Staff reports | Happenings & Events
The 48th annual S’edav Va’aki Museum Indian Market, formerly known as the Pueblo Grande Museum Indian Market, will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday, Dec. 13, and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4619 E. Washington St. in Phoenix.
The outdoor event offers attendees an opportunity to experience Indigenous culture firsthand.
The market will feature dozens of Native American artists selling fine art, crafts and cultural items. Main stage performances, a cultural demonstrator area and food vendors will also be part of the event, according to a press release.
All items sold comply with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 and are authentic and handmade, the release states.
“There are 574 federally recognized tribes found across the United States, and events like this one allow people to gather and connect with their tribes,” said Nicole Armstrong-Best, museum administrator. “We are honored to be a museum that offers a place for people to gather in community, connect and share their culture.”
Main stage entertainment will include hoop dancing, Native American flute music, a Tohono O’odham Waila band, traditional dance and solo guitar performances. Cultural demonstrators in the Ki:him (O’odham word for village) area will offer hands-on activities such as hoop dancing, beading, gourd art, shell etching, mask making, basket weaving and more.
Scheduled performers include:
*Gabriel Ayala (Yaqui) – composer and guitarist
*Tony Duncan (Apache, Arikara and Hidatsa) – world champion hoop dancer and flute player
*Violet Duncan (Kehewin Cree) – dancer and storyteller
*Chi Chino Spirit O’Odham Dance Group – traditional song and dance from the Akimel O’Odham (Pima Tribe) of the Gila River Indian Community
*Gertie & the T.O. Boyz – Tohono O’odham Waila band led by Gertrude Lopez
Food vendors will offer Native American dishes including fry bread, Navajo tacos and vegan options. Participating vendors include Tammy & Chris’s Frybread, The REZ an Urban Eatery and Sunny Concessions.
This year’s featured artist is August Wood (Diné, Tohono O’odham and Akimel O’odham), a basket weaver and potter who uses natural materials gathered and processed by hand. Wood learned traditional basket making in 2009 from Sally Antone of the Ak-Chin Indian Community and later studied the “paddle and anvil” pottery technique with the late Ron Carlos of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
