In the grassy Federal Park off Palace Ave in Santa Fe, the artist New Sun Sage sells handmade skirts, shirts, and dresses.
"I've been sewing since I was about maybe eight or nine," she says, "and I started doing more detailed, delicate applique work when I retired."
New Sun Sage is a member of the Hopi and Acoma Pueblo tribes. She's one of dozens of artists exhibiting at Santa Fe's Free Indian Market.
While the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, or SWAIA market, has taken place in Santa Fe for over a century, Free Indian Market has only been around since 2018.
"When they first started, we were in a little small building across the street and everybody just had a tiny spot," New Sun Sage remembers. "So the coordinator of the Free Indian Market, who was Greg Schaaf, and his wife, they moved us here."
Unlike the SWAIA market, artists here don't have to pay for a booth. They also have the option to keep the booth that they used the previous year. As the same families have returned year after year, a sense of camaraderie has developed among the artists.
"I love the market because I get a chance to be with other people and to show my work," says Nyla Sahmie Nampeyo, who comes from a long line of Hopi potters. "And I like to tell them exactly how we make our pottery and everything, all the way down to detail."
She's here with her nephew, Randall Nahto Sahmie, and his wife, Cheri Littlefox Sahmie. Like Nyla, Randall thinks it's important to share his artistic knowledge with others.
"Our family has always kind of encouraged that. Even if they're not traditionally Hopi, show them because it helps spread awareness of what we do," he says.
Allen Bruce Paquin is a fifth-generation Zuni silversmith. He uses his art to pass on not only the traditions of his family, but also their spirituality.
"I see artwork as also meditative, therapeutic, healing, and spiritual," he explains. "Because for me, the metal comes from mother Earth. It's mined, then it's brought out, it's taken to a plant and fabricated, and I give it an identity."
Paquin appreciates Free Indian Market for the opportunity it gives him to claim ownership of his traditional artwork, free from the constraints of SWAIA. "We need venues like this that are free to us where we can sell our artwork," he says. "We need the freedom to protect our artwork. "
The Free Indian Market ended on Sunday, but they'll be back next year in Federal Park, showcasing their art as well as the stories behind it.
