Arlene Archuletta

Oke-Oweenge Crafts Cooperative

Archuletta at the coop.

Arlene Archuletta (or Yoe Povi meaning Cactus Flower in the Tewa language) works at the Oke-Oweenge Crafts Cooperative at the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, formerly known as San Juan Pueblo.

What is the history of the Oke-Oweenge Crafts Coop?

"The coop started in 1968. The ladies who started the coop were studying for their GEDs across the street at the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] school. They would gather and do their artwork, make their necklaces or weave, and have the children around. As they would finish their items they would put them on tables and sell them. Then they started to think about starting a cooperative. We still have quite a few of them still working at the coop even though they are quite up there in age.

"This is a gathering of people who get together and bring their wares and sell them. This coop is self-sufficient. We're not funded by anyone."

What are the Coop's main goals?

"The goal of the coop is to provide a place [for local artists] to sell their work. We also try to encourage young people to come in and participate. We get them when they're young and they learn different crafts, like how to weave and bead. But then as they get older, 17 or 18, they know they are going to go away to college and we lose them. Some of them come back and maybe we get them again in their 30s when they start doing their arts and crafts again. Some of them get famous and go away to the big galleries. A lot of famous people have started here.

"We do embroidery classes, belt weaving, moccasin making, beading and a lot of the traditional crafts to keep them alive. Basket making is another one. There aren't many basket makers in San Juan, but the young people come in and take the classes and there is enthusiasm and they learn. Our aim is to pass the traditions on so we won't lose them."

What are some of the challenges your community faces?

"It's very important to keep our culture going. I mean, it's a necessity because basket making and weaving have been a part of our lives before, and to keep our culture going it's essential that the young people learn and know it the way it used to be. In order to keep the heritage going you need the old traditions. Like our dances -- our dances are traditional. They are danced just the way they were danced hundreds of years ago.

"We are losing our language like any many other tribes. It used to be that grandparents, parents and children all lived in the home and the children would learn our language from the grandparents. But now the young ones want their own homes and the elders aren't passing the language on to their children. So we're losing it. If you don't use it daily, you lose it.

"Another major challenge would be employment. Good, solid employment where you can make a good living. But that's [an issue in] New Mexico as a whole. Your wages are minimal compared to other places. Public transportation is another big problem. There's not a bus stop down on the corner to take you to Espanola. When I first moved here, I walked to Espanola two or three times just to conduct business and I can tell you it's not easy, it's a long walk."

How would you describe this area to someone who has never been here?

"It's nothing like the city. You don't find the problems here that you find in the city. Most everybody here looks after each other on the pueblo. I don't worry about my house when I leave because I know my neighbors are watching it. It's more tranquil. You can live a well-rounded life here. Espanola is so close and has everything we need.

"Once you live in an area like this you can't really think about moving back to a city. City life is too hectic. This is a calmer more peaceful life."