Amy Denet Deal (Diné) owns 4Kinship, a sustainable fashion brand and store on Santa Fe's elegant Canyon Road. It is vibrant with color and texture — clothes, jewelry and art, some her own, upcycled work and some by other Indigenous creatives.
She calls the brand “a platform for the community” and this year, for the first time, she is holding a holiday market specifically for young, Indigenous artists and artisans to sell their work.
"I just get so inspired, meeting them, seeing the work, hearing how their making process goes, hearing what their needs are and how we can help," she said.
Instead of joining Americans in spending nearly $10 billion online on Black Friday, Denet Deal argued people should celebrate Native American Heritage Day at the NextGen Market, at Santa Fe's Railyard on November 29 and 30.
"The Amazon world out there, like, who knows where this stuff is coming from?" she said. "These things are made by Native students, Native younger entrepreneurs. You get to meet them, you get to talk to them, and you get to support their careers here in the Southwest."
Because getting to Santa Fe can be a barrier for many young people, Denet Deal has partnered with the nonprofit Cultural Survival to pay for participants’ hotel rooms. One artist she is excited about is Bryan Roessel (Diné).
"He's just so multitalented," she said. "He does silversmithing. He does moccasin making. He does basket weaving. So, I mean, who knows what he's going to bring?"
Another is Ephraim “Zefren-M” Anderson (Diné), who recently collaborated with Ralph Lauren.
"It's just beautiful that he's still kind of keeping it local, even though he's obviously world-famous," she said.
Several other holiday markets are showcasing Native artisans this year. Among them are the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts' event in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center on November 30 and December 1. The Poeh Cultural Center in Pojoaque held a market last week. Denet Deal said she welcomes all of them.
"The more the better."
