This tile by Jason Garcia was made for the “Force is with our People” Exhibit in 2020 at the Museum of Northern Arizona and featured in the Plateau Magazine catalog accompanying the exhibition.  The tile is made from native clay and painted with native clay slips. The figure is one of his “Corn Maidens” wearing a Pueblo tablita.  Her shawl is designed with R2D2 from Star Wars and her shirt with C-3PO and note how she is holding a cell phone.  Jason uses contemporary imagery with his classic Corn Maiden dancers to create a commentary on modern Pueblo life. Here, of course, it is that wearing a shirt and shawl with Star Wars imagery has permeated every level of life, even the most culturally important.  Look to the upper right and there his classic rainclouds painted in various colorations.  Behind her in silhouette is the Kive with the extended ladders.  There is the TV satellite dish, which represents Santa Clara Pueblo, as “St. Claire” is the patron saint of both the Pueblo and TV.  All of the colors are derived from Native clay and it is traditionally fired.  It is signed, “Okku Pin” which means “Turtle Mountain” in Tewa.

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