It’s always a good sign when the person I’m interviewing starts right off by saying: “I have this memory of the first time I met Nilda.” (Nilda Callañaupa is the founder and current director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco.) For the next half hour, Chris Switzer—a long-time ATA supporter—was full-on stories and while I’ve known Chris for many years, my admiration of her increased exponentially. “It was the late 1970s, when I met Nilda for the first time. I had recently joined the Handweavers Guild of Boulder, having recently begun spinning and weaving. This day’s program was presented by (American anthropologist) Ed Franquemont, and Nilda Callañaupa was with him demonstrating backstrap weaving. Nilda didn’t speak English at … Read More
Donor Profile: Jean Cleavinger
Spirited conversations with ATA donor Jean Cleavinger revealed that we both grew up in Iowa so it was hard not to spin off into tangential conversations. Jean’s father was director of the Iowa State Historical Museum in Des Moines from 1959-1980. Her mother worked at the Des Moines Register. As an only child, she spent time in her father’s taxidermist shop at the museum. He was well known for his work on birds; together her parents wrote the book Waterfowl in Iowa. Her mother’s father from Spirit Lake went on to be the doctor at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Jonas Poweshiek, a Mesquakie Indian from Tama, Iowa, who adopted her father, was like a grandfather to her. The … Read More
In Memoriam: David VanBuskirk
I have not totally absorbed or believed that David VanBuskirk is gone, but sadly I have to accept the truth. I am so happy that I got to see him and his wife Libby during our visit last year to their home in Melbourne, Vermont. Since I met them in Cusco in 1984, they have been part of our family. David and Libby were very important supporters in providing for the continuation of traditional textile practices by the weavers in Chinchero. In those years, I was just starting to work with the weavers older than me. David and Libby generously provided the first budget for the development of the project to work with the weavers, through the U.S. nonprofit Cultural … Read More