Good friends: Navajo rug auction funds Native American college scholarships

Posted by Rick Abasta | Oct 12, 2023 | Culture |

GALLUP – The Friends of Hubbell 2023 Navajo Rug Auction featured approximately 400 vintage and contemporary Navajo weavings, katsina dolls, baskets, and jewelry.

Navajo Times | Rick Abasta
Among the baskets on display at the Friends of Hubbell Native American Arts Auction held Sept. 30 at the Gallup Community Service Center was this Jicarilla Apache Water Jug on the left, once covered in pine pitch for a canteen. The jug also had a horsehair handle.

The auction took place Sept. 30 at the Gallup Community Center, with proceeds benefiting and supporting Native American college scholarships.

The various rugs on display included styles such as Ganado Red, Tree of Life, Wide Ruins, Teec Nos Pos, chief blankets, saddle blankets (rare), Klagetoh, Burntwater, Yé’ii Bicheii, Yé’ii, Eye Dazzler, and other designs.
One unique item on display at the auction was a Jicarilla Apache water jug that was once covered in pitch for use as a canteen, featuring a horsehair handle.

Hank Blair served as the master of ceremonies for the event and shared stories about his time working at his family’s trading post in Lók’a’ch’égai. His parents, Bradley and Carolyn, owned the Totsoh Trading Post, and since their passing, Blair is now the owner-operator.

Blair introduced the kids from the Manuelito Group Home and said they would serve as runners for the auction, bringing up the art and displaying them for the bidders.

Fellow trading post owner and Native American art collector Bruce Burnham of R.B. Burnham and Company said he was a fifth-generation trader. The trading post he operated was established in Sanders, Arizona, and has been conducting auctions for more than 26 years.

“In 2022, we had a record-setting year, selling $365,000 with 85 percent of it going back into the community,” Burnham said. “We’re very proud of that.”

Since the Friends of Hubbell Scholarship Fund was founded in 1990, they have generated over $3 million in sales.

“We just crossed over $300,000 in scholarship awards this year,” Burnham said.

The organization has awarded 10 undergraduate scholarships and five graduate scholarships for 2023. During the auction, the organizers were offering a one-time-only lifetime membership to the auction for $100. Regular membership rates typically cost members $200.

Navajo Times | Rick Abasta
Various kinds of pottery were also included among the approximately 400 vintage and contemporary Native American art pieces on display during the Friends of Hubbell auction on Sept. 30 in Gallup.

They also sold T-shirts for $20 and offered attendees a two-for-one deal. They served food and drinks, all of which funded the scholarship.

Volunteers from the Friends of Hubbell were working, and Burnham said they are spread from Tucson, Scottsdale, and Santa Fe, meeting twice a year for the auctions.

“At the back of the room, you’ll see some very well-dressed, well-mannered children from the Manuelito Children’s Home, and they will be serving as our rug runners today,” Burnham said. “Friends of Hubbell has assisted them for three years now, both with donations and housing.”

Read the full story in the Oct.12 edition of the Navajo Times.