Bob Eckert Photography
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    • Chiaroscuro: Light and Dark
    • Chicano Park Murals
    • Children Portraits
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    • Circus Behind the Scenes
    • Classical Gas Museum
    • Close Up Photos
    • Cloud Photos
    • Colors
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    • Contrast
    • Crosswalk Painting
    • Cumbres Toltec
    • Day of the Dead, Albuquerque's Marigold Parade
    • Descansos
    • Design photographs in the style of Charles Sheeler
    • Detroit Street Photos
    • Dogs
    • Dragonfly Bus
    • Emma Eckert's Pendants
    • Explora Albuquerque
    • Fisheye Lens Portraits
    • Fisheye Lens Photos
    • Fisheye Lenses Discussed
    • Fog Smoke Haze in Photos
    • Gay Pride Parade
    • Ghost Ranch
    • Goggles Sunglasses and Masks
    • Goofing Around with mime Mark Wenzel
    • Gordon Tooley, Apple Guru
    • Hasselblad XPan Modification
    • Hats
    • Highway 550
    • Horizont Camera Panoramic Images
    • Humor
    • Industry
    • Indian Market Native Costumes
    • Infrared Photos
    • Infrared with a Leica M8 Camera
    • In Praise of Kit Lenses
    • In Praise of Manual Lenses
    • Insects
    • Instagram
    • International Center of Photography
    • Isabro Ortega, Truchas, NM, Woodcarver
    • Isolated Trees
    • Isolation Photos
    • Jeff Brock and Bombshell Betty
    • John Lea's Painted Truck
    • Juxtaposed
    • Kaleidoscope Photos
    • Lady of Guadalupe
    • Landscape Photos
    • License Plates
    • Light Quality
    • Lomography Spinner 360
    • Lowriders
    • Lowrider Day Espanola, NM
    • Lowrider Show 2013 Revisited
    • Lowrider Show Story August 2012
    • Lowrider Summer
    • Lowriders: Vintage San Francisco Bay Area Show
    • Luck in Photography
    • Luck in Photography vers 2.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 3.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 4.0
    • Luck (or Timing) in Photography vers 5
    • Luck in Photography vers 6.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 7.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 8.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 9.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 10
    • Luck in Photography vers 11
    • Luck in Photography vers 12
    • Luck in Photography vers 13
    • Luck in Photography vers 14
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    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
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    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • Murals: Santa Fe, New Mexico
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    • Natural Dyeing with Glenna Dean
    • New Mexico Press Association 2022 Award Winner
    • New Mexico Press Association Award Winner
    • New Mexico Press Association 2024 Award Winner
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • Nicholas Herrera El Rito Santero
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
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    • Photographers
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    • Pic of the Day
    • Pink Cadillac
    • Plants and Flowers
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    • Portfolio of Ten
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    • Port of Portland
    • Portraits of Strangers
    • Published Favorites
    • Repetition in Photos
    • Resurrecting Film
    • Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County
    • Road to Pedernal
    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
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    • Santa Rosa de Lima Church Rluins
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    • Widelux F6: First Roll
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
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    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive

Santa Fe Indian Market Native Costume Contest

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​Jai P’o Havier of Santa Clara Pueblo and Pojoaque Pueblo, dressed as a deer dancer
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​Jai P’o Havier as a deer dancer, is the center of attention for these Santa Fe Indian Market visitors prior to the Native Costume Contest judging.
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Jingle dress detail (above) • Douglas Schofield (below)
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 Story and photos by Bob Eckert

There is always plenty of drama when the Best of Show judging occurs at the Santa Fe Indian Market Native Costume Contest.

Costumes range from exotic, contemporary creations modeled by stunning models (above) to the more traditional.

All the first place winners from the various categories lined up on the Santa Fe Plaza stage and awaited the judging patiently. Jai P’o Havier (left), of Santa Clara Pueblo and Pojoaque Pueblo, dressed as a deer dancer, moved forward and back as he waited, as a wild deer might if  it were expected to stand still in line. Havier was completely into his persona as a deer dancer. It was as if one was watching a Pablita Velarde painting of a Santa Clara Pueblo deer dance and seeing one of the young dancers come to life.
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“Since his birth, well actually before his birth,” said Jai P’o’s father, Jordan, when asked how old Jai P’o was when he started dancing. “He was always kicking around inside his mother before he was born. My father, father-in-law and myself would play drums and sing to him, much like people read to the unborn, and when we would drum and sing, his legs would kick inside his mother. When we stopped, his legs would stop, and then start up again with the drumming and singing.” 

Jordan said even before Jai P’o could walk, when music would play, his legs would move and his feet would tap to the sounds.

Regarding Jai P’s apparent immersion into his persona as a deer, Jordan, who is also a dancer, said, “A lot of these dances we do, we take on the character. It’s doing it for the creator. You put your heart into it and it becomes part of you.”

Jai P’o started appearing at the Indian Market when he was one year old and was awarded Best of Show when he was two years old and wore Rain Dancer regalia.

He’s performed as a hoop dancer in New Orleans and has also performed the Buffalo Dance at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.

Jordan said he and his wife wanted Jai P’o to be a dancer but never pressured their son into performing.

“It’s part of who we are as a Pueblo. He loves to do it,” Jordan said, as he looked proudly at Jai P’o who was being photographed after the awards ceremony.

Jai P’o’s headdress was made by his father and grandfather. The yucca represented power and strength. Skunks around his ankles were to ward off evil spirits.

Coming in behind Jai P’o in the boys’ category was Cash Nelso who was adorned with a marvelous and delicate fan-like headdress. 

Having only one entry for the men’s traditional category, the first and second place award money went to traditional Fancy Dance dancer, Douglas Schofield, and after seeing his elaborate dance outfit and his energetic performance, one had to agree that he was well suited for both first and second place. If you are familiar with the energy that goes into breakdancing performances, you would have appreciated the energy that Schofield put into his dancer performance on the Santa Fe stage. He started slowly, but as the drummer built up his tempo and speed, Schofield turned into what one observer said looked like a “Whirling Dervish.” (Check out this YouTube video of Schofield in action)

Sho Sho Esquiro, a Kaska Kene and Cree fashion designer, took first place in the contemporary Native clothing category. Her two models looked sophisticated but not over-the-top, with a touch of mystery added to one model with the addition of a facial net.

Loren Aragon, of Acoma Pueblo, had two elegant gowns on two models. One, which he called “Cascade” was a long flowing dress that referenced the importance of rain in the southwest. His second dress, titled “Lighting,” featured a tight bodice that flowed and expanded into a mermaid style bottom giving the dress a very formal yet festive look.

Two sisters from Canada came dressed in Jingle dresses (left). The Jingle dress is a women’s pow wow dance costume. The dress includes ornamentation with multiple rows of metal cones which create a jingling sound as the dancer moves. Contemporary jingle dresses, introduced in the 1980s, are made from multi-coloured fabric decorated with tin jingles, originally made from lids of chewing tobacco cans, but now frequently constructed of other metals. The jingle count on a child’s dress is about 100 to 130 or 140, and for a woman’s size the amount varies depending on the design of the dress.

Although the various fashions and costumes are intriguing, and some of the contemporary pieces edgy, the real draw of the Native Clothing Contest seemed to be the younger contestants. There were some that seemed comfortable with the idea until faced with the actuality of going onstage before hundreds of people. There were other, veterans like Presley Nelson and Jai P’o, who have been showing up for a number of years and take all the hubbub in stride.

It’s a fun event to attend even if you’re not a regular attendee of the Indian Market. You might want to put it on your calendar for next year.
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To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
​or use the contact form on the About page

  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
    • 2022 New Mexico Treasures Calendar
    • 2022 Pic of the Day
    • 2023 Pic of the Day
    • 2024 New Mexico Treasures Calendar
    • 2024 Pic of the Daly
    • Abandoned Buildings Series
    • Abiquiu Dam
    • Abiquiu Livestock Sale
    • Adjective Challenge
    • Aerial Photos
    • Agricultural Profile: Christopher Bassettt: Freshies of New Mexico Farm, Velarde, NM
    • Aircraft - BW Portraits
    • Agriculture
    • Albumen Prints
    • Albuquerque Aquarium
    • Albuquerque, New Mexico, Murals
    • Albuquerque Sunport Lowrider Show
    • Alt Fashion
    • Alt Portraits
    • Amish, Kalona, Iowa
    • Angel in Albuquerque
    • Art-o-Mat
    • Astro Zombies Murals
    • Behind the Scenes at the Circus
    • Birds
    • Black and White Photos
    • Black Mesa, San Ildefonso Pueblo
    • ​​Book Review: "Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico"
    • Breakdancing (b-boying or break-boying)
    • Brothers
    • Cabezon Peak
    • Calf Canyon, Hermits Peak Fire
    • Carlton, Oregon
    • Car Portraits
    • Cesar Chavez and the UFW
    • Cell Phones
    • Cerro Pedernal
    • Chama River (Rio Chama) Overlook — New Mexico
    • Chiaroscuro: Light and Dark
    • Chicano Park Murals
    • Children Portraits
    • Churches
    • Circus Behind the Scenes
    • Classical Gas Museum
    • Close Up Photos
    • Cloud Photos
    • Colors
    • Comic Con New Mexico
    • Computers
    • Concorso Santa Fe
    • Contrast
    • Crosswalk Painting
    • Cumbres Toltec
    • Day of the Dead, Albuquerque's Marigold Parade
    • Descansos
    • Design photographs in the style of Charles Sheeler
    • Detroit Street Photos
    • Dogs
    • Dragonfly Bus
    • Emma Eckert's Pendants
    • Explora Albuquerque
    • Fisheye Lens Portraits
    • Fisheye Lens Photos
    • Fisheye Lenses Discussed
    • Fog Smoke Haze in Photos
    • Gay Pride Parade
    • Ghost Ranch
    • Goggles Sunglasses and Masks
    • Goofing Around with mime Mark Wenzel
    • Gordon Tooley, Apple Guru
    • Hasselblad XPan Modification
    • Hats
    • Highway 550
    • Horizont Camera Panoramic Images
    • Humor
    • Industry
    • Indian Market Native Costumes
    • Infrared Photos
    • Infrared with a Leica M8 Camera
    • In Praise of Kit Lenses
    • In Praise of Manual Lenses
    • Insects
    • Instagram
    • International Center of Photography
    • Isabro Ortega, Truchas, NM, Woodcarver
    • Isolated Trees
    • Isolation Photos
    • Jeff Brock and Bombshell Betty
    • John Lea's Painted Truck
    • Juxtaposed
    • Kaleidoscope Photos
    • Lady of Guadalupe
    • Landscape Photos
    • License Plates
    • Light Quality
    • Lomography Spinner 360
    • Lowriders
    • Lowrider Day Espanola, NM
    • Lowrider Show 2013 Revisited
    • Lowrider Show Story August 2012
    • Lowrider Summer
    • Lowriders: Vintage San Francisco Bay Area Show
    • Luck in Photography
    • Luck in Photography vers 2.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 3.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 4.0
    • Luck (or Timing) in Photography vers 5
    • Luck in Photography vers 6.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 7.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 8.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 9.0
    • Luck in Photography vers 10
    • Luck in Photography vers 11
    • Luck in Photography vers 12
    • Luck in Photography vers 13
    • Luck in Photography vers 14
    • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
    • Moody, Dark, Mysterious Photos
    • Moon Photos
    • Mountains
    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • Murals: Santa Fe, New Mexico
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    • Natural Dyeing with Glenna Dean
    • New Mexico Press Association 2022 Award Winner
    • New Mexico Press Association Award Winner
    • New Mexico Press Association 2024 Award Winner
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • Nicholas Herrera El Rito Santero
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
    • Olympus Pen FT Half Frame First Photos
    • Owl Cafe, Albuquerque
    • Panoramic Mosaics
    • Panoramic Photos
    • Patterns in Photography
    • Pet Store Animal Photos
    • Photographers
    • Photographing Lowriders
    • Pic of the Day
    • Pink Cadillac
    • Plants and Flowers
    • Polaroids of Northern New Mexico
    • Portfolio of Ten
    • Portraits
    • Port of Portland
    • Portraits of Strangers
    • Published Favorites
    • Repetition in Photos
    • Resurrecting Film
    • Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County
    • Road to Pedernal
    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
    • San Francisco Chinatown
    • Santa Rosa de Lima Church Rluins
    • Scale in Photography
    • San Francisco Street Photos
    • Service People Portraits
    • Sequential Series Photos
    • Shadows
    • Shadows
    • Shooting Into The Sun
    • Snow Photos
    • Spanapalooza
    • Stand Alone Photos
    • Still Life Photos
    • Storm and Rain Photos
    • Street Photography
    • Sunset / Sunrise Photos
    • Sunrays
    • Surplus Love
    • The Yin/Yang of Families
    • Tibetan Monk Sand Painting
    • Timing in Photography
    • Trailer Landscapes
    • Trees
    • UNESCO Creative City - Santa Fe
    • United Farm Workers
    • Urban Landscapes
    • Variations on a Theme
    • Very Large Array Radio Telescopes
    • Vibrant Saturated Images
    • Vintage Ford and Cadillac Manufacturing
    • Vintage - Pre -digital photos
    • Water
    • Why I Take Photographs
    • Widelux F6: First Roll
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
    • Working
    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive