★
Special Event
Event
Cultural Demonstration by Mary Motah Catanach - Santa Clara Weaver
This event has already occurred. This page is provided for reference only.
Fee:
Regular park entrance fees apply.Dates & Times
Date:
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Time:
10:00 AM
Duration:
6 hours
Type of Event
Cultural/Craft Demonstration
Description
The purpose of the Cultural Demonstration Program is to elevate the voices of members from the traditionally associated tribes. Demonstrations allow visitors to Bandlier National Monument the opportunity to meet Native American artists while they practice traditional and modern crafts.
Mary Motah Catanach is a weaver from Santa Clara Pueblo. As she says:
My name is Mary Motah Catanach, and I am a tribal member of the Comanche Nation and Santa Clara Pueblo. I started working as an entry-level archaeologist in 2006, retiring as a crew chief in 2023. I was able to find connections between the oral histories of my grandparents and the places and sites I had the pleasure of working in. I shared my community’s stories with my scientist colleagues, and the advantage of being Native American helped with the interpretation of some sites.
I was drawn to experimental archaeology as an opportunity to learn ancient technologies and skills that weren’t part of my modern life. I saw “how and why questions” being answered by hands-on experiments and experiences. Few experiences can compare with the luxuriant warmth of a turkey feather blanket. The use of objects produced from plants right at your feet amazed children who often went home and mangled their parent’s landscaping to show what they had learned. With adults, I noticed the excitement of their inner child while getting yucca goop on their hands and grinding a shell for a simple bracelet. Their eyes focused and the wrinkles on their foreheads tightened, ending with the happiness and satisfaction of accomplishment when they were finished. Experimental archaeology has allowed me to reintroduce to whole communities some of the ways that our ancestors had followed for hundreds and thousands of years.
As an individual I plan to continue the teaching of ancient lifeways to whomever may want to learn. I am still visiting and working on sites in Utah, Colorado, and Texas. And thanks to collaborations with archaeologists such as Dr. Laurie Webster, I am still looking at collections in various museums in the United States and am learning more about ancient technologies and lifeways. As long as I have grandchildren I will always be both a student and a teacher.
Demonstrations are free and open to the public and take place on the back patio of the Bandelier visitor center.
This program is made possible by funding from the Friends of Bandelier National Monument to cover costs like demonstrators' travel and their time.
More information
Reservation or Registration: No
Tags:
cultural demonstration