Margaret Tafoya facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Tafoya
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| Corn Blossom | |
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| Born |
Maria Margarita Tafoya
August 13, 1904 |
| Died | February 25, 2001 (aged 96) |
| Nationality | Native Pueblo Indian, (Kha-Po Owingeh) |
| Known for | Traditional Pottery |
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Margaret Tafoya (born Maria Margarita Tafoya, also known by her Tewa name, Corn Blossom) was a very important potter from the Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She was born on August 13, 1904, and passed away on February 25, 2001. Margaret was known as the leading potter of her community. In 1984, she received the National Heritage Fellowship. This award is the highest honor given by the United States government for folk and traditional arts.
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Margaret's Early Life
Margaret was the daughter of Sara Fina Tafoya (1863–1949) and Jose Geronimo Tafoya (1863–1955). Her mother's name was sometimes spelled Serafina. Margaret went to elementary school in Santa Clara Pueblo. Later, she attended the Santa Fe Indian School from 1915 to 1918. She had to leave high school early. This was to help her family during the flu pandemic of 1918.
Margaret learned how to make pottery from her parents. Her mother, Sara Fina, had a big influence on her. Sara Fina was considered the best potter in Santa Clara during her time. She was famous for making very large, shiny black pots. She also made red pots and storage jars from micaceous clay. Margaret's father mainly grew food for the family. However, he also made pottery and helped Sara Fina with her work.
As a child, Margaret started making small clay animals. She used the same clay her parents dug up for her mother's pots. Margaret showed a lot of talent. Her mother encouraged her to make her own pottery. Sara Fina taught her how to prepare the clay and polish the shaped pots. She also showed Margaret where to find fuel for firing the pottery. Margaret's mother let her sell her first pots to a dealer in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Margaret couldn't remember how much money she made that day. But selling her own work gave her the confidence to keep making pottery.
Margaret's Pottery Career
For several years, Margaret worked as a cook and a waitress. In 1924, she married Alcario Tafoya (1900–1995). Alcario was a distant relative with the same last name. Margaret and Alcario worked together making pottery. This was just like her mother and father had done. Both Margaret's and Sara Fina's husbands helped with digging and preparing the clay. They also helped with firing the pots. Alcario also helped Margaret create and carve designs on her pots.
Early in her career, Margaret often traded her pottery. She would trade it for children's clothes or other things her growing family needed. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Tafoyas often loaded Margaret's pots into a horse-drawn wagon. They would travel hundreds of miles to Santa Fe and Taos. There, they sold their pottery to tourists and traders. Margaret also started selling her work at Indian art fairs. These included the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial at Gallup.
In the 1950s, more people became interested in Native American art. Tourists started traveling to the pueblos to buy art. This meant the family didn't have to travel as far to sell their pottery. Around this time, the Tafoyas became friends with a resort owner in Royal Gorge, Colorado. He hired them for summer stays. They would perform traditional dances and sell their pottery to guests.
By the 1960s, Margaret's pottery was very famous. Her large black jars were especially well-known. Margaret continued her mother's tradition of making these very big pots. They had shiny surfaces and simple carved designs. These pots could be as tall as three feet. They took months to shape and polish. It also took a lot of skill to make sure they didn't break when fired. Because of the hard work involved, Margaret usually made only one large pot each year.
Her "bear paw" design became a special symbol of the Tafoya family pottery. She also used deeply carved pueblo symbols. These included the Avanyu (water serpent) and kiva steps. These designs were often found around the shoulder of her jars.
Like her mother, Margaret shaped her pots using the traditional coiling method. This method and many of the techniques she used are very old. They have been used for more than 1200 years. The ancient "Anasazi" people of the Colorado Plateau were the first to use them. Some people used to think that black-on-black, polished pueblo pottery had disappeared. But Larry Frank and Francis H. Harlow showed this was not true. Margaret's work showed how Santa Clara pottery changed. It went from being useful everyday items to beautiful works of art.
Recognized Achievements and Awards
Margaret Tafoya received many awards and honors for her pottery.
- In both 1978 and 1979, she won the Best of Show Award at the Santa Fe Indian Market.
- In 1984, the National Endowment for the Arts gave her a National Heritage Fellowship. This was for her amazing accomplishments.
- She was recognized as a Master Traditional Artist in 1985.
- Also in 1985, she received the New Mexico Governor's Excellence in the Arts Award.
- She became a member of the American Craft Council College of Fellows in 1990.
- In 1992, she received an Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Visual Arts. This was from the national Women's Caucus for Art.
- Her pottery was shown on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. This was during the 1992 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
- In 1996, Margaret received a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was from the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts.
- She also received a Master Artist Award from the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The exact year is not known.
- Margaret Tafoya is the only Native American to receive a Lifetime Contribution Award. This was from the National Academy of Western Art. It was given at the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City. The year of this award is also unknown.
Margaret's Legacy
Margaret and her husband Alcario had thirteen children. When Margaret passed away in February 2001, she had a very large family. She had 30 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren. Many of her family members are continuing the Tafoya tradition of making pottery. Some of them include: Toni Roller, Jeff Roller, LuAnn Tafoya, Chris Youngblood, Nancy Youngblood, Nathan Youngblood, Darryl Whitegeese, Ryan Roller, Cliff Roller, Tim Roller, Tyler Roller, Jordan Roller, James Ebelacker, Sarena Ebelacker, Jamelyn Ebelacker, and Tammy Garcia.
See also
