This room of the Fieldhouse has been set up so that various traders and craftsmen can come in and peddle their wares. You may rest assured, gentle Traveler, that no one sets up a stall in this room without my personal approval. I can personally vouchsafe that all the merchants you see here offer wares and service of unstinting quality, as I have had nothing but pleasant business relations with them myself.

Southwest Indian Foundation

The Southwest Indian Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Gallup, New Mexico and overseen by Deacon Daniel Nez Martin, which devotes all its energy to maintaining and bettering the lives and conditions of Native Americans throughout the Southwest. They not only provide monetary assistance to those who need it, but also employ Native Americans exclusively as everything from phone operators to catalog staff, and provide food baskets and wood stoves to needy families during the long months of winter, along with any number of other worthwhile services. I myself found about this program last year, and was proud to pay for a food basket in my father's name, who was a longtime sponsor of St. Labre Indian School in South Dakota before his death from cancer in January 2001.

A good part of their funding comes from selling the works of superb Indian crafters and artists such as Mary Youngblood, R. Carlos Nakai, Oreland Joe and Dennis Arviso. They aren't just hawking tourist crap either, folks...these are high-grade individual creations, ranging from statues and blanketwork to silver and turquoise jewelry to music to paintings to...well, you get the idea. And, as I mentioned above, I would not have included SWIF in these listings if their customer service was anything short of top-notch, and top-notch it is. Please pick up one of their catalogs at the link above (which, by the way, contains a detailed listing of what EVERY penny raised from the catalog is used for), and give 'em a look for yourself. Believe me...the Southwest Indian Foundation is WELL worth your time.