Seeing stars
Canyon guide's knowledge fuels feature films
S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer
CHINLE, Ariz. — Leon Skyhorse Thomas is a stickler for details
in the history and stories he tells on his tours through Canyon de
Chelly and in the movies he writes, shoots and directs.
Whatever the medium, Thomas wants to get the details right. For the
last 14 years, Thomas has led sightseeing tours through the canyon
and surrounding areas. His job as a guide helps to bankroll his fledgling
film company, which is the real center of his creative passion.
He talked about his creative projects and goals on a recent tour.
At age 8, he announced to his seven brothers and sisters that he wanted
to be a film star. Despite their laughter, he kept trying to pursue
his desire.
As a young man, he often snuck onto the movie studio lots in Hollywood,
trying to get a break. "One time," he said, "I actually
got as far as the secretary's desk."
Eventually, he found his way to film school at the University of California
at Los Angeles and Baillie School of Broadcasting in
Phoenix, where he learned all aspects of film life from the other
side of the camera.
After school, however, he found his way back to where his roots lie
in the areas around Chinle.
Recently, Thomas has been a consultant or extra on such box office
hits as "Natural Born Killers" and a Tony Hillerman novel-turned-movie
"Dark Wind."
Through the years, Thomas has meticulously researched many aspects
of the history of Canyon de Chelly and the Navajo people, particularly
the era dealing with the Long Walk. Along the way, he also discovered
quite a lot about the clan system and his own family, as well.
"I discovered that my clan was one of the original four clans
of the Navajo the Towering House People."
He pointed to petroglyphs about 20 feet above his head, on the wall
of the canyon. "These pictures on the left were made by Navajo.
They are depicting the hunting of a deer, trapping them in the canyon,"
he said. "The pictures right next to it are from the Hopi, they
illustrate some of the clans. It was after the 1800s because the people
in the petroglyph are riding horses."
The knowledge from his research has fueled several of his films and
screen plays, both documentaries and feature films.
In the next few weeks, Thomas will be busy editing more than 7,000
feet of his latest film, "Left In The Sun." It is entered
in
the Sundance Film Festival in Parker City, Utah, this year. By early
December, Thomas will know whether his film has been
accepted for viewing. The competition is tough a lot of films vie
for only a few spots.
Thomas' 24 documentaries and three feature films have been widely
shown on channels Showtime and the Travel Network.
He has also completed several scripts that are being sent around Hollywood
by an agent.
"I've been offered six-figures to produce one of my films,"
he said as he steered around deep mud and water holes in the canyon
bottom. "But, when we got to the end of a three-day meeting about
the project, the version the studio came up with didn't look anything
like what the original script had been.
"To me, it is essential that the story of our people be accurate.
I think of this as getting our history out to a larger audience."
To Thomas, that accuracy extends even to the detailing in the props
for his films, renting military costumes from collections
throughout the Southwest when necessary.
In earlier years, Thomas recorded and worked as a musician in addition
to all of his other ventures and wants to use his music on his films.
Toward the end of the canyon tour, Thomas stopped his Jeep under Hangover
Rock. It is a place of deep meaning for him. He sang a flowing melody
in a beautiful voice.
The song is a prayer, he said, adding, "I am traditional in that
way. All direction comes from song and prayer."
Thomas' goal is to have a full-time film studio to produce Native
American films and hire Native American actors.
A film school for young Native Americans is also talked about, but
is farther out on the horizon.
| Top |
Navajo artist's work reflects mythology,
social concerns
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — Like his eclectic art, Wallace Begay isn't easy to categorize.
He's a painter and a sculptor. But he's also a writer. And a musician.
And a former rodeo cowboy who's had his bones crunched a few too many
times.
But it's the work of Wallace Begay the painter that is on exhibit
in the gallery at Red Rock State Park now through Nov. 10.
The paintings reflect the themes that Begay says surface in his work:
his interest in environmental and social concerns and Navajo mythology.
Begay, originally from Tolani Lake, Ariz., and now living in Thoreau,
discussed his work in a recent interview. The issue of how he tries
to remain honest to his own personal vision of art was another theme
that kept surfacing in Begay's conversation.
Begay said he's "gotten both positive and negative reviews"
for his artistic experimentation with different styles. "I get
bored doing anything one way," he said.
The exhibit includes paintings with a range of styles a cubist interpretation
of mythological figures, impressionistic landscapes, a realistic nude
figure and some striking modern compositions.
He criticized the tendency in the art market, and the Native American
art market in particular, to pressure artists into sticking with just
one proven, marketable style. Begay bristles at artistic limitations,
whether it's limits on style, subject matter, techniques or materials.
Although he does work with some galleries, he prefers to deal with
private collectors. Begay believes art dealers frequently tend to
limit artists' creativity.
For example, he said, Navajo painters get pressured on many sides
to create the "typical" painting featuring "perfectly
dressed Navajos" wearing silver jewelry, riding a horse, surrounded
by a beautiful landscape.
In contrast, Begay sometimes creates art with startling social statements
about a different kind of reality. "Our Host," an acrylic
painting, is one such piece of work. It features a grinning man, holding
out a beer can. Affixed to the canvas is a news clipping from The
Independent detailing a sordid litany of alcohol-related crimes.
Begay believes artists have a responsibility to acknowledge what they
see and be truthful to their own vision. "You can't really just
shut it out," he said.
One example, he pointed out, is the natural physical beauty of the
Navajo Reservation. A contrasting reality, however, is how much of
the environment's beauty is being destroyed by dumping. Often, Begay
said, one has to "shuffle through the trash" to see beautiful
scenery.
Begay's sparkling "plein-air" open air landscapes, however,
do reflect scenic beauty. The technique, Begay explained, involves
setting up one's canvas outdoors and capturing a quick impression
of the land the scene's essence.
"Boom," he said. "You just go to town. It's real exhilarating
as a painter." It's also quite messy, he added. Both Begay and
his dog, he said, come back paint stained from plein-air painting
sessions.
Navajo mythological beings are represented in two exhibit paintings.
"Duality," the cubist styled piece, features Born-for-Water
and Monster Slayer in a striking composition. White Shell Woman or
Changing Woman is depicted as a nude woman facing an enormous ocean
in "The Lonely Sea."
Begay's art is also strongly rooted in both his personal life experiences
and in the shared experiences of the Navajo people. The struggles
Navajo people endured during The Long Walk of the 19th Century, he
believes, should cause people today to treasure the culture that those
ancestors fought so hard to preserve.
His own family, he said, was forced to endure relocation in the 20th
Century. A few years ago, Begay said, in response to his family's
relocation experience, he created a piece of art that depicted a woman
with barbed wire going through her chest.
"It hurts you in a lot more ways than just losing your land,"
he explained. "You lose part of yourself."
Another experience that left its mark on Begay and his art were the
years he spent at boarding school in Leupp, Ariz.
"Overall, it was very negative," he said. "They were
trying to take the Navajo out of you squeeze it out of you."
It created a lot of anger and aggression within him, he said.
For Begay, however, art has just been one avenue for creative expression.
He writes also, and for several years he helped produce the magazine,
NAVAHO. Now defunct, the magazine was a groundbreaking publication
a Navajo magazine for a Navajo audience.
He is also a drummer in The Night Breeze Band, a country/rock band,
which shares his art studio space in Thoreau, he said, and is working
to produce its own CD.
An artist reception will be held in the gallery at Red Rock State
Park at 7 p.m. Wednesday. In addition to his paintings, Begay said,
he will have some prints available for sale.
The gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
| Top |
Grants judge deals out jail time
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — Judge Joseph Arite sentenced several people on various
charges, including drunken driving and battery, recently.
Tanya Harris, 40, was charged with two counts of resisting arrest,
aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs
and driving while her license was suspended or revoked.
Arite sentenced her to four 364-day terms and then suspended all but
98 days of the sentence and even gave Harris one day off the 98-day
sentence for time already served.
In another alcohol-related case, Arite sentenced Alex Baca, 20, to
364 days in jail for driving while under the influence of intoxicating
liquor or drugs (second offense) and then suspended all but four days
of the sentence for a total time in jail of four days for getting
caught driving drunk the second time.
In still other sentences Arite:
Sentenced Lancerita Howeya, 25, of San Fidel, to an 18-month deferred
sentence and 18 months of probation for bringing contraband into a
prison on April 9.
Sentenced Alvin Hershey, 34, to 364 days in jail for driving while
under the influence of alcohol or drugs second offense and 364 days
in jail for driving while his license is revoked or suspended and
then suspended all but 11 days of the sentence and allowed Hershey
one day's time for time already served.
Sentenced Terrance L. Garcia, 21, of Grants, to a deferred sentence
of 18 months and 18 months of probation for auto burglary, auto burglary-conspiracy
and larceny.
Sentenced Ruben Rodriguez, 42, to three years for criminal sexual
contact with a child under 13 years old and then suspended one year
of the sentence.
Sentenced Victor J. Charlie, 19, to three years in prison for criminal
sexual penetration and three years in prison for aggravated battery.
Arite then suspended two years of the sentence for an actual sentence
of four years in prison.
Sentenced Richard Sanders, 54, to no additional jail time for resisting,
evading or obstructing an officers, aggravated driving while under
the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, speeding, failure to
carry proof of financial responsibility, possession of an alcoholic
beverage in an open container, no driver license and failure to display
a registration plate.
Sentenced Flora Nez, 36, to 30 days in jail for driving while under
the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (third offense), failure
to carry proof of financial responsibility and driving while her license
is suspended or revoked.
Sentenced Hipolito Martinez, 52, to one year in jail for driving while
under the influence of intoxicating liquor (fourth offense) and driving
while his license was suspended or revoked.
| Top |
Monument Valley overpowers WR
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
FT. DEFIANCE, Ariz. — Defending state champion Monument Valley
used its punishing power to claim its No. 38 and No. 39 wins of the
season with a 15-0, 15-5 and a 15-10, 15-6 conference volleyball doubleheader
sweep over Window Rock Saturday afternoon.
"Window Rock is steadily improving since the beginning of the
season," Monument Valley coach Lucinda Nash said. "They
knocked off Ganado so they can surprise a lot of people. They have
big athletes."
Monument Valley, 39-0 overall and a perfect 10-0 in conference, will
finish out the regular season on the road at Tuba City Thursday and
at Ganado Saturday before the regionals the following Saturday in
Winslow. The state tournament is set for Phoenix, Nov. 3-4 at Greenway
and Thunderbird High Schools. Two matches will be played each day.
Window Rock, 16-13 overall, 4-6 in conference, will finish out at
Tuba City Saturday.
The Lady Mustangs made quick work of the Lady Scouts in the opening
game of the first match, not even going through one rotation as they
relied on their punishing power hitting.
Carrie Nash, who finished with nine kills in the opening match, delivered
four kills, Janthina Benally put away three kills, and Kim Nash had
four kills in a row to finish off the opening game.
The second game took a little longer as Window Rock was able to get
some points on the scoreboard but Monument Valley was still too strong
to match up with. Kim Nash, who slammed eight kills, delivered the
final kill for the game and the match.
Yaanibaa Whaley finished with five kills in the opening match.
Window Rock gave Monument Valley its toughest challenge in the opening
game of the second match.
Monument Valley grabbed a comfortable 7-3 cushion in game one on a
pair of kills by Carrie Nash and another kill by Kim Nash. But Window
Rock rallied behind kills by Nadine Notah and Leona Bircher to pull
to within two at 11-9.
But the Lady Mustangs regained their composure behind kills by Melissa
Rusell and Whaley to finish off the Lady Scouts 15-10.
The start of the second game proved to be close with Monument Valley
holding a close 5-4 cushion before gradually pulling away.
Dink kills by Whaley and Carrie Nash, who added eight more kills in
the second match, along with a stuff block and another kill by Carrie
pushed Monument's lead to 13-4.
Window Rock sophomore starter Roberta Haskie came up with a nice stuff
block for a Scout point but Monument Valley was able to put away the
Lady Scouts on a Carrie Nash kill. The final point came when a hit
by Haskie went out for the game and the sweep.
Monument Valley was led by Carrie Nash who put away 17 kills for the
four games along with three dink kills, three stuff blocks and five
service points. Sister Kim Nash added 12 kills, two dink kills and
five service points. Yaanibaa Whaley had 10 kills, two dink kills
and 13 service points. Janthina Benally had four kills, one dink kill
and five service points and Bridgette Logg served for eight points.
Window Rock's top players were Nadine Notah with eight kills and one
dink kill; Roberta Haskie with seven kills, three stuff blocks and
one dink kill and Leona Birtcher with three kills and one dink kill.
Bengal runners victorious
Abelita R. Freeland
Staff Sports Writer
TOHATCHI — Gallup Bengal frontrunners Felicia Guliford and C.R.
Davis obtained individual wins to pace the Gallup boys and girls cross
country teams to first place wins at Saturday's Tohatchi Invitational.
"I think they all (boys and girls) went into the meet with positive
attitude. They are starting to peak out for district and state,"
head cross country coach Curtis Williams said.
Despite a first place finish, Bengal Guilford didn't not take the
win without a clash from Grants Pirate Erin Lewis.
Guliford and Lewis were side by side throughout the entire race. Guliford
took the final lead and kept it going up the large hill about 50 yards
from the finish line.
"I knew going into the race I was going to have a lot of competition
with her (Lewis) because I've seen her a lot of times in the paper.
So I knew she was going to be with me during the race, either in front
of me or behind me the whole race so I was kind of expecting that,"
the Bengal junior said.
Guilford felt she did really good despite a little bit of pain in
her hip after the race.
Saturday's meet was Guilford's second victory in her second varsity
run for the year.
"When I got into the race I knew I was going to have to run hard,"
Guilford said.
"I have raced her (Guilford) many times in track and a lot in
cross country and I knew what she was capable of," Erin Lewis
said. "It was really good, I felt really strong and things seemed
to go pretty well. I really liked the course. I liked the really big
hill at the end, that was probably the best part. We (team) did really
well and we really came together and worked together."
Guilford and Lewis will face off again this Friday in
Grants at a course that Lewis practices on almost everyday. Both look
forward to racing against each other again. The Lady Bengals took
the first place win placing seven of their runners in the first 11
spots.
After Guliford, Paula-Etta Houston was fourth (19:56) followed by
Savannah Benally in fifth (19:56). Roxann James completed the race
in seventh (20:19), Melanie Ben ended up eighth (20:27), Valerie Casuse
took tenth (20:45) and in 11th was
Crytsal Pinto (20:48).
"The pack time again with Felicia in the lineup, and Felicia
running an excellent time, and our pack time of 1:50 that's better
than we were about this time last year. We're very pleased with that,"
coach Williams said.
"Our whole team did good, our total score was 25, and there a
couple of girls out so a couple of girls had to come up but we are
working well with the adjustments, and they are doing very good,"
Guilford said.
Kirtland Bronco Vanessa Dan (19:35) came in third, nearly a minute
after the first finishers to lead a handful of area runners in the
top ten. Window Rock Scout Virginia Ben (20:14) placed sixth and Shiprock
Chieftain Thomasina Hayes was ninth in 20:29.
In boys competition, C.R. Davis took the lead at about the halfway
point of the race and kept it for the 15:49 win.
"I felt good. It was a fast course with the first part going
down hill and a couple of hills especially the last hill," the
junior
frontrunner said.
"We had a close race with Zuni I can say that, but if Irwin was
here we would have just kicked some butt," he added about the
team race.
The Bengals had close competition with the Zuni Thunderbirds who finished
second just 10 points down from Gallup.
Helping the Gallup Bengals were Lonnie Williams taking fifth (16:19),
Nabahe Austin ninth (16:45)ninth, Darren Benally 12th (17:00), Jason
Etsitty (17:28) and Ryan Dodson 30th (17:43).
"We were minus one of our varsity runners and we knew they (Zuni)
was going to be that competitive. At a big meet, we would have probably
done a little bit better but they looked real good and gave us a tough
race," coach Williams said. "We didn't do that good but
we did prevail. We did run good as a boys team because when you take
kids in and out, it kind of (affects) the
team's chemistry. So our team chemistry wasn't as great."
Grants Pirate Gary Louiswas second behind Davis in 16:00. Kirtland
Bronco Chad Dawson beat Zuni Thunderbird Kenton Kallestewa for the
third spot. Teammate Brian Waatsa finished sixth (16:20), Window Rock
Scout Gabriel Haskie completed the race in 16:34 for seventh, St.
Michael Cardinal Joshua Thompson finished eighth (16:40) and taking
10th was Shiprock
Chieftain Terence Yesslith (16:50).
Tohatchi boys coach John Moore was pleased with the meet and the weather.
Even with his boys finishing eighth he was still pleased.
"We're improving and we're making progress, so even if we finished
eighth, I am pleased that they are improving. They are getting their
times down and their split time's a little closer," coach Moore
said.
This will be Gallup's last regular season race before going into district
on Oct. 27 at Cibola.
| Top |
Sipe White Mountain Wildlife
Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent
SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. — As one descends into the 1,362 acre Sipe
White Mountain Wildlife Area during the fall, the golden aspens glow
from Escudilla Mountain, the third highest peak in Arizona.
It is only the beginning of a treat for those who love nature and
wildlife.
Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area sits about 10 miles away from New
Mexico with Escudilla Bonita the nearest New Mexico community.
The focus of this wildlife area is elk, but it has so much more to
offer and that's maybe why Bruce Sitko, information and education
coordinator for Arizona Game and Fish Department regional office in
Pinetop, likes to hang out there...
| Top |
Hopis to get propane business
Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent
POLACCA, Ariz. — The Hopi Reservation is getting another propane
company after the Hopi Tribal Council barely agreed to approve the
land lease which allows Ikard-Newsome to come to the reservation.
Ikard-Newsome, based out of Gallup, will place a substation in Polacca.
Ferrellgas is already based at First Mesa and Hopi officials hope
that this will create a price war between the two propane gas companies.
The Hopi Tribal Council voted 7-6, with three abstentions, recently
to approve the land lease. Eight council members were absent, but
as long as there's a quorum, only a majority of those present need
to vote for a measure in order for it to pass.
The opposing council members said that not all necessary documents
were attached and wanted to see a complete document. They considered
tabling the issue, but once the motion was made to approve the land
lease, the council went forward with the vote...
| Top |
Oraibi man's papers shed light on changing worlds
Catherine Feher
Special to the Independent
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A valuable collection of papers, interviews
and correspondence between Oraibi Hopi White Bear Fredericks and
leading figures of the 20th century shed valuable light on Hopi
life.
Northern Arizona University Special Collections and Archives acquired
the papers of White Bear and Naomi Fredericks a few years ago, but
the collection has only recently been curated and made available
for public access.
White Bear Fredericks is a pivotal figure in Hopi history because
he collaborated with Euro-Cheyenne artist and mystic Frank Waters.
Together, the two produced the notorious, "Book of the Hopi,"
which has sold millions of copies and enriched publishers, but did
little to ensure prosperity for White Bear or Waters, according
to correspondence in the collection.
"What is important about these papers is not so much segments
that contributed to Book of the Hopi," collection curator Bob
Cody said. "But the actual interviews conducted with Hopi elders
who lived in the 19th century and survived into the 20th, and remembered
the past and shared freely of information. This material is of great
cultural value to the Hopi and all people interested in Hopi history..."
| Top |
Workshop to detail animal protection law
Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Prairie dog shooters and cat collectors, beware.
A statewide training program designed to educate law enforcement officials,
social workers and animal lovers about a felony
animal cruelty law with stiffer penalties and higher fines is coming
to Gallup.
"The new law is important because animal abuse and future criminality,
including human abuse, have been linked and well documented,"
said Michele Rokke, the cruelty investigations and outreach coordinator
for Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM).
The law applies to cases of extreme animal cruelty, in which a person
intentionally kills or tortures an animal, and carries a maximum penalty
of 18 months in prison and/or a $5,000 fine...
| Top |
Acoma police officers take oath of loyalty
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
ACOMA — For the first time, Acoma Police Department officers
took an oath affirming loyalty to the United States, the state and
the Acoma Pueblo in a special ceremony Friday at the Tribal Complex.
The loyalty oath is something Police Chief Bill Kellogg said all
officers have needed to take for a long time.
The ceremony was highlighted by the promotion of Officer Jeff Hepting
to lieutenant and the announcement by Kellogg that the council approved
construction of a $6.5 million building to house the police department,
tribal court complex, emergency medical services, fire department
and community health department.
He also said the department has been awarded a $900,000 federal
grant to buy radios, computers, vehicles, equipment and pay the
salaries of six additional police officers...
Deaths
Anthony Herron
GALLUP - Services for Anthony
James Herron, 5, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Cope
Memorial Chapel. Sister Terry Goodwin will officiate. Burial will
follow at the Gallup City Cemetary.
Gloria Espinoza Avila
ALBUQUERQUE - Mass of Christian burial for Gloria
Espinoza Avila, 41, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday,
Oct. 17, at the Moung Calvary Cemetary.
Contact the Gallup
Independent
Please send the Gallup Independent feedback on
this website and the paper in general.
E-mail: gallpind@cia-g.com
By mail:
The Independent
PO Box 1210 Gallup, NM 87305
500 N. 9th Gallup, NM 87301
All contents property of the
Gallup Independent.
Any duplication or republication requires consent of the
Gallup
Independent.
Feel free to send any questions or comments to
gallpind@cia-g.com
E-mail the webmaster at
martyr_dom@hotmail.com
