TOADLENA TRADING POST HONORS FIVE GENERATIONS OF “MASTER” WEAVERS
By Ernie Bulow
June 2009

   On June 20 more than a thousand people gathered at the historic Toadlena Trading Post to take part in an old-time barbecue and fandango and to honor some of the finest rug weavers from the Navajo Nation. A teasing rain kept things cool as three live bands and a small army of cooks kept things lively.
   Mark Winters has run the old post for more than a decade, pushing for a revival of the world renowned Two Grey Hills style textiles; promoting the weavers in the area as full-fledged artists and working to raise the value (and thus the sale price) of their creations. Just as important, he puts names and faces to these beautiful works.
   Native actor Wes Studi (Geronimo and the Hillerman films) kicked things off with his band “Firecats of Discord” a country rock ensemble featuring his wife Maura on vocals. Wes plays base in this country rock group that brings to mind seventies bands like the Eagles and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
   An all-girl group from the Albuquerque area, The Buckarettes, took over the bandstand and sang country standards and cowboy classics in a close harmony that drew appreciation from the crowd. Their rendition of “Jitterbug Boogie” sounded like the famous Andrews Sisters from the World War Two era.
   As a change-up a traditional singing group called the Toh-Nih singers had fun with some Squaw Dance—Forty-niner tunes and couples from the crowd danced along. They sing acapella with just a small pot drum to keep the beat. The mostly Navajo crowd enjoyed all the entertainment.
   Phil Peach of Albuquerque (and Texas) donated nearly five hundred ears of fresh corn and his portable cooker and the roasted ears ran out just about the time the cooks were ready to feed the crowd. Peach is a serious and knowledgeable textile collector.

   By mid-afternoon the feast was ready and they served over eleven hundred plates of beans, corn, barbecue, hotdogs and hamburgers with all the fixin’s. Since some people had already left there must have been nearly fifteen hundred people in attendance during the day.
   Families with at least three “Master” weavers still active were honored and given gifts. The matriarch of each group received a blanket from Native Jackets. One family was represented by five such weavers and their rugs were spectacular. Two Grey Hills is one of the few places where handspun, natural colored wool is still used.
   The show in the trading post featured members of the Navajo Bear Clan. Sadly, none of their artists are still living, but their collective works make a marvelous and historic display.

   Store manager Linda Larouche, expert collector of Skookum Dolls, was celebrating her birthday and Mark Winter surprised her with a spectacular pair of old Navajo Dolls probably dating from the thirties. They were more than two feet tall.
   Though most of the crowd was local Navajos, there were a scattering of Anglos including traders, serious collectors, and a couple of museum directors and folks who had come from as far away as New York and Washington D.C.
   Mark had minted some special trade tokens (once called “seco”) for the occasion, noting that the twenty-five cent coins had cost about fifty cents each to create. They were only given out at the gathering. The total cost of the bash was estimated at close to thirty thousand dollars.