Trading Posts Past and Present

     "What is a trading post?”  Since 1989, when Twin Rocks officially opened its doors to the public, Barry and I have repeatedly, and often unsuccessfully, attempted to answer that question.  The challenge in addressing the inquiry is that contemporary trading activities have little in common with historic operations.

     In the early days of trading on and near the reservation, Navajo people brought wool to the post in the spring, delivered lambs in the fall and supplied weaving and other crafts throughout the year.  In return, they received credit which was used to purchase mass-produced foods and manufactured goods.  The interaction was generally based in barter and cash was rarely exchanged.  On the distribution side, typical trade items fell into specific catagories, including: saddles and tack; skillets, dishes and other household articles; canned peaches and tomatoes, coffee, plug tobacco, boxed cookies and crackers; calico, sateen and velveteen; Pendleton blankets and shawls; and working-quality shoes, clothing and hats.

     Approximately 50 years ago, with the advent of paved roads and reliable automotive transportation on the reservation, the substitution of cash money for credit, and the decline of sheep and other livestock as the primary source of income for Navajo families, the nature of trading posts started to change.  Instead of regional mercantile centers based upon a captive agrarian population, trading posts began evolving into two distinct categories.  These included convenience stores providing gas and a limited grocery selection and galleries focused primarily on Native arts and crafts.

     What has not changed, however, is the relationship between trader and reservation dweller.  One of my favorite stories is that of legendary trader Berrando, who around 1870 built what was in essence a trading post at a location that would later become known as Holbrook, Arizona.  It is said that after opening his store Berrando put up a sign which read, “If you have money, you can eat.  No got money, eat anyway.”

     For me that statement epitomizes the connection between the Indian trader and his Native clientele.  While the relationship often may not make economic sense, it does resonate from a human perspective and reflects the symbiotic connection between the two parties and speaks to the bond they feel for one another.

     This close connection has often resulted in strong collaborative efforts when it comes to arts and crafts produced for the world outside reservation boundaries.  For example, trader Lorenzo Hubbell of Ganado, Arizona had painters create designs that weavers used as inspiration.  Not far away, at Crystal, New Mexico, J. B. Moore published a mail-order catalog from which customers could purchase Navajo textiles.  Through their work in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these men greatly influenced the direction of Navajo rug and blanket weaving, adapting it to contemporary needs and tastes.  In fact, as documentary film maker John Adair noted, “Navajo rugs became the Indian’s idea of the trader’s idea of what the white man thought was Indian design.”

     While some may argue the impact traders have had on American Indian art is intrusive or patronizing, it is certain that traders such as Hubbell and Moore are responsible for invigorating Navajo weaving and saving it from certain extinction.  What we enjoy today as “traditional” Navajo rugs would not have been possible without them and the influence they exercised on their trading partners.

     Borrowing from the old-time Indian traders, shortly after opening Twin Rocks Trading Post, Barry and I embarked upon our own program of collaboration with local basket makers.  In the early days, utilizing the only means available to us, we provided artists with black and white Xerox copies of interesting art from other cultures and encouraged the weavers to experiment by mixing design elements or varying the original motifs in unusual ways.

     Prior to that time Mary Holiday Black and her family had begun exploring new basketry designs of their own.  Their evolutionary path was akin to that taken by Navajo rug weavers almost 100 years earlier.  While they were ardently discouraged from doing so by traditionalists, they persisted and began applying corn, spiritual Yei, and eagle motifs on their baskets.

     Some years later, as technology advanced and our knowledge of Navajo culture and history improved, Barry hired Damian Jim, a Navajo artist and graphic designer, to visually interpret traditional stories we had learned.  Damian’s work resulted in the creation of never before seen basket patterns which related ancient Navajo legends in both abstract and realistic images.

Portion of Trading Post Baskets

     Once the divergent movements associated with Damian and the Black family intersected, it was not unusual to see Damian at his Apple computer with Lorraine, Sally or Peggy Black seated at his side, each of them excitedly discussing new concepts which rapidly took shape on the screen in front of them.  The result of this cooperative effort was an explosion of baskets, with patterns and colors driven by Navajo lore, oriental optical art, the art deco movement, Ancient Puebloan pottery, contemporary Southwest art, and any number of other outside influences. 

     This unusual confluence of ideas has frequently been referred to as the Navajo Basket Renaissance, but might more appropriately be termed a revolution.  All Barry and I know is that it was an exceedingly interesting and stimulating development, one in which the artists felt liberated and absolutely free to create fresh, new and innovative work.  It was a time when Barry and I were overwhelmed by the constantly changing styles and endlessly shifting artistic ideals.  The collaboration galvanized Navajo basket makers, traders and the collecting public, and inspired a whole new way of looking at Navajo basketry.  The results of this partnership between trader and basket maker were nothing short of stunning.  For the first time, Navajo basketry was viewed as true art, rather than simply a novelty.

     Like the legendary traders who blazed the trail before us, Barry and I eventually came to understand that at the end of the day, it is not about maximizing the funds in your checking account.  It is instead about the experience, making an honest living, and building productive relationships.  Through this process, we learned that the real question is not how much money you make, but rather whether you have genuinely advanced those around you and whether they have done the same for you.

With warm regards,
Steve, Barry and The Team

Barry Simpson likes

Twin Rocks Trading Post

Great New Items! This week's selection of Native American art!

Our TnT's purchased new treasures! Check out Traders in Training!

Enjoy artwork from our many collector friends in Living with the Art!

Family-Owned Business of the Year?

I don’t know when I first became involved in a family business. It may have been 1969, when Barry, Craig and I jointly scavenged for pop bottles to claim the five cent deposit, or maybe a year later when Barry, Cindy and I ran a lemonade stand at the Blanding Little League Baseball field. In any case, my involvement in family enterprise has a long and storied past.

Steve, Barry, & Craig

As anyone who has ever been in business with their mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, cousin or other relative will confirm, such endeavors are not for the faint of heart. Family relations are always complicated, and when you add commerce to the mix, the result is flammable, combustible and unpredictable. As Bonnie Tyler sang in the 1980s hit song Total Eclipse of the Heart, it’s like, “Living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.” One never knows what might precipitate an explosion or what damage the eruption might engender.

In order to survive, you must be patient and forgiving, but mostly just plain lucky. When we organized William W. Simpson Enterprises Inc., which originally did business as Twin Rocks Trading Post, Blue Mountain Trading Post and Bluff City Trading Company, Daddy Duke, Momma Rose, Sister Sue, Brother Craig, Brother Barry and I were all involved. Later Sister Cindy and Brother-in-Law Amer joined the fray. At that point one had to be saint, psychologist, religious scholar, entrepreneur and first aid specialist just to get through the day.

Over the years, Cindy and Amer split off to form Desert Rose Inn, Sue retired early and Rose and Duke happily withdrew from the venture with a guaranteed pension. That left only Craig, Barry and me to soldier on under the banner of Twin Rocks Trading Post and Cafe. While it has gotten noticeably better with fewer people involved, from time to time the sparks still fly in this organization.

So it was several months ago when we three survivors were locked in Barry's office having a animated discussion about how things were proceeding in the businesses situated at the foot of the Twin Rocks. At one point or another, each participant offered up his ownership interest in favor of a modest buy-out. We had been down this path several times, so everyone understood that in spite of the raised voices, things would likely be okay in a few hours, and would, in all probability, be back to normal in a day or so.

As we exited the battle, our blood still up, a page came over the intercom, “Steve, Buddy Redd is on line three.” Buddy is a good-natured individual who directs the Small Business Development Center at the Utah State University campus in Blanding, so I was compelled to take the call. “Hey Steve,” Buddy said, “we want to nominate Twin Rocks for the SBA Georgia Jeffrey Buntland Family-Owned Business of the Year award.”

As it turns out, this prize honors family-owned businesses which have been passed from one generation to the next and have been operational at least 15 years. I found it more than a little ironic that Buddy’s call came at that particular moment, and I could not help wonder whether the honor had ever been awarded posthumously. With the overwhelming number of small family businesses failing in the first few years of operation and almost none making it into the second generation, I had to wonder if there were many eligible candidates.

In any case, completely unaware of the tension at Twin Rocks, Buddy happily prepared the nomination and sent it off to the SBA. In the ensuing months all was forgiven, business continued apace and the application was forgotten. Last week as I checked my e-mail, I noticed a message from Buddy. Imagine my surprise when the note mentioned we had won, and that Twin Rocks Trading Post and Cafe had been named the Utah Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Maybe we received the award because we were the only eligible nominee, or maybe because we were the only survivor in the pool of applicants. In any case, open the champagne, and let the sparks fly.

With warm regards,
Steve, Barry and The Team

Barry Simpson likes

Twin Rocks Trading Post

Great New Items! This week's selection of Native American art!

Our TnT's purchased new treasures! Check out Traders in Training!

Enjoy artwork from our many collector friends in Living with the Art!

Mug on a Rug

It is spring! I know this because my wife, Laurie, has attacked our yard and garden in an effort to bring order to our property. After a long, arduous day at Twin Rocks Trading Post and Cafe, I generally return home to find Laurie exercising her green thumb magic. This is all well and good, but for the fact that her souped-up motivation impinges on my all too limited down time. Everywhere I turn there are lawn and garden tools, buckets of clippers and snipers, hoses and heavy haulers which remind me of our shared obligations. Laurie's idea of a relaxing evening is working in her yard. Mine is more focused on a pre-supp nap in my Barcalounger or a stint with the History or Discovery Channel.

As is the case with Laurie, the early Native people who populated this mostly barren landscape were highly motivated to make it produce. Anywhere water seeped or flowed became a sacred place and someone could be found doing their darnedest to discover a way to plant and harvest a crop on that location. Corn, beans and squash were indispensable, and they became recognized as manna from heaven. Any consumable local plant was brought into the fold to subsidize livestock and wild game. Pinon nuts, yucca fruit, prickly pear cactus and even Navajo tea were some of the most common inclusions. Seeds became treasure beyond measure, because they allowed continuity. Pottery bowls decorated with deities were created to store those life-giving gems. The pots were then placed in the cool, dry, atmosphere of sandstone caves for safety and protection.

Many wild plants were found to be medicinally beneficial. Mountain tobacco was thought to ease headaches and calm nerves, yucca root was used as a shampoo and cleanser and pinon sap was mixed with mutton tallow to produce a cream which drew out infection. Sagebrush, both dried and powdered, was found to be effective for baby rash and chaffing. Cliff rose, chopped and boiled, was used as an effective cough suppressant. Plants, seeds and roots of all sorts were happily harvested and became important in keeping the people well fed and healthy. A gift of the Gods? Probably.

Considering this, it is easy to see how images of sacred plants came to be depicted on objects of art. Rugs, baskets, jewelry and even folk art are adorned with squash blossoms, ears of corn, twisting vines, flowers and leaves. The story of plants and their association to human beings began to be woven into, stamped upon and overlaid onto the art of the people. These life sources were honored admirably by those who benefited most. Mother Earth, who is believed to be responsible for all living and growing things, must have been pleased with that acknowledgment.

Navajo Basket Woman Basket - Elsie Holiday (#330)

I am certain my personal "Mother Earth", who is responsible for such a preponderance of plant life around our home, could never be pleased with my inferior interest in such things. Although she would never complain, I am certain Laurie is frustrated with my lackluster performance at the plow. I am also certain that the knowledge I gain from the educational channels and the fact that I am well rested will, one day, come in handy. I mean, one can never know too much about noodling for flatheads, grappling with gators or prepping for the pawn business. One day I may just be able to prove my love and appreciation for her by asking one of the local weavers to place Laurie's mesmeric mug on a rug. She might like that.

With warm regards,
Barry, Steve and The Team

Barry Simpson likes

Twin Rocks Trading Post

Great New Items! This week's selection of Native American art!

Our TnT's purchased new treasures! Check out Traders in Training!

Enjoy artwork from our many collector friends in Living with the Art!