Archive for the 'Chaco Culture National Historical Park' Category

Chaco Culture on the Solstice

June 22nd, 2006 by Jim Spadaccini

It was an amazing afternoon at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. We saw two performances of Hopi dancers and took quite a few photographs.

We talked with the two leaders of the group, Bertram Tsavadawa and Ruben Saufkie. They are from Second Mesa, one of a number Hopi Villages in eastern Arizona.

Ruben told us about the importance and symbolism of the dances and their impression of Chaco Canyon, a place that they (and other Puebloan people) consider an ancestral homeland.

He also told us about their water crisis and a recent event in which he and Bert participated in. They ran from “Hopi” to Mexico City to raise awareness about the issue.

It was great to spend an afternoon watching the group dance. Here’s a few photographs, we hope to post more tomorrow.

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Ruben Saufkie

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Dancers smile.

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Colorful feathers.
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A young eagle dancer.

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An even younger eagle dancer.

Posted in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Environmental, Photography | 2 Comments »

Off to Chaco for Summer Solstice

June 20th, 2006 by Jim Spadaccini

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.

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Valerie Martinez performs the Deer Dance. The park used this photo for its graphic display at the Pueblo Bonito overlook.

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Curt Garcia performs the Deer Dance.

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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.

Posted in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Photography | 3 Comments »

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