Gallup, NM: "Indian jewelry capital of the world."

New Mexico Business Journal, June, 1994

Gallup's Indian Arts and Crafts Business is Flourishing

From the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni lands surrounding Gallup come the craftsmen, first to purchase materials and later to sell the product of their creative genius: silver and turquoise forged into jewelry, wool woven into the intricate rhythmic patterns of the high mesa deserts and cultures, paintings that capture the spirit of the people and the landscape with stark realism or vibrant abstract and impressionistic vision. From that spark of creative vibrance comes the multimillion dollar Indian art industry that blossoms in Gallup. In the Indian arts cycle, all roads lead to Gallup. The city is key to the industry geographically, historically and culturally. Within a 50-mile radius of the city, upwards of 45,000 people are employed full or part-time in some facet of the Native American arts industry, according to Gallup businessmen.

Native craftspeople are the vital link between the Gallup business community and the buyers who frequent retail and wholesale outlets that supply the world with Indian arts. And the Gallup Indian arts business community is crucial to the craftspeople as well.

Initially spawned as a center for coal mining and the railroad, Gallup survived the decline of mining enterprises and the departure of the railroad area headquarters with an economic strength that surprises nobody familiar with the Indian arts business. From the days of the isolated trader, who formed individual barter and pawn relationships with craftsmen, to today's faxed orders from around the world, glossy photos and wholesale catalogues, Gallup's Indian arts business has flourished.

More than 100 retail Indian arts businesses dot the Gallup business landscape, and the variety of their merchandise, from the traditional heavy Navajo silver works, to the contemporary geometric mixes of shell and multi-colored stone, attracts tourists and collectors alike. And for Gallup, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the thriving retail surface rages a whirlpool of wholesale activity that draws buyers from around the globe. They come to buy what they know is authentic and what they recognize as quality.

In fact, Harrod's Department store of London, one of the largest stores in the world, shops Gallup for Indian arts. Other big worldwide wholesale markets in Gallup are France, Germany, Australia and Japan. Most of the money generated in this industry is from outside the state. "The Indian jewelry and craft industry brings in a lot of outside dollars. It's not as if we're just trading dollars with each other," one businessman said. And the jewelry business complements the tourism, industry--as jewelry purchasers are introduced the beauty of the area-- and tourists are introduced to the Indian jewelry market.

For tourism, Gallup's 73-year old Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial is the showpiece for the Indian arts industry. Held the second week in August in Gallup since 1922, the Ceremonial is an awesome display of creativity, from the Native dancers who weave their magic through the hypnotic beat of the drum and the haunting melodies of flute and voice to the talented artisans who vie for prizes and valuable recognition for their creativity. A feast of art, music, rodeo, games, parades, and community spirit between a reservation border-community and the surrounding people, Ceremonial flourishes as an annual event. It draws thousands each year; people who are drawn to the music, art and magic of Native cultures. They come, they watch, they buy, and they come back again and again to this uniquely American festival of long-held custom and camaraderie. Ceremonial was a jumping off point for the Gallup economy, luring adventurous entrepreneurs to cast their lots with the creative craftsmen. Together they defined the industry as it is today: a growing partnership where seller, buyer, wholesaler, retailer, designer, tourist, and supplier link into a series of intricate, beneficial relationships. The Indian arts business is in the driver's seat of the Gallup economy, which follows the twists and turns of the road that industry travels.

The Indian arts business, which draws tourists and wholesale buyers to the city, is also linked to the rest of the city's economy: when the craftspeople sell their work, they spend their money--on the quality of life purchases that drive day-to-day existence. And the city's other businesses supply those needs. More than a dozen Western Wear outlets and saddle shops serve the clothing needs for the ranch, rodeo and rural life here: utilitarian boots and jeans, hand tooled saddles, intricately worked bridles, rainbow-colored western shirts, dusters, straw and felt hats. They're more than fashion, they're necessity. And they're available in abundance.

How big is the Indian arts industry in Gallup, really? One businessman who has been in the trade for more than two decades puts it this way: "If for one week every Indian Jewelry business closed up you would literally see this town shut down. You can take that to the bank." That same businessman once had the idea of paying for all of his Indian craft purchases in silver dollars for one week, to try to track the impact on the market. But he couldn't round up the more than 10,000 silver dollars he estimated he would need for the project.