On a recent Friday afternoon, student artists at the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP) were busy getting ready for an evening reception showcasing arts and crafts they had produced during their summer apprenticeship. With only a few hours to go, they raced to put the finishing touches on their work before heading over to man their booths at the capstone art show.
Launched only two years ago, ZYEP’s Emerging Artist Apprenticeship Program has quickly become a national model not only for its innovative and collaborative approach to intergenerational art instruction, but also for how to manage the business of tribal arts and crafts, including production, inventory, sales, marketing, how to manage a booth, bookkeeping and working with the public.
But most importantly, the program’s main objective is to promote the continuance of Zuni art and culture by cultivating the talents of young artists. Through ZYEP’s partnership with the Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative Inc. (ARTZ), experienced master artists work with students ranging in age from 12-24 in 10-week apprenticeships in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, graphic design, weaving, pottery, needle arts, beadwork, jewelry and clothing.
As the only Native-owned arts cooperative in New Mexico, ARTZ provides mentorship and memberships for students to join the cooperative, while ZYEP provides funding for materials, booth fees and travel to art shows to lessen the financial burden on the apprentices.
“With this apprenticeship program, we focus primarily on encouraging self-determination to create a whole new group of artisans,” says Elroy Natachu, Jr., a renowned Zuni artist and ZYEP art coordinator whose work has been featured at the Santa Fe Indian Art Market, the Raven Makes Gallery and other art shows across the country. “That’s why I have a passion for this apprenticeship program—to make sure that we’re selecting our artisans to teach them a good basic knowledge so that our art forms have dignity and provide a standard voice for what Zuni culture is and how our belief systems are reflected.”
Additionally, the program is teaching young artists how to advocate for their work and build their careers as professional artists. Natachu says the goal of the Emerging Artists Apprenticeships is to promote self-sufficiency and the concept of “Buy Direct” from Native artists, whose incomes go straight back into the local economy instead of filtering out to Santa Fe, New York and beyond.
“We are a village of artists and we accommodate for all different age ranges and all different skillsets,” says Kandis Quam, a Zuni master artist and assistant ZYEP art coordinator. “Our whole purpose for the apprenticeship is to impart our knowledge and what we know onto the next generation, because 80 percent of the households here are self-employed artists so art is a large part of our economy because this is a way of life for us.”
She added, “So we’re going to keep moving this apprenticeship forward because after we’re done, they will be taking over from us, and we want to make sure that they’re strong and confident in their art and business skills.”
What Are You Doing This Summer?
Established in 2009, ZYEP has become a nationally recognized Zuni-led nonprofit that provides a wide variety of year-round programs and services for kids from early childhood to high school at no cost to its participants. As part of an emerging trend among indigenous communities across the United States, many tribes are investing in similar community hubs on remote reservations that have little in the way of organized activities for kids and teenagers over the summer and after school.
The organization was started by Tom Faber, a pediatrician at the local Indian Health Service clinic, based on a simple question to his Zuni patients: “What are you doing this summer?”
Based on their lack of responses, Faber gathered a small group of community members who organized the first annual ZYEP Summer Camp that same year. Since then, the organization has grown to include other strengths-based direct programming, including sports leagues, art classes, Zuni language, theater, gardening and food sovereignty, dance, homework assistance, and over 50 miles of community trails that are maintained by the students.
“I grew up in this organization,” says ZYEP executive director Tahlia Natachu-Eriacho, who was a language arts teacher in the Zuni School District before taking over leadership of the organization. “I became a camp counselor and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a part of this—because when you talk to our kids, you see their brilliance and the light in their eyes when they hear our origin story or learn about their ancestors’ culture and way of life. We want to keep that heartbeat, that magic, going.”
Today, 15 years after its founding, ZYEP has a staff of 17 that serves approximately 900 kids at its 2.5 acre facility located in Zuni.
Ancient Traditions, Modern Art
Located roughly 40 miles south of Gallup, New Mexico, the Zuni are among the most ancient indigenous populations in North America, and reside in one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in the entire Western Hemisphere. Having resided in the Southwest for thousands of years, their reservation encompasses approximately 700 square miles along the Zuni River.
Originally named “Zuñi” by the Spaniards, their true indigenous name is A:shiwi (pronounced Ah-SHE-wee) in their language, which is an isolate with no other linguistic relatives among the tribes. Moreover, their ancient traditions, art forms and ceremonial calendars are still practiced to this day, making them one of the most intact indigenous cultures in the world.
The Zuni are Puebloan in origin and are part of a sophisticated ancient culture that engaged in complex social and economic systems. In addition to their renowned agriculture, they had planned villages that included multi-level dwellings using quarried sandstone blocks, timber and adobe to build multi-level apartments with dozens of rooms that housed hundreds—and sometime thousands—of inhabitants.
Like other Native American tribes, the Zuni experienced significant hardships with the arrival of Europeans, particularly after Spanish colonization in the late 16th century, which included forced labor, land seizures and cultural suppression. As part of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Zuni and other tribes successfully defeated the Spanish, forcing them to temporarily retreat from New Mexico. Their uprising marked a major turning point in the history of colonialism and is celebrated as a symbol of Indigenous resistance against oppression to this day.
Today, the Zuni are the largest pueblo with approximately 12,000 members with a vibrant and resilient community that maintains a deep cultural heritage while adapting to contemporary challenges.
But it’s the rich, ancient history, culture and language that form the bedrock of ZYEP’s mission for the tribe’s most precious resource: It’s youth. Rather than using the tired tropes around “at-risk youth,” the organization’s leadership made the early decision to reframe their narrative to a “strength-based” paradigm that empowers Zuni youth to be proud of their heritage.
“We have goals, visions and hopes for our kids,” says Kiara Zunie, ZYEP’s Youth Development Coordinator. “We’re growing our own, watching them go from campers to counselors to leadership and seeing their growth and interaction has been amazing and is why this organization is so precious to our community.”
All photos courtesy Zuni Youth Enrichment Project.
Suzette Brewer is a writer and producer specializing in federal Indian law and social justice issues, having written extensively on Indian Child Welfare, the Supreme Court, violence against Native women, education and environmental issues on Indian reservations.
She has written for National Geographic, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, Scripps News and many others. Her published books include Real Indians: Portraits of Contemporary Native Americans and America's Tribal Colleges; and Sovereign: An Oral History of Indian Gaming in America.
She is the 2015 recipient of the Richard LaCourse-Gannett Foundation Al Neuharth Investigative Journalism Award for her work on the Indian Child Welfare Act; a 2018 John Jay/Tow Juvenile Justice Reporting Fellow for reporting on juvenile justice in Indian Country; and a 2020 recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Grand Prize for the documentary A Broken Trust for Scripps News Service. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation and is from Stilwell, Oklahoma.
