Clitso Dedman, Navajo Carver: His Art and His World

By Rebecca M. Valette
University of Nebraska Press (2023)
262 pages

Review by Nonabah B. Sam

Being raised by artists and coming from a family of artists always makes for great conversation when discovering something different and beautifully crafted. The intricacy of the fine details in handcrafted artistry becomes a passion as you look over every detail and admire what goes into its creation. With handcrafted dolls, every aspect of how the tools meet the wood, whether it is Navajo folk art or a Hopi katsina, it is an art that is intricate with delicate details that often have stories embedded in them from the time of creation.

Clitso Dedman, the subject of this book, was a Navajo carver or dollmaker who was born in Chinle, Arizona, in 1876, not long after the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo. The author reveals the life and times of Dedman and the remarkable life he led as a Navajo man who earned his education and also participated in many ceremonies, including Night Way ceremonies. He became famous for his dolls that he carved that best represented the Nine Night ceremony.

Dedman’s life is described in detail by the author. Yet in reading through the book, there were some details of the encounters that I did not agree with. The author discusses other artists but recognizes that Dedman’s reputation as an artist diminished after his death in 1953. Most of his collections were received by private collectors of that time. The book is more a retrospective of his work from a non-Native perspective with no respect for the true nature of Navajo culture.

The book’s research was upsetting because cultural sensitivity was never considered. There are some exaggerations, especially when the author addresses ceremonies. In order to capture some of the most important aspects of the particular ceremonies the author discusses, one would have to pay very close attention to a practitioner. The book details “impersonation of the deities” in ceremonies and all the encounters behind the scenes.

I am very concerned with the way this book was written and do not believe that its content would have been shared in the manner that it is presented. Being a curator and one who works closely with traditional collections, it saddens me that people look at our culture as an open book and continue making a mockery of a culture that has endured throughout history.

Nonabah B. Sam, EdD (Diné), is the curator of the Ned Hatathli Museum at Diné College.