A Native American narrative: A look at five works at the IPCC that celebrate New Mexico's Pueblo culture

Nov. 26—New Mexico's history is important to understand where we are today.

Museums around the state are repositories for history, oftentimes highlighting a small percentage of their permanent collection at a time, because of space.

Each museum has a focus.

For the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, its focus is on Pueblo culture.

It was founded in 1976 by the 19 pueblo tribes of New Mexico and features world-class art as well as being a cultural center.

The IPCC is located amidst nearly 80 acres of land owned by the 19 pueblos and serves as a gathering place where Pueblo culture is celebrated.

The IPCC is comprised of a museum and gallery space; a collection of murals and other Native art and artifacts; a library; an acclaimed restaurant, Indian Pueblo Kitchen; a premier Native American arts store and website, Indian Pueblo Store; and cultural programming and events — each celebrating the Pueblo culture of New Mexico.

Visitors can learn fascinating history, shop for Native jewelry and art, watch a cultural dance, hear Native languages, and experience the flavors of traditional and contemporary Native cuisine.

The center's permanent collection contains thousands of items.

Scott Simmonds, IPCC executive director, Michelle Lanteri, museum head curator, and Hannah Weston, museum registrar, went through the collection to pick out five pieces that shouldn't be missed.

"(The permanent collection) really starts with ancestral times and making the connection to Chaco Canyon as a place of origin of those early times for a lot of Pueblo people and people from the Southwest," Lanteri says. "So much of that also comes from the stories and how those stories are passed on."

1. Po'pay statue by Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo)

Weston says the piece became part of the collection in 2015.

"An interesting thing about this statue is it actually has a sister piece that's in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.," she says. "There's going to be a few differences from that one to this one."

According to Fragua, Po'pay was not a trained fighter, but a man who tended gardens, hunted and participated in the Kiva ceremonies. He was a medicine man who was responsible for making sure the ceremonial calendar was followed.

Weston says in Fragua's rendition, Po'pay holds the knotted cord in his right hand and it was used to determine when the Pueblo Revolt would begin.

The bear fetish in his left hand symbolizes the center of the Pueblo world.

The drum in front symbolizes the necessary elements for his commitment to the medicine society to which he belongs.

"The broken crucifix symbolizes the break from the oppressors and the forced religion that was suppressed upon the Pueblo people," Weston says.

Simmonds says having the center be the beneficiary speaks highly of not only how the IPCC tries to tell the story, but how that was merged between the artist and the IPCC.

"It's an opportunity for us to dive in a little deeper."

Weston says the statue, along with the section on the Pueblo Revolt, is significant because the revolt has allowed the pueblos to continue their cultural practices.

"There were a lot of tribes that didn't have that opportunity because of the European expansion into the West," Weston says. "A lot of tribes didn't fare so well. For me, this piece signifies resilience."

2. Black ware jar by Maria Martinez and Popovi Da (San Ildefonso Pueblo)

Lanteri says this piece of pottery in the main case of the Pueblo pottery section is an example of the trailblazing Martinez and Da achieved in collaboration.

"This is a later work in Maria's career," Lanteri says.

Lanteri says Martinez worked with her husband, Julian, from the 1920s into the early 1940s. The couple is known for doing black on black pottery.

"Later in the 1960s, when she was working with her son, Popovi, they made this finish, which is called a gunmetal finish," she says. "You'll really see that taking place in the vessels in the 1960s. That has a lot to do with the sheen coming from a lot of the burnishing with the stone prior to the firing. Then it's a reduction firing that gets it to be black. It's a reddish brown clay that becomes black through a reduction firing process."

3. Mural by Francis Tafoya (Santa Clara)

Lanteri says Tafoya, a male artist from Santa Clara, captures the Pueblo seasonal calendar.

"The cycle of season and what all that entails," Lanteri says. "The focus on the corn, and then crossing different realms in terms of physical health, but also for spiritual and for ceremony. The top has a sun face, and that gives energy to the earth. You can also see the animal dances in the bottom left and then the matachines that would be in the Christmastime."

The mural has been part of the IPCC since 1980.

Because the mural is out in the open, the IPCC lets visitors get up close to the piece.

"We're not wanting to create a space between the viewer and the piece," says Weston. "That's not part of living culture. We'll do regular assessments to the pieces to ensure that they are being properly cared for and kept in good condition."

Lanteri says the acrylic on canvas piece is more resilient than that of watercolor on paper.

"Because it's canvas, it's softer," Lanteri says. "It's inside and generally the artworks have a longer lifespan. It's nice that people can be so direct with it and get up close and look at those details and feel connected."

The mural was also part of a mural project at the IPCC in 1970.

There are 20 murals located around the campus of the center.

4. Clay turtle by Margaret and Luther Gutierrez (Santa Clara)

Lanteri says the pair has an interesting story.

They are the daughter and son of a really well-known pottery couple, Lela and Van Gutierrez.

"The thing with this family is that they source their pigments from the Four Corners area," Lanteri says. "These different pigments are coming from the region. There's a lot of trial and error to figure out how those are going to fire in the process."

With the turtle, they are celebrating that core importance of the vitality of water.

"It's really whimsical, too," she says.

5. micaceous pot by Lonnie Vigil (Nambe Pueblo)

Lanteri says Vigil is really well-known for bringing the micaceous pottery form to a fine art status.

"The micaceous was used for bean pots and domestic wear," she says. "But for Lonnie, he had gone to D.C. to work for the government. He came back to Nambe Pueblo in the 1980s and felt compelled to work with his family and the tribe to bring this kind of pottery making back."

Lanteri says he started to enter the vessels into the Santa Fe Indian Market in the 1990s.

In 2001, he won best of show for the form.

"It's really groundbreaking to have that be elevated in that way," she says.

The piece was added into the permanent collection in 1993.

Simmonds says, looking at the pottery, one knows that they all served a purpose.

"These items all have uses for them," he says. "Each piece is part of the journey of the Pueblo people."