We are heading out tomorrow to Chaco Culture National Historical Park to photograph Hopi dancers performing in celebration of the summer solstice. The park which was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture, is located in the northwest corner of the state.
Back in 2004, I took a number of photographs of another group of dancers on the solstice, the Tewa Dancers from the North for the Traditions of the Sun project. Here’s a few of the shots from that trip.
Valerie Martinez performs the Deer Dance. The park used this photo for its graphic display at the Pueblo Bonito overlook.
Curt Garcia performs the Deer Dance.
A close up of Curt Garcia.
Unfortunately we will miss the sunrise ceremony, but we will be there in time to see two afternoon performances in the great house of Pueblo Bonito. While myself and Kemper will be at Chaco taking photos, Zeke will be a world away at the Ruby on Rails Conference in Chicago. It’s tough to think of two events that could be more different.
We’ll be posting photographs from the solstice later in the week. Perhaps Zeke will fill us in about the conference next week.
Those are really nice shots. Way back when (high school, I think) a group of students and I took a road trip through the Four Corners area around Easter and tried to see some Kachina dances – no go. But it was a great chance to learn about the Hopi and Navajo culture and see it all up close, really friendly people and a fantastic trip.
Also, yeah, poke Zeke and encourage him to post about the conference. I’ve had Rails on my radar for a long time now but haven’t played with it at all, largely because it seems to me that it would be amazingly effective for new development, but a big pain to try to port anything to it. Wrong? Let me know, we’ve got a few projects down the pike that might be candidates.
Hi, Jim -
I’m writing an article on Chaco – googled “Chaco solstice dance” and yours was the first site listed. I love these pictures! I think I’ll plan a trip to NM next year to see the dancing.
[...] 2000, and I’ve been lucky enough to be at four out of the last five (you can see photos from 2004, 2006, 2007, and there are lots more photos of Chaco Culture at the Traditions of the Sun [...]