Margaret Tafoya
Encyclopedia
Maria Margarita "Margaret" Tafoya (Tewa name
: Corn Blossom; August 13, 1904 – February 25, 2001) was the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo
potters. Margaret learned the art of making pottery
from her parents Sara Fina Guiterrez Tafoya (1863–1949) and Jose Geronimo Tafoya (1863–1955). Sara Fina was considered the leading potter of Santa Clara in her day, as the master of making exceptionally large, finely polished blackware. She also occasionally made redware, micaceous clay storage jars and other smaller utilitarian forms. Margaret’s father was primarily concerned with raising food for the family but he was also known to make pottery and helped Sara Fina with many aspects of her pottery production.
In 1924, Margaret married her husband Alcario Tafoya (1900–1995). Alcario and Margaret worked together making pottery just as her mother and father had done. Margaret and Sara Fina’s husbands both helped with the tasks of digging and preparing the clay and the firing of the pots. Alcario also helped Margaret with the creation and carving of designs on her pots. Like her mother, Margaret molded her pots using the traditional coiling method.
Margaret continued her mother’s tradition of making exceptionally large pots, with finely polished surfaces and simple carved designs. Her “bear paw” motif and deeply carved pueblo
symbols like the Avanyu (water serpent) and kiva
steps around the shoulder of her jars have become signature trademarks of the Tafoya family pottery.
By the 1960s Margaret’s pottery had become famous. She received the Best of Show Award in 1978 and 1979 at the Santa Fe Indian Market
. In 1984, the National Endowment for the Arts
awarded her a National Heritage Fellowship
in recognition of her accomplishments. She was also recognized and received an award as a Master Traditional Artist in 1985.
Margaret and her husband Alcario raised thirteen children, many of whom are carrying on the Tafoya family tradition of pottery making. Those actively making pottery today include: Virginia Ebelacker (b.1925-d.2001), Lee Tafoya (b. 1926/d. 1996), Jennie Trammel, Toni Roller, Luann Tafoya, Mary Esther Archuleta, Shirley Tafoya, and Meldon Wayne Tafoya.
Tewa language
Tewa is a Kiowa–Tanoan language spoken by Pueblo people, mostly in the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. The 1980 census counted 1,298 speakers, almost all of whom are bilingual in English...
: Corn Blossom; August 13, 1904 – February 25, 2001) was the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
Santa Clara Pueblo is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 980 at the 2000 census. Santa Clara Pueblo was established about 1550....
potters. Margaret learned the art of making pottery
Native American pottery
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks,...
from her parents Sara Fina Guiterrez Tafoya (1863–1949) and Jose Geronimo Tafoya (1863–1955). Sara Fina was considered the leading potter of Santa Clara in her day, as the master of making exceptionally large, finely polished blackware. She also occasionally made redware, micaceous clay storage jars and other smaller utilitarian forms. Margaret’s father was primarily concerned with raising food for the family but he was also known to make pottery and helped Sara Fina with many aspects of her pottery production.
In 1924, Margaret married her husband Alcario Tafoya (1900–1995). Alcario and Margaret worked together making pottery just as her mother and father had done. Margaret and Sara Fina’s husbands both helped with the tasks of digging and preparing the clay and the firing of the pots. Alcario also helped Margaret with the creation and carving of designs on her pots. Like her mother, Margaret molded her pots using the traditional coiling method.
Margaret continued her mother’s tradition of making exceptionally large pots, with finely polished surfaces and simple carved designs. Her “bear paw” motif and deeply carved pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
symbols like the Avanyu (water serpent) and kiva
Kiva
A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are square-walled and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies....
steps around the shoulder of her jars have become signature trademarks of the Tafoya family pottery.
By the 1960s Margaret’s pottery had become famous. She received the Best of Show Award in 1978 and 1979 at the Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA over two days on the weekend after the third Thursday in August and draws an estimated 100,000 people to the city from around the world. The Market was first held in 1922 as the Indian Fair and was sponsored by the...
. In 1984, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
awarded her a National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
in recognition of her accomplishments. She was also recognized and received an award as a Master Traditional Artist in 1985.
Margaret and her husband Alcario raised thirteen children, many of whom are carrying on the Tafoya family tradition of pottery making. Those actively making pottery today include: Virginia Ebelacker (b.1925-d.2001), Lee Tafoya (b. 1926/d. 1996), Jennie Trammel, Toni Roller, Luann Tafoya, Mary Esther Archuleta, Shirley Tafoya, and Meldon Wayne Tafoya.