Hunter (Ahote) Kachina. Artist Orin Poley. This Kachina appears in the mixed dances and is probably derived from Plains Native Tribes influence. The figure is carved from one piece of cottonwood root. He raises his PR leg and arm. He holds a painted wooden snake in that hand and the snake wraps around to the left side of his head. His PL arm is lowered and holds a bow from which dangle a white feather on each end. The PL leg has a string tie with metal bells tied onto it. He wears a long trailer style war bonnet of feathers carved from wood and panted white with black tips. His entire body is painted blue with black four point stars on his shoulders and chest and the front of his mask. His mask style is rounded with a short snout, teeth showing. His face has black and red triangular designs, goggle eyes and large red ears with narrow feathers thrust through the ears horizontally. He wears a carved wooden simulated hide skirt with a belt with a pouch and a traditional style Hopi sash (carved). He wears carved red and blue boots with red tops. Across his chest is a string bandolier with shells and turquoise beads.

This type of wooden sculpture could be given in a potlatch. Old photographs show them wearing blankets over their torsos. It is a standing male figure with facial features clearly marked. Roll of hair or headdress on top of head.

Powerfully modeled figure of a deer curled up.(center front in photo) Legs are abbreviated, indicated by lumps. Tail is a simple knob. Four holes (two on each side) on top of head, presumably originally held ears and antlers. Two nostrils and mouth lightly incised.

Probably Lakota Sioux. The horn spoon is cut on the sides and end of the handle, steamed and bent while soft to shape. May be cow or sheep horn. The quill is dyed porcupine. Do not know if really a "medicine" spoon. It might have been used ceremonially but not designated for any specific ceremony. A special spoon that is good example of its type.

This Kachina possibly represents Hetsululu. This Kachina was so poor he did not have any jewelry, clothes, or moccasins so Hemokatsiki-the grandmother of all Kachinas - rolled some clay into a nice shape and put it on top of his mask. He was then painted in stripes of all the colors used by the Kachinas so he would represent the world. Sometimes he appears barefooted but this doll has been dressed in an additional manner with the high boots. Hetsululu was sent to the village to play a game with the villagers with clay balls. He is considered friendly and now may appear with the mixed dances carrying a bucket of clay balls. Everyone believes that his clay increases rapidly so when he throws clay balls from his bucket they catch them and put them with their corn or bread so that they may also increase.

The sculpture is an oversized standing wood figure called a speaker figure that would have been placed outside a house where, through its hollow mouth, the chief's orator would make announcements for the community. The figure stands with its arms attached to its body and arms and legs bent. The head is oversized in proportion to the body and the neck is short. Wide bands of black eyebrows overhang large almond-shaped eyes. Nose is long and triangular; mouth is large and open. On the chin is a carved and painted goatee. Condition of object is fair. Surface wear overall with spongy wooden areas throughout. Second photograph is the figure in situ in the village in Smith Inlet.

Pictorial document on one single, large sheet of amate paper (composed of about 17 pieces that have been adhered together). There are 12 Nahuatl inscriptions in light black ink, oriented in various directions. The place name San Pedro Atlapolco occurs several times, which is why the document is believed to have originated in that community, and to record the foundation of its church. The drawing of ink and watercolor depicts a church under construction in the center of the community. Native men dressed in loose tunics, belted at the waist, carry loads of construction materials toward the building site. In front of the building, a friar is seated at a table with a pen and several pages of writing. Behind him, native nobles gesture in support, and in front native women kneel and form the audience. This document is part of the Techialoyan corpus, a group of pictorial documents produced by and for native communities in the State and Valley of Mexico, in the 18th century (see Diana Fane, ed., Converging Cultures: Art and Identity in Spanish America, New York: Brooklyn Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1996, p. 82-3).

The sculpture is a contemporary version of the traditional storyteller figure with an ironic twist. It makes a dual statement on the production of traditional-style pottery for the Santa Fe Indian Market, for sale as well as on the Pueblo potter's desire to create something lasting for generations to come. A Pueblo woman sits with her legs and arms outstretched in front of her. The figure's face resembles Roxanne Swentzell, the artist responsible for the sculpture. Her eyes look up towards the Santa Clara black pot balanced on her head. Two babies emerge from the pot. One is shown half way out, the other with its head poking up. A third baby stands on the woman's shoulder and is reaching towards one of the babies coming from the pot. A fourth baby sits on the Pueblo woman's lap with an expression of deep contentment. Making babies and making pots are equated, perhaps to protest how indigenous people themselves and their traditions are often considered as if commodities, to be purchased by non-Native people at commercial Indian Markets throughout the Southwest. The entire piece is a tour-de-force of workmanship, a hand formed sculpture that merges two worlds, the time-honored and the modern. The entire surface of the work is highly polished and is in excellent condition.

The object is a globular, Wasco, 'Sally' basket made from cornhusks, its main decorations being large colored woolen star patterns. Although woven in Wasco style, it uses a Nez Perce design. The overall condition of the basket is fragile with walls slightly collapsed and very buckled. Wool colors are faded. Design is eight point stars. It is made with yarn threads, full-twist overlay technique. Appears part Shasta - part Plateau in style on a corn workbag. The rest of the design is sturgeon -back (showing the skeleton as if looking down on the fish).

Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harlow Brooks