You can't come to "Indian country" without seeing Kokopelli's image in silver, in a sandpainting or even emblazoned on a doormat or bed linens. There is no question that something about Kokopelli appeals to people. Kokopelli seems to be a jaunty and spirited figure as he seems to dance while playing his flute. He is a fertility deity for many tribes out here, passed down from the ancestral puebloan (anasazi). Stories of Kokopelli coming to villages and taking companions resulting in children being born are really pretty common. He is the hope of the barren and something that young girls should probably avoid for at least a little bit. One of the first things that I bought out here was a silver Kokopelli pendant that I wore every day. Sure enough, I was pregnant with my daughter soon after despite fertility issues on both sides. My husband and I both joke that Kokopelli definitely had a hand in our daughter's conception, lol.

We went to Mesa Verde this weekend and--no great surprise--Kokopelli, the "Anasazi" deity, was everywhere. What was shocking, however, was that he wasn't just in the linens, sandpaintings and jewelry. Kokopelli was a vibrantly colored stuffed toy. He was a copper cookie cutter. Kokopelli was duplicated and made into kind of idealized ant like figures, dressed like hip young boys and emblazoned on tshirts. Cute, definitely funky but vaguely appalling. Kokopelli, this beloved fertility deity, had been utterly commercialized into a hip Native deity for the world of tourists.

Now, I have to admit...I bought the copper Kokopelli cookie cutter. The idea of making jaunty little sugar cookies and decorating them in colorful icing zig zags just seemed like too much fun to pass up. And the Kokopelli stuffed toy? Well, my daughter absolutely adores him and hasn't let go of him for the past 24 hours--dancing him around and making little flute sounds. I asked my husband as we drove home last night whether or not it was appropriate for her to have this Kokopelli doll. He replied that it was okay. The Navajo honor women for their ability to bear children and in a 3 year old girl, it's an acknowledged fact that she will someday grow up to have children of her own. However, what does one make of it all? What have we done to Kokopelli?

I honestly don't think I would've been shocked by all the modern versions of Kokopelli, geared to appeal to visiting tourists, if I hadn't been living out here. Even now, I had to get that copper cookie cutter that my mother-in-law giggled about when I showed her. Is making Kokopelli a commercial native icon a good idea though? Is it disrespectful? Kokopelli would probably love it, but these images of him are less reminscent of a deity and more like a trendy ad concept loosely based on a native deity.

Stephanie

In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson