Navajo Bo Peep and her Sheep Carving - Rena Juan (#015)

Rena Juan

Rena Juan - Wood Carver: Nominee of a Utah Governor's Folk Artist Award, Rena Juan has multiple talents up her sleeve that she produces when the need arises- like rug weaving and clay pottery- but wood carving is what she loves doing most, and it shows in her pieces. Rena takes an old dead piece of cottonwood, pine, or basswood, rough cuts it with a chainsaw, then begins carving new life into it. When she is finished her carved and painted figures represent the Navajo lifestyle both in form and in spirit, creating an aura of realism, warmth, and personality.

Rena Juan sees details most people miss, and then she is able to put them into her carvings in such a way as to make them not only noticeable, but memorable. These interesting particulars are what make her carvings so lifelike. Her people may wear glasses, have pot bellies, or holes in a hat brim or in the seat of their pants. Rena is able to give expression to her wood figures just by the way she postures them, and often it is an expression that reveals Rena's delightful sense of humor.

A native of Ganado, Arizona, a place famous for rug weaving, Rena learned to weave, and sometimes makes small rugs to go with her pieces, but she finds great satisfaction in the three dimensional world of carving. She initially learned to carve professionally from watching and working with her husband. Over the past decade she has perfected her own unique style.

Rena likes to carve outdoors, in the morning air, under a small shade in her yard. (Having seven children gives her a great appreciation for the quiet of the outdoors!) Two of her sons often practice wood carving with her and they enjoy this shared time to visit.

It takes several days for Rena to "rough cut" a piece of wood, and 3 or 4 days to finish carving it. Most of Rena's tools are customized for her use. On weekends Rena enjoys traveling to art shows where she can see other's work and get new ideas for her own work. Still, Rena maintains, she gets most of her inspiration from her youth.

Rena is partial to carving sheep herders because sheep are the traditional livelihood of the Navajo. When she was a girl she and her sister spent most days of the year guarding the family flock.

"That's the center of our lives on the reservation," Rena says, "I remember when I was small we had a lot of sheep. My mom used to make us get up early in the morning. 'Come on, get up! Go herd sheep!"', Rena mimics her mother's voice with a laugh.

"We didn't go to the store every day. When we ran out of groceries we butchered sheep. We had them with wild herbs, mulberries, or cactus that my mom used to fix a certain way. We also had corn and squash."

Even then Rena carved. She created a miniature hogan and made figures of sheep, horses, and people to play with.

Rena is careful as she creates her pieces not to portray any sacred traditional Navajo symbols. 'That's the way of our culture," she explains, "to respect our elders, and nature. That's what the Dine' are taught. That's what our beliefs are."

Sheep

Well, what did you come for, the white sheep, perhaps?
No. Not the white sheep.
The black sheep? No.
The spotted sheep? No.
The red sheep? Not the red sheep.
The sheep with the thin bladed horns?
That was the sheep he cherished above all.
Winifred Kupper, The Golden Hoof, 19-21.

It may have been a relief to the Sun that the Twin War Gods asked an even loftier boon, for obviously he had the sheep ready for the People as soon as they were created. Pgs. 38-39

The Navajos; 1956, Ruth M. Underhill.

Cows, sheep and horses were originally obtained through raids upon the neighboring Pueblos and Mexicans, and later through rations issued by the Government. At present practically every family is possessed of a flock of sheep in addition to a band of cattle and horses, making their condition one of comparative affluence. Pg. 143

An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navajo Language; 1910, The Franciscan Fathers.

In the last fifty years, well within the memory of man, the character of the Navajo terrain had noticeably changed. Where formerly there had been broad smooth plains covered with thick grass of which the best was grama or "buffalo" grass, the plains were now gutted by sharp gullies, some small, others large like the arroyo near which the sheepdip stood. Through them the water ran and cut away the soil whenever it rained, making the crevices always larger. The white people called this "soil erosion" and said it was due to overgrazing. They explained that the large number of sheep owned by the Navajo and the goats were even more harmful had eaten the grass so close that even the roots were destroyed. So short and sparse had they become that they no longer held the soil, and it became loose and easily washed or blown away. At first the Whites had strongly urged the Navajo to diminish their herds, and this year had required a pro-rated reduction, the number to be determined by the count taken at dipping time. Pgs. 9-10

The rangers did not like goats. They said they ruined the range, but Dezba and her people liked them because they lived on less and coarser forage than the sheep, and because they were good leaders of the herd. The Whites despised the meat, for they said it was strong and tough. The Navajo did not find it too strong and thought one felt satisfied longer after a meal of tough meat. Although it was hard to spin, Dezba liked to use mohair for weaving. It was stronger for warp, and when used for weft, gave a soft outline to the pattern which was unusually attractive. Pg. 13

Dezba: Woman of the Desert; 1939, Gladys A. Reichard.

Sheep and goats also had a major impact upon the Navajos and their way of life. The Navajo had begun to take sheep and goats during their raids on Spanish settlements in the early seventeenth century, but it was probably not until the end of this century that they began to herd these animals after intense contact with the Pueblos, who understood Spanish animal husbandry. In the late 1700s and early 1800s the Navajo population began increasing because these animals furnished such a dependable food supply. Sheep and goats and their products also provided a medium of exchange for European-produced goods. Navajos learned the art of weaving from the many Pueblos who lived among them following the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Weaving quickly became a part of Navajo culture. By 1795, Navajo weaving had become so highly prized that one writer of that time described their weaving as "finer than that of the Spaniards."

Earth is my Mother, Sky is my Father: Space, Time, and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting;
1992, Trudy Griffen-Pierce.