1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Greetings everyone, Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: where we learn a smidgen of history every day. Today 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: is August nineteen The day was August nineteen o four 5 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: TWA potter Maria Margherita Tafoya, also known as Margaret Tafoya, 6 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: was born in Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico. Margaret 7 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,919 Speaker 1: was part of a long line of potters, and her 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,319 Speaker 1: pottery was known around the world. The Tea people are 9 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,239 Speaker 1: a group of Pueblo Native Americans that speak the Tewa language. 10 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: Santa Clara is one of several Tawa speaking pueblos. Santa 11 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: Clara is known for the pottery it's artists produce, particularly 12 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: they're red and black polished pottery. The pottery tradition and 13 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: Santa Clara began around five hundred CE, when the Pueblo 14 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: people turned away from hunting and gathering and developed agriculture. 15 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: Pottery was valuable in trade for more than a thousand years, 16 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: but once the Santa Fe Trail opened in eight machine 17 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: made products became increasingly popular. Santa Clara utilitarian pottery began 18 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: to be viewed as art by anthropologists, historians, art collectors, 19 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:37,839 Speaker 1: and other outsiders. Margaret Tafoya's family had been artists for generations. 20 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: Her mother, Sara Fina, also known as Autumn Leaf, started 21 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: teaching her how to make pottery when she was a child. 22 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: Her father, Geronimo, also known as White Flower, helped sell 23 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: his wife's pottery. Margaret went to the Pueblo Elementary School 24 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: and went to Santa fe Indian School, but she dropped 25 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: out to help her face emily during the flute epidemic 26 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: of nineteen eighteen. She left Santa Clara to work as 27 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: a housekeeper, waitress, and cook in Nto. She married Alcario 28 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: Tafoya and soon moved back to Santa Clara. Margaret and 29 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 1: her mother were known for making large pots that were 30 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: thirty inches or seventy six cimes or higher. She made 31 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 1: hand coiled pottery using clay only from Santa Clara Land. 32 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: The clay is dried ground, mixed with water and needed. 33 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: The pottery is coil, built, coated with slip stone, polished 34 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: and fired with wood or dung or both. Using her fingers, 35 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: Tafoya put lines in the clay. Designs she used included mountains, 36 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: rain clouds, buffalo horns, water serpents, bear claws, and kiva steps. 37 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: She preferred impressed and carved designs to painted designs, which 38 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: many of her contemporaries used. She insisted that future generations 39 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: follow the traditional process of creating pottery, using natural fuels 40 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: to fire their work and to rub the surfaces of 41 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: their pottery smooth with a stone. Margaret helped bring back 42 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: the use of polychromes, or pottery decorated in multiple colors, 43 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 1: which had fallen out of favor by the late nineteenth century. 44 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: In the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties, she experimented with 45 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: orange outlined designs and Greek and Roman forms that she 46 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: adapted to Santa Clara shapes. Later, she focused on red 47 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: or black phases, storage jars, allah's and bowls, and allah is, 48 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: a vessel used for storage or cooking. At first, Margaret 49 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: and her husband al Kario took her pottery to cities 50 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: and fairs and sold it. As more people became interested 51 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: in collecting Native American art the nineteen fifties, so Foya's 52 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: art became renowned worldwide. At that point, they no longer 53 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: had to travel to sell her work directly, as people 54 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: began traveling to the pueblos and placing orders for it. 55 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: She had twelve children, two of whom died before they 56 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: turned one. She won many awards, including the New Mexico 57 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and her works 58 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: were displayed in several exhibitions. Margaret died in February of 59 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: two thousand one at her home in Santa Clara, Pueblo. 60 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: When she died, she was survived by nine children, thirty grandchildren, 61 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: forty five great grandchildren, and eleven great great grandchildren. Many 62 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: of her descendants have also become accomplished potters in the 63 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: traditional style. I'm Eves Jeffcote and hopefully you know a 64 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. And 65 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: if you're so inclined, you can follow us at T 66 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: D I h C Podcasts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 67 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: We'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, 68 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 69 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.