The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Indian Market includes hundreds of artists representing hundreds of tribes, pueblos, and First Nations cultures; admittedly, honing in on those artists or booths that catch your eye or you want to learn more about can be overwhelming . So Pasatiempo plucked two artists that caught our eye — one a newcomer and one an up-and-comer — who both share the common thread of taking the slow road to developing and creating their art. Learn more at swaia.
org . It’s Friday morning, and Shawna McLeod (Dehcho Dene and Métis) asks to move her Zoom interview with Pasatiempo by two hours. She has to send a group of young people on a plane into the wilderness, but she’ll be right back, she promises.
The jewelry, tufting, and bead artist grew up in the Indigenous community of Deh Gáh Got ́¿ę First Nation (Fort Providence), in the Northwest Territories in Canada, in a family of artists and artisans. This weekend, she will participate for the first time in the Santa Fe Indian Market, as part of a delegation from the Northwest Territories through NWT Arts and alongside a delegation of artists from the Yukon. McLeod says she’s grateful for all the support she’s received from NWT Arts and knows she will learn more than she can imagine in Santa Fe.
“It was a long journey,” McLeod says of her artistic education. “When I was young, I was exposed to hide tanning and later learned to work with beads. I learned to stitch from an elder .