Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Folklife 2008. Cultural Focus: Urban Indians










1. Leon Rattler's (of Olympia) hand painted, beautiful teepee and the Space Needle.

2. Leon and Patricia's two teepees. Both are from different tribes. In the Native world, it's a big deal for two tribes to bring their teepees together. It signifies the two tribes coming together to join in peace. Randy (a medicine man from the Navajo nation who is Patricia's brother) might tell you the two teepees are for his two wives....but don't believe him.
3. A kiddo enjoying the sun.
4. Patricia Anne Davis, part Navajo, part Chocktaw. She brought the white teepee.
5. Randy, Patricia's brother. Both were raised by a Navajo traveling medicine man. Randy makes these absolutely beautiful mandalas (in the picture). He is the first of his family to make this kind. He has taught his sons and daughters to make them, and they each have their own individual style now. Some of them sell for quite a lot of money, some in galleries. Randy's signature is the rainbow colors. All of his mandalas have the colors of the rainbow in them - part of who he is as a healer on this earth.
6. Harvest Moon, a story teller and basket weaver from the rain forest land in the Olmypic rain forest.