of the Tribal Police (well-known to many fans of Tony Hillerman mystery novels). The colorful murals on the walls of the circular Council Chambers depict the Diné history and way of life. On days when the Council is in session, listening to legislative debates conducted in the Navajo language is a special treat.

Rounding out the cultural aspects of Window Rock Tribal Park is the Navajo Museum. The displays, including exhibits related to the Long Walk and the history leading to reservation life, and the on-site authentic Navajo hogan complete a glimpse into the rich and unique culture of the Navajo Nation.

Window Rock is located 27 miles from Gallup, NM and about 6 miles southeast of Fort Defiance, Arizona, just across the New Mexico-Arizona state line, on the Arizona side.

New Navajo Owned Hotel at Monument Valley

Last December, a new hotel called The View opened at breathtaking Monument Valley in Arizona near the Utah border. This hotel is the first actually located within Monument Valley, on the Navajo reservation, and is 100% Navajo owned.

The hotel has a simple exterior. Inside, its large glass panels maximize the view of the valley, and the walls are decorated with Navajo rugs. Navajo designs are found on the bedspreads and carved into the wood furniture. All rooms have views and private balconies looking out on the valley.

This new hotel has created needed jobs for Navajos right on the reservation. What a great place to stay when you visit the most spectacular landscape in the American West.

For information: The View Hotel

California Basket Exhibition in Sacramento

Baskets made by California's numerous Indian tribes are among the most sought-after baskets today. More than 80 of these rare baskets are being exhibited at a new show in Sacramento, "American Masterpieces: Artistic Legacy of California Indian Basketry" at the California Museum.

The exhibition, which runs through March 14, 2010, shows work from more than 20 tribes, including the Pomo, Chemehuevi, Yokuts and Washoe. There are bowls, storage baskets, ceremonial caps, cooking, water and medicine baskets.

More information on the exhibition is available through the California Museum website.

Lodestar Traders offers a wonderful selection of baskets, including several California baskets.

American Indian Comic Art

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico has just opened an exciting and unusual exhibition of American Indian comic book art.

Comic strips have long been popular among young American Indians as a form of pictorial storytelling. In this exhibition, the comic art tradition has been adapted to feature American Indian heroes, culture, and identity. The works also make ironic use of Indian stereotypes, such as the bloodthirsty warrior or the inarticulate sidekick.

The Museum describes this as a "new world of American Indian art, full of the brash excitement first seen on newsprint a century ago — sometimes unrefined, often considered crude, but never sterile."

The exhibition runs through January 4, 2009. For more information, visit the Museum's website.

Sandcast Jewelry

Sandcasting is a method of making silver jewelry which yields elegant pieces with a distinctive style.

In the sandcasting process, melted silver is poured in a continuous stream into a mold carved from a soft stone. The halves of the mold are then clamped together. When the silver cools, the mold is opened. The finished sandcast piece will have small marks on the back resulting from the casting process.

Sandcasting lends itself to flowing, openwork jewelry designs. The design often includes scrollwork or fan shapes.

The oldest sandcast pieces were made with silver only, and many items are still made that way to highlight the beauty of the silver. However, it has become very common to add turquoise to the finished piece.

Bracelets are the type of jewelry most often made using the sandcasting process. Sandcast belt buckles are also very popular. There are also sandcast rings, pins and pendants.

Manta Pins

Large and striking old manta pins are highly prized. What are they exactly, and where did the term come from?

Manta is Spanish for blanket or shawl. It specifically refers to a shawl-like garment worn by Pueblo and Navajo women of the mid 1880's over a blouse or dress. The silver manta pin was originated as a means of fastening the shawl in front or at the side. Manta pins were also used to fasten robes or dresses.

Eventually, manta pins came to be used purely for ornamentation rather than for fastening. They often can be seen on the lovely velvet blouses worn by Navajo women. Without their pins, they are often sewn on ceremonial outfits.

Early manta pins were merely ornamented stick pins; later they were made with clasps. Manta pins are generally large and horizontal, but can also be round. They are almost always silver. They may be done with detailed repousse work and are usually (but not always) set with turquoise.

Like many other forms of American Indian jewelry, manta pins are a living reminder of a long tradition.

The Naja

The naja is a familiar form in American Indian jewelry, especially in Navajo and Zuni squash blossom necklaces, other necklaces and pendants. The naja has a long history predating its use on this jewelry.

"Naja" is the Navajo word for "crescent". The crescent design was common to many early civilizations, including the Moors of North Africa. It was commonly used on horse bridles to ward off the evil eye. The Spanish adopted the design, and it was used by early Spanish settlers in the American Southwest.

From there, the Kiowa, Comanche, Ute and Navajo adopted it, and it began to appear in Navajo jewelry by the 1870’s.

The naja can take many forms. It can be single or double barred, simple or elaborate. It may be made using the sandcasting process. Often there is hand stamping on the bars. It is sometimes adorned with turquoise, less often with coral or other semi precious stones. There is often, but not always, a pendant dangling from the center. The naja may end in round beads, or with small hands.

Zuni Fetish Carver Kateri Sanchez

Kateri Sanchez is a young Zuni fetish carver who specializes in corn maidens. She is the daughter of Georgia Quandelacy and the niece of Andres Quandelacy and Sandra Quandelacy, and she says that she is continuing the Quandelacy family tradition of fetish carving. We are very excited about her work and are proud to offer a number of her carvings.

She creates her maidens from various materials, including turquoise, apple coral, and fossilized ivory. There are single and double maidens, some with turquoise studded ollas, some with fringed robes. Most of the carvings have dots of multicolored gemstones for embellishment.

Her maidens have a sweet innocence to their expressions and lovely, graceful lines. They make a lovely addition to any collection of Zuni fetishes or a great beginning for a new collection.

Hopi Silver Jewelry

Silverwork came later to the Hopis than to the Navajos and Zunis. In the 1800’s, Hopis were known for their basketry, pottery, and textiles, and traded these crafts with the Navajos and Zunis to obtain silver jewelry. In the early 1900’s, Hopis began making silver jewelry for themselves, learning from Zunis, Navajos and at Indian schools.

Initially, Hopi jewelry was not readily distinguishable, being very similar to Navajo and Zuni jewelry. Shortly before World War II, the idea surfaced of promoting Hopi silverwork by developing a style of jewelry specific to the Hopis. Traditional Hopi designs long used on baskets and pottery could be used on silver jewelry to make it distinctively Hopi.

After the war, the Museum of Northern Arizona, using the GI training program, organized an 18-month silversmithing program for Hopi veterans. This program was offered between 1947 and 1951. Legendary silversmiths Paul Saufkie and Fred Kabotie were among the instructors. This class developed and refined the overlay technique which is now the signature style of Hopi jewelry.

In the overlay technique, a design is cut out of silver and the piece that remains forms a negative design. This piece is soldered to a sheet of plain silver, and the design oxidized black to contrast with the silver. Sometimes the design is matted or texturized using tiny chisels.


Hopi jewelry today is characterized by the overlay style. There is very little use of turquoise or other stones. A variety of stylized symbols are used, as well as some prehistoric Mimbres motifs and original invented designs.