7 posts tagged “cabot's pueblo museum”
We're getting into the home stretch for the video release of "Peter Toth and the Trail of the Whispering Giants," the film I made about Pete's work on Waokiye. In the meantime, we interviewed friends, fans and others and came up with a nice little documentary. CreateSpace/Amazon is finishing up on the final production end and they should be available for sale soon. In the meantime, here's the clip from YouTube:
https://www.createspace.com/267617
I have to give credit to Richard Miramontes for shootin' the best photo from Cabot's birthday bash. (the rest I took, but he really caught the moment) We're familiar with Tomas Garcilazo from the Indio County Fair and Date Festival and if you ever get a chance to see one of his performances, do not miss it. His horsemanship and rope skills are truly amazing. His young son's really coming along in the ways of the charro too - it's a family act. http://www.tomasgarcilazo.com/
http://ravenjake.vox.com/library/post/bull-o-rama-5.html
Once again, a great time was had at Cabot's Pueblo Museum on June 6. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, Cabot's is one of the desert's treasures, and their annual fundraiser is always a great time for a great cause. Getting your picture taken with a cute burro, in this case miniature donkey Romeo - and the disembodied hand of Galena, Don Reed in the Hawaiian shirt, Jane Pojawa with the big smile, and native ceramicist Tony Soares in the back row with yours truly - is just one of the many perks. It has been just great to see Cabot's Pueblo Museum become the center of Desert Hot Springs over just the past couple o' years and we certainly wish them all the best in the future.
My girl, Jane, is giving a little talk up at the Hi-Desert Museum the first Wednesday in June, if y'all like History, you won't want to miss it:
Cabot Yerxa: True Confessions of a Research Addict
Does reading 19th century census records make your heart beat faster? Do yellowed newspaper clippings give you an adrenalin rush? Have you ever screamed while reading and old letter – exchanged between two people you’ve never met? This is the sordid, secret life of a research addict, and it is an incurable condition. Fortunately, there are others who share your passion, and you need not experience the euphoria and disappointment alone.
Jane Pojawa is the archivist/historian for Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs. Her extensive research into the extraordinary life of Cabot Yerxa has made for some fascinating discoveries about one of the Coachella Valley’s earliest pioneers. The greatest challenge of this quest has been to separate legend from fact, and the most effective tool for the job is primary source documents.
In this First Wednesday’s presentation, Pojawa will give an overview of the fascinating life of Cabot Yerxa before addressing some of the stories that surround Cabot Yerxa and his Pueblo, including:
The Eskimo Dictionary
Cabot and the Cabots
Merry Xmas, the super-burro
The Murder Room
Giant Rock and the Flying Saucers
This program will shed light on some little-known aspects of Yerxa’s life and legend, while giving research tips and encouragement to our local historians. The truth is out there – and it might be much stranger than you think!
At the Hi-Desert Nature Museum $5 Donation
Hi-Desert Nature Museum
57090 29 Palms Highway
Yucca Valley, CA 92284
Hi Folks -
This time of year the desert really comes alive and if any of y'all are in the SoCal desert, February's gonna be a busy month. In no particular order:
The Riverside County Fair and Date Festival is always great. Gotta love those ostrich races. February 13-22. http://www.datefest.org/ Bull-O-Rama is on the 14th and the Blessing of the Dates is on the 13th at 9:30 am.
Artist Peter Toth will be doing repairs to Waokiye in Desert Hot Springs February 3-25 with a special event on February 17 at 5pm with the mayor, Yvonne Parks at the City Council offices on West Drive. http://www.cabotsmuseum.org/ There will also be art demonstrations on the 21st-22nd and an event afterward (on the 21st so everyone can go home and watch the Oscars on Sunday) from 3-5pm.
The Morongo Basin Historical Society is doing a play to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Willie Boy Manhunt - that's coming up on March 19. And there's always somethin' happening at the Hi-Desert Museum - they're First Wednesdays progams are great http://www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org/index.html
June 6 is Cabot's BBQ bash - it's a fundraiser and tickets are $100 this year. If yer interested in attending, I'll set you up with a board member. Usually there's a great bbq meal, an open bar, a free photograph with "Merry Christmas, Cabot's Donkey" and entertainment. Support the cause!
Don't forget to stop and see the flowers - we've had a lot of rain this year and by the end of the month we should be getting a real show!
Waokiye," meaning "Traditional Helper" in the Lakota language, was carved in 1978, by Hungarian-born sculptor Peter "Wolf" Toth.
During a 21-year period (1971-1992) Toth carved 67 giant Native American heads; at least one in each of the 50 states plus several in Canada. The first giant, which he began at the age of 24, was carved from the cliff at Wind and Sea Beach in La Jolla, California. All of the subsequent colossi have been made from giant logs. Waokiye was the 27th sculpture in the "Whispering Giants" series.
Born in 1947, Peter Toth (rhymes with "oath") was one of eleven children. His family fled from Hungary during the 1956 uprising. They lived in refugee camps for two years before emigrating to the United States and settling in Akron, Ohio. Learning about Native American culture, he empathized with the tribes’ situation and saw a parallel to the violent repression he had experienced in Hungary. Expanding on his desire to highlight the struggle of American Indians for justice and recognition of their human rights, the statues represent all humanity and stand against injustice to all people. He has been adopted into several tribes as the result of his mission.
The Desert Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce invited Toth to come to California and carve a sculpture. Toth, later joined by his wife Kathy, traveled the US in a Dodge van, spending summers in the north and winters in the south, and "stopping wherever local officials would allow or invite him to carve one of his ‘Whispering Giants.’" He did not accept money for his work and lived on donations, sales of small carvings and sales of his self-published book. Cole Eyraud, who was the vice-mayor as well as the curator of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, saw the similarities between Toth’s tribute to Native Americans and Cabot Yerxa’s and volunteered the museum to be the site for the statue.
A 45-ton giant Sequoia redwood log was donated through the efforts of the Riverside County Fire Department and the state Division of Forestry. The 750-year-old tree, which was almost 200 feet tall, was originally from the Sequoia National Forest near Porterville. It had been struck by lightning in the mid-1950s. Moving the log which had been earmarked for the sculpture, a segment 10 by 20 feet and weighing 40,000 pounds, from central California was no easy task. Bad weather delayed the arrival of the log until the end of February 1978.
Toth used power tools for the rough shaping, and then set to work with a #5 chisel and a hammer. All of the work was done on site. The finished face is 22 feet high, eight feet in diameter and weighs 20 tons. The feather is made from an Incense Cedar from Idyllwild, it is 15 feet tall, four feet with and one-and –a-half feet thick. The pedestal is 5 feet tall, extends 4 feet into the earth and is made of 2,000 pounds of steel and 33 yards of cement. Local rocks decorate the outside surface. The overall height of the sculpture – base, face and feather - is 43 feet. The project was sponsored by Landmark Conservators (Cole Eyraud’s management company for Cabot’s Pueblo Museum), the Desert Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and the California State Department of Forestry.
On May 20, 1998, Waokiye was ready to meet the public. Dennis Banks, educator and founder of the American Indian Movement was the guest speaker, and about 250 people showed up for the event. This project could never have been achieved without donations and community support – the donation of Peter Toth’s time and talent, the donation of the land, of the tree, the transportation… every step of the project required an act of generosity. At the dedication ceremony, Peter Toth said simply "The American Indian is a proud and often misunderstood people. They have suffered atrocities ever since the first white man landed on this shore. Even as a young boy I had admiration for my Indian brothers and perhaps this monument and all the others… will bring awareness of a proud and great people."
We are fortunate that Waokiye has survived the years in relatively good condition. Other giants have not been so fortunate. See the list on the following page for the other Whispering Giants - not all of them remain. Some websites, such as this one from David Schumaker, can provide current information.Whispering Giants
Raven Jake made it to the "soft" opening of the gallery at Cabot's Old Indian Trading Post in December 07. The more formal "grand opening" is coming up on Valentine's Day. At left, the picture in the background is "Cabot Warhol" by Jane Pojawa, down below Raven Jake joins Desert Hot Springs Mayor Yvonne Parks and Cabot board president Michael O'Keefe at the TP&G, or Trading Post and Gallery.
Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum is a place Jake revisits frequently, both physically and spiritually. They have a long history together, starting when Jake visited Cabot Yerxa, pioneer, desert rat and builder, with his grandfather. Today, the museum stands as a testiment to what one man with a dream and a strong back can accomplish.
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