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Fetishes establish a link to animal spirits
The hunter prayed, then sprinkled prayer meal in the direction that he planned to start on his hunt. He tugged a small stone bear out of his pouch, held it to his lips and inhaled, breathing in its animal spirit. ---- Native American legend
The little stone bear is a “we-me,” translating directly to “animal” in Zuni. I...
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 Zuni craft takes a contemporary twist
Carver Hayes Leekya works with his hands and his heart. He enters his small workshop outside his house, puts on his denim apron and reaches for a stone. Leekya holds the piece and studies the weight, the lines of color and the shape. This tan chunk of rock will be a horse. He sits at his workbench, presses the stone to his grinding wheel, and with...
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 Keshi was a tiny shop tucked into a downtown Santa Fe pedestrian mall when Robin Dunlap took over a craft cooperative that she and other teachers had helped set up at Zuni Pueblo. It was 1981, and the shop sold jewelry, plus a few carved fetishes.
With the surge of fascination in Native America in the late 1980s, demand for the talismans swelled to the point that Keshi moved into a much larger ...
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 WHILE CAPTURING THE ESSENCES OF THE ANIMALS THEY DEPICT, ZUNI FETISHES ALSO CAPTURE COLLECTORS' HEARTS
Who can resist the spell of a talisman so small it fits into the palm of your hand? The tiny stone carvings known as Zuni fetishes, or wemawe, are not just charming, they are also endowed with special powers. Believed to be real animals shrunken and petrified in prehistory with t...
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Finding a piece of art you can call your own in Santa Fe is a challenge. The cheap stuff is almost inevitably bad and kitschy (howling coyotes, kokopelli figures playing a flute and hump-backed turquoise bears). Most of the contemporary, original work is priced for bond traders from New York or the Gene Hackman-types who have adobe homes up in the hills. For the rest of us, there's Keshi, a galler...
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 This quaint Santa Fe shop has earned a worldwide reputation as the source for one of the finest selections of authentic Zuni art.
The woman who has just walked in the door has been studying Zuni fetishes for several months prior to this, her first trip to Santa Fe. Having finally arrived, she is directed downtown to Keshi, tucked inside the Santa Fe Village, a collection of sma...
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Store focuses on Zuni art
Near the door to Santa Fe-based Keshi: the Zuni Connection is a rack of informational pamphlets and Xeroxed newspaper articles. Books on Native American art and jewelry vie for space near the cash register. Many focus on the work of members of the Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico, who have a reputation for impeccable craftsmanship.
Founded by schooltea...
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 Santa Fe Shop Filled With Zuni Fetishes Is Thriving
The Zunis say a fetish chooses you
After getting sidetracked by art studies in Italy, dreams of teaching and beach side fantasies, these animal carvings called Bronwyn Fox back to Keshi.
The daughter of Keshi-founder Robin Dunlap, the 34-year-old Fox took over the business a year ago. Launched in 1982 as a puebl...
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 Tales of the City Different
According to Zuni lore, in the early years the Sun sent down his two children in order to help humans. From their shields shot lightning bolts which destroyed predators that were killing people. Since then, as Zunis have traveled across their lands in Western New Mexico, when they’ve come across a stone shaped like a particular animal, they’ve taken it up, believi...
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 Considered a Zuni form, fetishes have been carved since around 600 A.D. Most Native tribes used the charms, but the Zuni have become known for the quality of their workmanship. Today the refinement and creativity involved in the carving of fetishes has muddied the ago-old distinction between craft and art.
Not from Zuni, Romero is returning the fetish to its more primitive form. In Romero’s ...
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 Excerpted from: Santa Fe (Shopping)
Each time I head out to shop in northern New Mexico, I'm amazed by the number of handcrafts, pieces of art, and artifacts I find. There's a broad range of work, from very traditional Native American crafts and Hispanic folk art to extremely innovative contemporary work.
Some call Santa Fe one of the top art markets in the world. Ga...
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"This is one of the region's most reputable dealers of Zuni crafts, specializing in fetishes and fetish jewelry. Ask the helpful staff about other Zuni works you may be less familiar with -- interesting works of pottery, beadwork, and other unique pieces. Keshi is endorsed by the Council for Indigenous Arts and Culture."
From the book: MADE IN THE SOUTHWEST, A Shopper's Guide to the Region...
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 Excerpted from: Enlightened traveler
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Must-see sights: Artistic inspiration is everywhere in Santa Fe – in the sky, the mountains, and the cliffs where layers of lava have settled into wavy ribbons. You can see the results in the crafts of the Native American artisans who display their creations, from silver and turquoise jewelry, to pott...
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 Cooperative Asked Teacher To Purchase Successful Business
When Robin Dunlap calls her store Keshi, the Zuni Connection, she’s serious. The store is her connection to the people she grew to know and admire 15 years ago while teaching sixth grade at the pueblo’s Dowa Yallane Elementary School.
Keshi opened in Santa Fe in 1982 as an attempt by the pueblo’s teachers to open a cooperative st...
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 Honestly, I consider myself to be an incredibly fortunate woman, personally and professionally. I grew up in various locations around New Mexico, though mostly in Santa Fe, and so I feel anchored here. I have also been blessed with the ability to travel to and live in many places in the United States and elsewhere, which I believe has granted me a unique perspective. The most life-defining experie...
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