One of our favorite places to take out-of-towners is the Cave Creek Museum, so I was happy when I found out about a special presentation happening recently when my parents were visiting from Michigan. You can squeeze in a lot of Arizona learning there in a short amount of time. The Cave Creek Museum packs every square inch of its small building and campus with a wide span of rich Arizona history, from pottery made by the earliest inhabitants to more modern settlers who came to mine gold or graze cattle. They also have a neat little gift shop that helps support the museum.
Recently, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community came to demonstrate traditional pottery making, beading, and basket weaving, which is not something we see every day, so we were thrilled to watch.
The demonstrators were happy to share their knowledge and skills with us and graciously answered our questions. The clay used in the pottery made above is indigenous to the Salt River area. After they are molded by hand, they are fired.
The woman above is creating beaded adornments using very tiny "seed beads." It is painstaking work and fascinating (almost painful!) to watch. I am envious of her patience and skill. Once completed, the neck adornments can sell for several hundred dollars.
The materials used in basket weaving are also native to Arizona. The main fiber, tan in color, is taken from cattail plants that grow in the Salt River area. The artist splits the stalk several times until it is divided into flexible fibers. The darker brown color in the pattern is also from a native desert plant, the spiky dried blossom pictured below.
There is a movement in the Community to return to native foods such as mesquite beans and corn. Below is a chef demonstrating his skill in flipping roasted corn kernels. He was fun to watch. Maybe I should try this at home. I might enjoy cooking more.
The next photo shows dried Mesquite bean pods. They harvest them at the end of summer, let them dry, and grind the beans into flour. I found this especially interesting as it answered my question posed in a former post, what to do with these beautiful mesquite bean pods.
The banner below provides the address and hours of the Huhugam Ki Museum in Scottsdale if you are interested in seeing the traditional works on display.
Finally, we had the pleasure of seeing Jr. Miss Salt River 2012, who greeted us warmly and allowed us to photograph her in in her beautiful seed bead crown, a wonderful example of the traditional skills shared with us this day by the Community members.
