Tammie Allen
Encyclopedia
Tammie Allen is a contemporary Native American
potter, enrolled in the Jicarilla Apache Nation
.
tribe, specifically, the Ollero Clan (Mountain People). She is a direct descendant of Jicarilla Apache chiefs and Chief Ouray
of the Ute Tribe
, who was instrumental in helping establish the Jicarilla Apache reservation.
Allen attended Coronado High School in Gallina, New Mexico and the College of Santa Fe
, in Santa Fe, New Mexico
, where she received a Bachelor of Humanities degree in 2000.
Allen is a non-lineage micaceous pottery
artist, that is, she does not come from a long line of Jicarilla Apache potters. Nonetheless she is interested in sustaining this tradition for the next generation of Jicarilla Apaches.
, between 1300 to 1500 AD. During that time, their traditional homelands spanned across New Mexico, southern Colorado
and western Oklahoma
.
Due to increase in other populations, Manifest Destiny
, and Indian Wars
, the Apaches' traditional cultural and economic lifeways became strained. Many had died due to famine, Indian Wars
, including the Battle of Cieneguilla
and new diseases for which they had no resistance. During their declining nomadic history, the Jicarilla Apaches started settling the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
, New Mexico.
During this time, the Jicarilla Apaches began subsidizing their livelihood through sales of micaceous clay pottery and basketry. They also learned farming from their Pueblo
neighbors. Eventually, United State President Grover Cleveland
created the Jicarilla Apache Reservation through a United States executive order signed on February 11, 1887.
flakes in the clay. She wanted to keep the Jicarilla Apache pottery tradition alive by using historical Native American pottery
construction techniques.
Allen exhibited her new work in Native American art galleries and museums. The pottery she presented did not resemble typical micaceous cooking pots. Her pottery was light, well balanced, and highly polished. She sold her first pieces to the Cottonwood Trading Post, in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
, the Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado
, and Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
. This introduction has paved way for other Jicarilla Apache potters, since there were very few practicing ceramics at the time.
In 2005, Allen was accepted and entered her first Santa Fe Indian Market
. During this show, she won first and third place prizes in her division. Currently, she is represented by several galleries and conducts demonstrations and workshops about pottery making.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
potter, enrolled in the Jicarilla Apache Nation
Jicarilla Apache
Jicarilla Apache refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athabaskan language...
.
Personal History
Born in Blanco, New Mexico, Tammy Allen belongs to the Jicarilla ApacheJicarilla Apache
Jicarilla Apache refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athabaskan language...
tribe, specifically, the Ollero Clan (Mountain People). She is a direct descendant of Jicarilla Apache chiefs and Chief Ouray
Chief Ouray
Ouray was a Native American chief of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute tribe, then located in western Colorado...
of the Ute Tribe
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
, who was instrumental in helping establish the Jicarilla Apache reservation.
Allen attended Coronado High School in Gallina, New Mexico and the College of Santa Fe
College of Santa Fe
Santa Fe University of Art and Design is an institution of creative and performing arts based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university offers programs in creative writing, theatre, art, graphic design, moving image arts , music, and photography, based on a liberal arts core curriculum...
, in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, where she received a Bachelor of Humanities degree in 2000.
Allen is a non-lineage micaceous pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
artist, that is, she does not come from a long line of Jicarilla Apache potters. Nonetheless she is interested in sustaining this tradition for the next generation of Jicarilla Apaches.
Tribal History
The Jicarilla Apaches are one of the six Athapascan groups that migrated out of CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, between 1300 to 1500 AD. During that time, their traditional homelands spanned across New Mexico, southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and western Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Due to increase in other populations, Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
, and Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, the Apaches' traditional cultural and economic lifeways became strained. Many had died due to famine, Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, including the Battle of Cieneguilla
Battle of Cieneguilla
The Battle of Cieneguilla was an engagement of the Jicarilla War involving a group of Jicarilla Apaches, their Ute allies, and the American 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 30, 1854 near what is now Pilar, New Mexico...
and new diseases for which they had no resistance. During their declining nomadic history, the Jicarilla Apaches started settling the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States...
, New Mexico.
During this time, the Jicarilla Apaches began subsidizing their livelihood through sales of micaceous clay pottery and basketry. They also learned farming from their 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...
neighbors. Eventually, United State President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
created the Jicarilla Apache Reservation through a United States executive order signed on February 11, 1887.
Art Work
Although she had already been working in ceramics, in 1995, Allen began experimenting with micaceous clay. Micaceous pottery has a glittery surface, due to the presence of micaMica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
flakes in the clay. She wanted to keep the Jicarilla Apache pottery tradition alive by using historical Native American 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,...
construction techniques.
Allen exhibited her new work in Native American art galleries and museums. The pottery she presented did not resemble typical micaceous cooking pots. Her pottery was light, well balanced, and highly polished. She sold her first pieces to the Cottonwood Trading Post, in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, the Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man....
. This introduction has paved way for other Jicarilla Apache potters, since there were very few practicing ceramics at the time.
In 2005, Allen was accepted and entered her first 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...
. During this show, she won first and third place prizes in her division. Currently, she is represented by several galleries and conducts demonstrations and workshops about pottery making.
External links
- "Pottery by Tammie Allen at Traditional Pueblo Arts" http://www.puebloarts.com/NativeAmericanIndianPotters/2068.htm"
- "Pottery Demonstration at Baylor Strecker Museum" http://www.baylor.edu/pr/news.php?action=story&story=970
- "Awards, Tammie Allen, SWAIA, Southwestern Association of Indian Arts" http://www.swaia.org/winners_2.php?year=2005&class=799"
- "Jicarilla Apache Pottery" http://www.thinkpottery.com