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A list of words and places from interviews conducted by Christopher Loether with elders at Ibapah Community Center (June 22, 2018) and with Laine Thom (July 14, 2018). Includes place names and vocabularies. Field notes were completed and submitted as a final product for the 2018-2019 project, Place Names in Shoshone Aboriginal Territories, funded by Utah Humanities Council. 10 pages.

List of place names in Utah with indigenous origins, distributed by Utah State Office of Education. This list was compiled from 'Utah Place Names' by John W. Van Cott, 'The New Utah's Heritage' by S. George Ellsworth, and 'A Teacher's Guide for the Maps and Chart Series Conquest for Indian America' by Doloris Riley and Will Numkena. 9 pages.

Pictured left to right: George Peyope, Ren Hootchew, and Ono Johnny

Traditionally, Navajo baskets were functional containers used for food and water. Baskets also served as objects of trade with neighboring peoples. Although the traditional utilitarian function may have evolved, Navajo baskets are still used for ceremonial purposes. The Navajo wedding baskets (also called Navajo ceremonial baskets), are used in the Kinaaldá (girls’ rites of passage puberty ceremony), weddings, and traditional healing ceremonies. The wedding basket, when inverted, can also be used as a ceremonial drum. In his book, The Dynamics of Folklore: Revised and Expanded Edition by Barre Toelken, 1996, Toelken explains the following about this wedding basket image: “The Navajo wedding basket, made of split strips of the desert sumac, is made mainly by a community of Paiute-Utes who have married into Navajo families in the vicinity of Navajo Mountain in southern Utah. The patterns are variously interpreted as cloud formations, mountains, and gendered colors; the basket is thought to invoke harmony, fertility, and ceremonial stability. The opening in the circle represents the direction east, and is analogous to the hogan's doorway as well as to the birth canal of Changing Woman, principal Navajo deity” (240). While the designs and interpretations of wedding baskets may vary slightly, this common pattern and theme reflects traditional Navajo cultural values and beliefs. The wedding basket represents the creation story of the Navajo people—a “metaphoric representation of the individual life course. It also tells the collective history of the Navajo, and it symbolizes the Navajo homeland. In conjoining these aspects of existence, it expresses the interconnection of individuals with their culture and natural environment.” http://nanact.org/encounter-the-people/navajo/navajo-basketry.html. Following are two interpretations of wedding baskets similar to the pattern displayed in the image: Example 1: “The Navajo Ceremonial Basket also called Navajo Wedding basket is viewed as a map through which the Navajo chart their lives. The central spot in the basket represents the sipapu, where the Navajo people emerged from the prior world through a reed. The inner coils of the basket are white to represent birth. As you travel outward on the coils you begin to encounter more and more black. The black represents darkness, struggle and pain. As you make your way through the darkness you eventually reach the red bands, which represent marriage; the mixing of your blood with your spouse and creation of family. The red is pure. During this time there is no darkness. Traveling out of familial bands you encounter more darkness, however, the darkness is interspersed with white light. The light represents increasing enlightenment, which expands until you enter all white banding of the outer rim. This banding represents the spirit world, where there is not darkness. The line from the center of the basket to the outer rim is there to remind you that no matter how much darkness you encounter in your world, there is always a pathway to the light.” Example 2: “The ancient design of the basket is full of imagery that deepens its beauty and holds within it the creation story of the People. The center coil symbolizes creation from which all things are birthed. The outward spiral of the design emulates our journey into wisdom. The starburst represents the union of generations past and present. Every basket has a Gate, which is called the “Sipapu,” a path from the center for the Spirit to come and go. Guardians are woven into the outer ring to stand in protection of the gate. In addition to being the vessel for the wedding cake, the marriage basket is a powerful healing tool used in the Navajo healing ceremonies known as “Sings.” The Marriage Basket also represents the womb from which all things are birthed. The birthing process refers to and includes for example; physical children, a wedding (the birthing of a relationship) as well as our spiritual children; our dreams and visions into actualization. It holds within its structure the balance of the feminine and masculine energy-both energies in proper alignment with which we create new life.” http://www.nhmu.utah.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/The%20Navajo%20Ceremonial%20Basket%20Interpretations.pdf (Natural History Museum of Utah).The wedding basket thus visually displays the Navajo creation story with symbolic images woven into its patterns. Navajo stories, legends, and myths depicted in objects such as the ceremonial basket help maintain a shared identity for Navajos—instrumental in preserving Navajo heritage, customs, and beliefs.