Photo: Hopi Corn Kachinas

Last evening our art group met at the house of great friends of ours.  They have some magnificent Native American art.  This is an iPhone photo of a row of Hopi corn Kachinas.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge.

This week we have photos of the architecture of Portugal posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo:Bear Tracker Statue by Dave McGary at Paradise Valley Town Hall

About a week ago I posted a photo of a triangular sculpture outside the Paradise Valley Town Hall for the April 1 Theme Day of Triangles.  Today's photo is another one of the sculptures in front of the town hall.

This is "Bear Tracker" buy Dave McGary.  Sadly, Mr. McGary passed away last year, a the age of 55.  He was a leading sculptor of Native American realism.  He lived in Paradise Valley, with a gallery in the Scottsdale Old Town gallery district.

Here is a link to the artist's website for more information and photos of his work.

This week we have photos of the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Cliff Dwellings in Boynton Canyon

About half way up the cliff in yesterday's photo is this scene of the ruins of a Native American cliff dwelling.  There are lots of cliff dwellings in the rocks around Sedona.

Some of the cliff dwellings are preserved with Forest Service rangers and volunteers controlling access and monitoring visitors.

Bout many other cliff dwellings like the one in today's photo, are unattended.  They must rely on their remoteness, difficulty of access, and the better elements of human nature not to deface or alter the sights.


This week we are posting some additional photos from our recent trip to Ethiopia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Apache Flute Player

This flute player at Enchantment Resort in Sedona was excellent.  The canyon walls provide very nice acoustics.

This week we have photos of the people of Ethiopia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Plains Indian Dance

This is a plains Indian performing a traditional dance that simulates the stomping down of grasses on the plains.  What is unusual about this dance is that this woman is the only female who is allowed to perform this dance.

They explained that there are different dances for men and women, but she went to the tribal elders and requested permission to perform the men's dance.  Due to her sincerity, they granted her permission.

Congratulations to her for breaking another gender barrier and crack in the glass ceiling.

The red rocks of Sedona's Boynton Canyon and the adobe fireplace make a fitting backdrop for this performance.

This week we have photos of the people of Ethiopia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Plains Indian Dancer

While the hoop dancer was performing, this Native American was waiting her turn.  She was a northern plains Indian, so her clothing is of a different style than we usually see for Native Americans in the Southwest.

The dance that she performed is quite unusual as well, as I will show and explain in tomorrow's post.

This week we have photos of the people of Ethiopia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Native American Hoop Dances

Enchantment Resort in Sedona has lots of activities, many of which have a native American theme.  During the Thanksgiving banquet, they had Native American dancers and musicians, including this hoop dancer.

In addition to the performances, the musicians and dancers gave educational explanations of the history and culture of their performances.

This week we have photos of the people of Ethiopia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Pascua Yaqui Ancestors in the Wall

The mural that I have showed during the past few days has some ceramic tiles embedded in the wall.  The ceramic tiles have the images of old photographs printed on them.  The ceramic photos in the wall feature old scenes of the Pascua Yaqui community, particular old portraits of their ancestors.

I think that it is wonderful that as the children of the Pascua Yaqui community walk along the colorful wall that lines the street that is the entrance to the community, the children see their ancestors and hopefully gain an understand of the hardships that they endured to maintain their culture.

This week we are featuring photos of Golden Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  Its elaborate temples are architectural treasures.

Photo: Pascua Yaqui Mural & Geography

South Scottsdale's Pasqua Yaqui community is tiny.  The main Pascua Yaqui community in the area is located in Guadalupe, which is just south of Tempe, which is the suburb south of Scottsdale.  There is a 1,200 acre Pascua Yaqui Native lands outside of Tucson, with about 3,500 residents.

(I do not use the name for native lands that begins with an "r" because I do not believe it is appropriately respectful.)

This section of the mural shows the location of Pascua Yaqui communities in Arizona.  They travelled and lived in a variety of locations in pre-Columbian times, but had a 400 year history of conflict with the Spanish and Mexican governments that did not come to an end until 1929.  Some of them fled Mexico and settled in Arizona.  

They did not obtain the recognition of native lands in the US until 1964 and were not officially recognized as a tribe by the U.S. government until 1978.

This week we are featuring photos of Golden Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  Its elaborate temples are architectural treasures.

Photo: Pascua Yaqui Mural

The entrance to the cul-de-sac that is the Pascua Yaqui community in south Scottsdale.  This mural depicts scenes of the history and culture of the Pascua Yaqui people, as well as other cultural icons.  I will show a closer view of portions of this mural during the next two days.

This week we are featuring photos of Golden Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  Its elaborate temples are architectural treasures.

Photo: Pascua Yaqui Native American Community

This tile mosaic sign is on a wall leading into a cul de sac that is an enclave of the Pascua Yaqui Native American Community in South Scottsdale.  That's right.  We have a Native American community within Scottsdale, in addition to the large Salt River Pima Maricopa Native American community that forms much of the Eastern border of Scottsdale.

The Pascua Yaqui community has a fascinating history and culture.  I will share more of it during the days ahead.

Today is Sunday, and we have new photos on our   Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are featuring photos of Golden Bangkok, Thailand.  Its elaborate temples are architectural treasures.

Aerial Photo: The Heard Museum

This photo looks down on the Heard Museum of Native American Cultures, a world famous collection of Native American art and culture. The Heard has 40,000 items in its collection, displayed in 130,000 square feet (12,000 sq. m.) of space.

We are members, and we enjoy going to the Heard's Indian Market each spring, with rivals Santa Fe as the premier exhibition and sale of Native American art. We have bought dozens of art works there over the years.

Because we have been spoiled by the Heard's collection, when we went to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington D.C. recently, we loved the architecture of the building, but we were very disappointed in the collection. It simply does not compare with the Heard.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Balbianello at Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Red Sand and Rock

Here is a photo of the red sand and rock canyon on Navajo lands.

Growing up in Arizona makes me feel very comfortable in these types of spaces.

They are familiar and peaceful.

And, today is Sunday so that means new travel photos and this time we are posting photos from the fabulous area of Atacama, Chile so check them out at Viva La Voyage!

Photo: Native American Statue in Cactus Garden

Here is a photo of a Native American statue in the cactus garden of the Phoenician Resort.

Everytime we go to the Phoenician, we try to go and walk through the cactus garden.

It changes regularly with the seasons.

Check out our travel photos of the fabulous gardens at Villa Melzi in Italy at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: Navajo Nation License

Here is a photo of the Navajo Nation license plate.

Navajo Nation consists of over 26,000 square miles covering parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

It is the largest tribal lands in America. The Navajo Nation was established by treaty on June 1, 1868.

Navajo Nation in Navajo is Naabeeho Binahasdzo.

Check out fabulous photos from intriguing Easter Island at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: Native American Statue

Here is a photo of a magnificent art statue that was at the Desert Botanical Garden.

I like the drama of this photo at night.

The lighting makes for a great effect.

It looks like a Native American dancer performing at night in front of the light of a fire.

Today is Sunday so check out travel photos of the Diversity of Iceland at Viva la Voyage!

Theme Day: Time

Here is a photo of a home from an earlier time.

Although Arizona has grown fast during the past 50 years, we were given a perspective on time due to our Native American heritage.

Here is a photo of the remains of a Native American cliff dwelling that dates back 1,000 years or more.

The red rock and desert varnish above the cliff dwelling also provides a reminder about time.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this month's theme day of Time!

Check out the travel photos of the Amazon and the Nazca Lines at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Here is a photo of the sign across the Salt River.

The sign is for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Arizona has 22 Indian tribes and right across the Salt River from Mesa and Scottsdale is the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

This tribe has been very successful and its current President is Diane Enos, a law school class mate of mine from many years ago. She is bright, committed, and thoughtful.

Check out travel photos from the Fjords of Norway at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: Newspaper Rock

Today is theme day for City Daily Photo Bloggers and the theme is Graffiti.

Graffiti communicates messages and can be artsy to look at like the photo I am sharing today.

This is called a newspaper rock, which means a rock with a collection of petroglyphs. This is a southwestern type of graffiti.

This photo is of petroglyph rock containing Native American symbols. This rock was designed, chiseled and hammered by a very good friend of mine named Jim Lowman. He said it took about 100,000 strikes to create this art piece. I really like it.

Jim created this art as part of an arts summer class we participate in. See other works of art by artists in the class at http://leafdogart.com/gallery21.htm

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants for theme day!

Check out our travel photos of the Art of London, England at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: People Are the Festival

Enlarge this photo to see some great people shots in the crowd.

Can you see the guy in black and white?

There are many interesting and engaged people attending this Native American Hoop Dance Festival at the Heard Museum and there are lots of great things being sold at this market.

And then look at the person competing who is rolling his hoop. All spectator eyes are on him.

Today is theme day and the theme is Festivals and Outdoor markets.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Check out magnificent underwater photos of Aitutaki at Viva la Voyage!