Lyndon Tsosie, local and internally renowned Navajo artist, held a retreat “House of Stamps,” the last week of June, for budding and experienced jewelry makers to learn about the art of Navajo stamping and to create their own masterpieces.

The Navajo silversmith stamping tools are handmade, and the stamping faces look clean and crisp, from 2 7/8” to 4 1/8” long.

Back in the day, Native Americans were resourceful, and made their tools from all kinds of found objects, such as rebar, old files, rasps, railroad spikes, and valve stems.

Artisans hand cut and file the patterns onto the face of the shaft. It’s one thing to be a great silversmith, but it adds a whole different level of skill when you are also making your own crafts using these stamping tools.

Tsosie launched the House of Stamps program about two years ago. They sell to about 25 countries and have a following of non-native jewelers from around the world who love the stamps.

The retreat was held June 26 - 30,  with five participants from all over the country. The cost of the retreat was $2,600, which included hotel accommodations, meals, and classes to learn about the stamps. Tsosie, along with two instructors held the retreat at the Gallup Downtown Conference Center with classes beginning at 9 am.

“This class is the first annual with participants who come from all over the United States; who are members of the House of Stamps club,” Tsosie said. “We have about 2,200 hundred members and five of them choose to come to this retreat to learn stamping, and feel what it’s like to use the stamps. The classes included working on projects such as a riveted bracelet and pendant that the participant will get to take.”

“We teach them the history of the stamps, how they came to be known as “Navajo stamps” and how the Navajos use them in their jewelry, from 1850 up to today,” Tsosie added.

Along with Tsosie, two other instructors from Minnesota and Missouri came down to be a part of the Lyndon family.

Instructor Karen Ritsche of St. Paul, Minn., who started buying the stamps online a year ago, was intrigued with the feel of them and wanted to get the full experience of Navajo stamping. Ritsche who has her own company, Starlite Crystals & Reiki, loved the whole experience.

“The feel of these stamps are energetic and absolutely dynamic and the integrity and character of the company was something that I respected and I wanted to help with this retreat,” Ritsche said. “It’s a learning experience and we all learn a lot from each other and I (would) love to do it again at home on a smaller scale. This is the most fun I had in a long time, being here in this part of the country … everyone has been so friendly. I love it. It’s a learning experience and we all learn a lot from each other and I love to do it again at home on a smaller scale.”

Beth Witte, of Bland, MO., also came to help as an instructor, started buying stamps about two years ago. She uses the stamps as therapy, and says the connection of the feel of the stamps was a good spirit and the symbols of the stamps are ancient that connect with one’s soul that will helps transform her work.

“I just want to get these stamps into others hand and see what they can do for others,” Witte said. “I wanted to learn more and especially from an artist such as Lyndon, it has really opened my eyes ... it’s a really great product and everyone has been so wonderful. I really don’t know why I jumped on board with this retreat but I knew I just wanted to.”

Participant, Ginny Elliott, of Van Buren, AK., got involved with the retreat to learn more about these unique stamps. Elliott, who is a Kindergarten teacher had been buying stamps as a hobby wanted to learn more about the stamps. Having worked with letter stamps and necklaces found this type of stamp fascinating.

“When they posted it online I knew immediately I wanted to be a part of it, I had some work with stamps but doing more designs with these has been wonderful and the learning has been great,” Elliott said. “How the stamps make you feel and if you get a chance to participate in it you should, the working of them and learning of the Navajo culture is great, it has given me growth personally.”

Julie Teeples, of Cortez, Colo., heard about it online and found the House of Stamps as she was searching for supplies, and started watching Tsosie on YouTube demonstrating his stamp work. Being a professional artist herself, Teeples found this as a whole new medium, being only several hours away she hopes to visit House of Stamps more often.

“It was amazing to see the work and get first hand … it was something that meant a lot and that is why it brought me here,” Teeples said. “I used to tool leather work and now I do silversmithing and I wanted to hone in on Navajo stamps, and this is just great. It’s wonderful and this week has gone by so fast that I am going to miss it and it has been a great feeling.”

Teeples said she plans on making more trips to learn from Tsosie.

Tsosie will be holding a semi-annual stamp retreat or four retreats a year. Next one will be in October slated for 10 participants with two spots open.

For more information on House of Stamps, 310 Mesa Ave, Gallup, House of Stamps/House of Lyndon Gallery at (505) 399-1894.

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun

City seeks citizen input on getting around town

Gallup, meet your transportation future. In fact, how about helping to plan it?

Gallupians will get their first chance to comment toward the city’s Transportation Master Plan when representatives of city consultant Bohannan Huston host a public meeting to introduce it March 13 at 4:30 pm at the El Morro Events Center, 210 S. Second St.

This first meeting is to explain what the TMP is, why it’s important to the city’s future and how citizens can raise concerns early.

In short, consultants are putting together a document that aims to have every major mode of transportation in and around the city working together. It is intended for planners to use when making decisions about growth management and how to allocate scarce resources.

“It’s meant to address traffic circulation throughout the city, things like traffic congestion, safety issues and potential opportunities for improvements,” Derrick Webb, senior planner with Bohannan Huston, said.

The idea is to create a more efficient transportation network that makes it easier for people to get where they need to go.

“We are really looking to the public to understand their lived experience with the transportation network in the city,” Webb explained. “We need to understand where the pain points are, where opportunities lie, what types of improvements the community is really looking for.”

Webb wants residents to know this is not a road maintenance hotline. Suggestions will be used to create a big picture of community needs and possible responses to consider as other projects come up.

“It’s kind of like a menu of options,” Webb said. “Understanding that people feel like adding capacity someplace is helpful, but [the plan] won’t dictate lane or walk widths or anything specific.”

For those who want to work ahead, the consultants have set up a website that explains the timeline and has links to other relevant local studies. It also has an interactive project map that citizens can use to literally pinpoint traffic problems right down to the block or intersection on any street in the project area.

“We’re looking for input from the entire city, not from any one specific area. That’s why we have the callouts for ‘what areas do you think need work?,’” Planning and Development Director C.B. Strain said.

Comments sought fall into a few general categories: safety concerns, traffic issues, pedestrian improvements, bicycle improvements and other comments. Residents can click a button to choose a category, set a map pin and add a comment. They can also like others’ comments.

No concern is too small: residents are invited to comment on things like where sidewalks have no disabled access, or there are no sidewalks at all; speeding problems; poor lighting; or where a bus stop or parking is needed. Comments can also relate to accessing trains and airplanes.

Examples of citizen comments so far include “Much needed pedestrian improvements” downtown, “Extend Bengal Boulevard to Twin Buttes Road and further east to Crest View Road” and “Need a bus stop near the detox and recovery center for community accessibility.”

A group of stakeholders – mainly local government and community leaders – are also working on the plan and have commented on the need for pedestrian and bike paths along Historic Highway 66 and a suggestion to “connect Mentmore to Mendoza to support a southern loop connection.”

The main thing is for residents to “think about where they go on a given day, what trips they make,” Webb said, and make notes about traffic congestion and safety issues. Since part of the goal is to help identify alternative modes that people would take if they were convenient, comments about where sidewalk or bicycle facilities would get people out of cars are “super helpful.”

The consultants encourage making comments as soon as possible, but the map will be available through the summer while they are creating the plan. They will present it at another public meeting and to the city council in the fall.

The TMP is separate from the state’s Route 66 Improved initiative, which is focused on Historic Highway 66 and just finished a similar public comment period. The TMP addresses roads under city control, and will factor in plans for Highway 66 and other connection points such as county roads.

Bohannan Huston will host the community meeting at 4:30 pm March 13 at the El Morro Events Center, 210 S. Second St. Those unable to attend in person may join via Zoom meeting with the meeting ID: 838 0612 7977 and passcode: 527526.

The project website is at https://bhi.mysocialpinpoint.com/gallup-transportation-master-plan and the interactive project map is available at https://bhi.mysocialpinpoint.com/gallup-transportation-master-plan/gallup-master-transportation-plan_interactivemap#/

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Quinten Smith, 21, of Mexican Springs, N.M., and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was charged in federal court on Oct. 4 with murder in Indian Country. Smith will remain in custody pending trial.

​According to a criminal complaint, on Sept. 24, Smith and others allegedly went to the home of the victim, identified as John Doe, to confront him. When they arrived at the home, a physical altercation allegedly ensued. During the fight, Smith allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times in the back with a pocketknife. Smith and the others allegedly fled the home immediately.

John Doe, who was also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was found deceased in his home later that day. The killing occurred on the Navajo Nation.

A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Smith faces life in prison.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Navajo Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

Rating: «« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 122 min.

The original John Wick came out of the blue back in 2014. It was a really entertaining little action flick that boasted some incredible stunt work and a memorably quirky title character. Essentially, an assassin driven to wipe out all those responsible for an unusual death in his family. It’s tongue was also planted firmly in cheek, adding a welcome dose of humor to offset the violence and carnage. John Wick: Chapter 2 is still amusing in several respects, although this tale is not quite as effective the second time around.

After the events of the first film, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) heads out to tie up one loose end, leading to the first of many action set pieces. It’s a real doozy involving numerous cars plowing into other vehicles (and people flying out of their seats) like some sort of crazed demolition derby. When the dust finally settles we learn in spite of Wick’s retirement, leaving the assassin community is almost impossible. In fact, he is forced by tradition to provide a favor to an underworld figure named Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). Naturally, it’s a hit job, but soon after heading to Rome to do his duty the protagonist finds himself being targeted.

I think I really appreciated the simplicity of the original film. This follow-up doesn’t possess any deeper messages nor is it any brighter, but does go out of its way to build a larger world of characters and interactions. And unfortunately, this means that a lot of time is spent setting up the various crime factions, including D’Antonio and his power schemes. Unlike the title character, this story lags quite a bit as it struggles to introduce all of the players. Viewers have to wait some time for an important twist that springs the second half of the movie to life. When a simple action movie clocks at over two hours, one can’t help but feel that early sections could have done with more pruning.

At least the movie improves dramatically when Wick finds himself on the run and with a price on his head. It seems as though everyone in Manhattan is a killer and out for a big payday, compelling Wick to fend off various characters in increasingly outrageous circumstances. When the movie embraces its absurdity, it really receives a jolt. There’s a clever battle using only a pencil, an amusing bit with two characters quietly taking potshots at each other while walking through a crowd, a knife fight on a subway car and other incredibly elaborate fights between the protagonist and villains. When it gets to the good stuff, it’s a whole lot of fun.

Some of the returning personalities are amusing as well, including Continental hotel manager Charon (Lance Reddick) and its owner, Winston (Ian McShane). Among the new additions, the best include a similarly-themed European establishment operated by Julius (Franco Nero) and a Russian mobster (Peter Stormare) related to the previous film’s villains. Stormare is a lot of fun to watch, chewing scenery like any great villain. When he relays concerns to his men about Wick’s powers and reacts to the violence occurring outside his office, the movie is a hoot. Frankly, it needs even more of him.

With so many characters (several of whom I haven’t even gotten around to mentioning), it becomes very clear that the movie is a set-up of sorts for yet another adventure. This feature leaves numerous threads and characters hanging as the end credits roll. Perhaps everything will be tightly and efficiently wrapped up by the close of the next film. One can only hope. In the meantime, while I can certainly say that John Wick: Chapter 2 has some great action, viewers should also be warned that they’ll have to take it with plenty of unwanted story fat.

Visit: Cinemastance.com

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun