Camels and Ostriches in Arizona?

In many of the Akimel O'odham, Western Apache, and Yavapai baskets woven in the early 1900s, the weavers have depicted human and animal figures that we are used to seeing in the region. Frequently, we see depictions of dogs, horses, deer, elk, and eagles. But in a few cases, we see depictions resembling animals that are not native to the Southwest, or even to the continent. While the portrayals of the four-legged animals with humps in this section are indisputably camels, we cannot be sure that the large birds depicted on the remaining two baskets are indeed ostriches. For either animal to be woven onto a Native-made basket, it makes sense to ask: Where would an Indigenous basket weaver have seen a camel or an ostrich? Though they are not native to Arizona, beginning in the mid-1800s and early 1900s, some members of their kind have had the (mis)fortune to call Arizona their home.

Initially, the U.S. Army imported camels to the United States for military purposes. Less than a decade later, the Civil War brought the experiment to a close, and some of the camels were transported to Arizona to help with the construction of a transcontinental road. Upon the road's completion, camels were either sold to traveling entertainers or zoos or turned loose into the wild. Sightings of feral camels, while uncommon, were reported in the region up until the 1940s.

In the early 1900s, the popularity of ostrich plumes in women's fashion, primarily on hats, led to companies importing ostriches to the Phoenix area, which has a climate similar to that enjoyed by the birds in their native southern Africa. Ostrich farms began to crop up in the Valley.

You may recall a few issues of LAHP that shared photos of the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Eloy, AZ (halfway to Tucson).

Western Apache, early 1900s

On this basket, the weaver started and finished her design with bands containing human figures. Between them are additional bands containing deer and ostriches. Vegetation motifs are included with the animals.

In the early decades of the 20th century, weavers' creative basketry talents were on full display. Weavers created some extremely large baskets that were sought by serious collectors. Traders and merchants attempting to interest more casual collectors in baskets for the home touted them as useful for wastebaskets or umbrella stands. Weavers readily adapted designs used for basketry trays to these newer shapes.

Virginia S. Newton (Apache, 1915-2004) was born in a small willow house next to the Verde River. She was raised there by her uncle and his wife, Richard and Emma Walter, following the loss of her parents when she was eight years old. Emma taught Virginia how to make baskets, and together they went out to sell them in the surrounding area. The museum is honored and privileged to have her work as part of the Heard Museum collection.

Polychrome Baskets

During the early years of the 20th century, a few weavers introduced a third color into their basket designs. In this exhibition, some of the Western Apache baskets and basketry jars also include red, which is more of a brick red or a shade of reddish-brown.

Martynia (devil's claw) is the dominant black design fiber, and the bark of the yucca root is used for red or reddish-brown. In some instances, red is achieved through commercial dyes, but these dyes fade more rapidly than the red of the yucca root.

Compare these baskets to the previous photo — the basket with the central flower design is an example of a basket utilizing commercial red dye. Though it is harder work to harvest the yucca root needed to make red fibers for weaving, the longevity and brightness of the natural red color make the effort a rewarding one.

This photo and the next one show spikes made of glass, wood, and other materials to delineate territory.

I think these are marvelous — the bright colors and mixture of materials are artistically superb.

The Hopi Wedding

In a traditional Hopi wedding, months of ritual exchanges between the families of the bride and groom take place before the wedding is complete.

A central event in the whole wedding process occurs when the bride goes to her groom's mother's house dressed as an unmarried woman. For three days, she grinds corn. Before sunrise on the fourth day, she and her groom have their hair individually washed by the future mothers-in-law. Their hair is then washed together in a single bowl to symbolize that they are now one.

Outside in the rising sun, each will offer a prayer with cornmeal for prosperity and a long life together. They return to the house as man and wife.

Wedding Robes — In the days following, the couple remains at the grandmother's home while the groom and his male relatives complete the weaving of his bride's wedding robes. When finished, she is dressed by his family and they wear robes on a ritual journey to her mother's house, where they will reside.

Today, couples may wait a few years after their civil marriage to complete the traditional wedding. If children have been born before the Hopi wedding ceremony they will receive Hopi traditional woven clothing.

Two white robes are woven for the bride. One is stored at home and the other is rolled in a reed mat. Traditionally, the wedding garments were rolled this way for storage. Thus preserved, one of the bride's robes is buried with her when she dies.

Hopi Jewelry

"As far as I am concerned, it is the Katsinas (also spelled "Kachina") who are giving us the wealth of ideas and talent we have."
Charles Loloma, Hopi

Note: A kachina is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo people, Native American cultures located in the southwestern part of the United States. In the Pueblo cultures, kachina rites are practiced by the Hopi, Hopi-Tewa, and Zuni peoples and certain Keresan tribes, as well as in most Pueblo tribes in New Mexico. 

Two major developments in Hopi jewelry have brought the art form to the distinctive and highly regarded place it holds today. The first development was the creation of the overlay style. In the overlay process, a thin sheet of silver with a fine design cut in it is placed over a solid piece of sheet silver. Efforts to develop a unique Hopi style were begun by Mary-Russell Colton, a founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona. When Hopi veterans of World War II returned home, a GI training program led by Paul Saufkie and Fred Kabotie offered 18 months of jewelry-making training.

The second major Hopi jewelry was the innovative work of Charles Loloma. He combined stones and wood in elegant shapes that broke from the conventions of Indian jewelry. The result has inspired subsequent generations of jewelers far beyond Hopi.