Yavapai Basketweaver Donna Nightpipe to Present Cultural Demonstration at Montezuma Castle National Monument

Date: January 28, 2014
Contact: Karen Hughes, 928-567-3322 x223

 National Park ServiceNews Release

For Immediate Release – January 28, 2014
Karen Hughes, Acting Chief Ranger, MOCA/TUZI, 928-567-3322 x223

Yavapai Basketweaver Donna Nightpipe to Present Cultural Demonstration at Montezuma Castle National Monument

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. – An informal demonstration highlighting the legacy of Yavapai basket weaving will be presented by artist Donna Nightpipe on Saturday, February 15, at Montezuma Castle National Monument. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ms. Nightpipe and her husband Francis will share knowledge of natural basketry materials and traditional weaving techniques used by the Yavapai of central Arizona.

A resident of Rimrock, AZ., Ms. Nightpipe is the small business development coordinator for the Economic Development Authority of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Camp Verde, AZ. She has taught basketry at the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fountain Hills, AZ., and has also participated in cultural preservation workshops at Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe headquarters, Prescott, AZ., and for the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Camp Verde, AZ. Ms. Nightpipe's baskets are in the permanent collections of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation, and the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe. 

Area museums, including the Yavapai-Apache Cultural Center, Camp Verde; the Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff; Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix have exhibits on the natural materials, designs, and weaving materials used in Yavapai baskets, considered among the finest Native art forms produced in the American West. 

Ms. Nightpipe will have displays of the native plants used in Yavapai carriers and plaques, including willow and devils claw, and she and Mr. Nightpipe will demonstrate the processing of natural materials along with the weaving system to make a coiled basket.

There are no fees in observance of President's Day weekend, February 15 to 17, 2014. Montezuma Castle National Monument is located off Interstate 17, exit 293, at 2800 Montezuma Castle Road, Camp Verde, AZ. 86322, The monument is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Dec. 25. For additional information, call 928-567-3322, extension zero.

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