Don Phelps

At ten years old, after believing I was a Native American, I found out playing with Native children didn’t make me a real Native American. I started collecting Indian art instead. I sold my baseball card collection to a neighbor for $10 and went to the Kachina Store in Lake Tahoe (The Old Miners Cabin, Tahoe City). I extensively researched one kachina and I found out who the Hopi people were, where they had lived, and what their kachina culture was.

Within twenty years, this one kachina led to a collection of over one hundred Native American items from rare artifacts to tourist items. Yes, I was hooked as a collector. I attended every Native American Art show I could within fifty miles of Concord, CA: UC Davis Pow Wow, Monterey Indian Art Show, and UC Davis Indian Art Show—all now vanished.

Another one hundred items later and I was ready to sell some Treasures. There was an Indian Art Show coming to the Alameda Country Fair Grounds in Pleasanton Ca, being put on by the Traders Guild. Upon inquiring about the date, time, and admission fee, the promoter and I began talking about our mutual interest in Native American art and culture. He asked me why I hadn’t rented a booth to sell my overstock. That interchange made me realize this is something I wanted to do.

During the first day of my show, I wondered how I had gone from a buyer, to a collector, to a dealer? And, most importantly, did I really want to sell some of my collection? The second day of the show I sold my first Kachina that I purchased at ten years old for $175, and I was bitten by the dealer bug. As a dealer I successfully attended many fine shows for the next ten years and met many fine people. Promoters who were role models to me included Kim Martindale, Dick and Paula Plum and Merlin Carlson. As the years passed many shows folded; people blamed it on E-Bay and the lack of interest by the younger generations.

At this point I was getting ready to retire and decided to rent a small space at the Alamo California Women’s Club to promote a Native American Art Show. The show became a great success and lasted for three years. We then had run out of dealer space and the building was not large enough for all the customers who came to visit.
Upon my official retirement from my teaching career at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, I started looking for a bigger venue. After soul searching for months and gathering information from the pros, I decided to move the Alamo show to Pleasanton and reintroduce Native art to the area. I picked the end of September as our annual date because it did not conflict with other shows. I chose the name of Todos Santos Trading Post as the company name and titled the show The Great Native American Artifact and Art Show.

Our first year was successful but a larger building was more challenging. The second year, having met our challenges, we doubled our attendance and had great reviews from the public.

I created a web page for the benefit of our dealers and customers and went to work on year three. With all the updates and hard work I can now say with pride: Todos Santos Trading Post celebrates the 3rd annual Great Native American Art and Artifact Show.

This successful marketplace features the finest examples of contemporary and antique Native American Art. It also includes an array of rare and antique artifacts. We are proud to showcase many of the nations Native American artists. To name a few:

Debbie Martinez-Rambeau from Earth to Hand —- Gourd Art Vessels and Quilts
Betty Fuller from Greyday Child —- Navajo Sterling Silver Jewelry
Bud Gonzales from Two Bears —- Zuni Fetishes
Tony Mitchell from O’Teo’s Creations —- Contemporary Silver Jewelry
Enrique de los Angeles from Alma Z —- Hand woven Textiles and Rugs
Barbara Murphy from Sundance —- Baskets and Beadwork

Along with these fine Native artists there will be collectors selling and displaying their wares from various areas around the United States. Fine collections of Hopi Kachinas, North West Coast totem poles, period Pueblo Pottery, pawn jewelry and many rare artifacts will be available for sale.

I guess I am now the promoter I always wanted to become! Please come and join us.

This event takes place at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA, on September 27th and 28th, 2014 from 10:00 to 4:00 daily. Admission is $8.00 for adults, $6.00 for seniors and children are free. Looking forward to seeing you at this exciting, informative tri-valley event. For further information please contact Don Phelps at Web page: pleasantonindianartshow.com or contact Don Phelps at phelpststp@gmail.com.

The year was 1951. I was at dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousins at their home in Tahoe City. My uncle would always ask questions at dinner and each person around the table got to answer. That night he asked, “When you grow up what would you really want to be?” As a shy eight year old, I waited my turn and then said, “I want to be a leader in our tribe.” There was a silence for what seemed a long period of time. Then my aunt asked, “What tribe?” “The Paiute peoples,” I responded. There was another long period of silence, then she said, “Donnie, you are not an Indian.”

I played with local Indians. My aunt was an historian for the local Native Daughters of the Golden West. I had visited the settlements of the tribe and interviewed them with my aunt for the California local history record—I even learned some of the language. Could this be true? I was hurt, confused and upset. My uncle then gently said, “Your aunt is correct; you are Welch and Italian, not a Paiute.

Two weeks before that fateful dinner I had sold my baseball card collection to my cousin, who would grow up to be in the minor leagues. With the purchase of a Kachina doll (Hopi) at a local trading post, my collection began.

As the years moved on and I accepted my fate as a white man, I became an avid collector of native art. I became a 5th grade teacher and used my collection for class demonstrations. I won an award for teaching Native American history from The Daughters of the American Revolution and another from my school district. Each month my collection grew and my knowledge of the true struggles of the native people grew.

When I retired from teaching I decided to take part in a local Native American Show and Sale at the Pleasanton fair grounds; this was in 1993. I became hooked on doing native art shows and Pow Wows. Here I could meet the artists, learn about art forms from pottery making to basket weaving, and sell some of my collection for a little extra cash.

In 2006, the Danville museum asked if they could visit my collection to discern the quality and authenticity of my pieces. They ended up asking me to loan them items for their Native American History display. To this day, I still help and provide artifacts for that great yearly exhibit.

In 2007 I came up with the idea of holding a local Art and Artifact show to help Native Americans have a venue for selling and demonstrating their wears. The event was held each May at the Alamo Women’s Club and became a great success. Then problems arose when the show outgrew the facility; I had to turn artists away. This defeated the purpose of helping to get their art shown and sold.

In 2012 I took a big step and moved the date of the Great Native American Art and Artifact Show to September and rented a building at the Alameda County Fair Grounds in Pleasanton. It was an immediate success and allowed many more dealers and traders to participate.

My dream of being part of the native art world, if not an actual Native American, motivates me to help Native artists and continue to learn more about their culture.

This years’ Native American art and artifact show will be held September 28-29 at the Alameda County Fair Grounds. The show will feature some famous native artists and traders: Bud and Paula Gonzales, selling Zuni fetishes; Barbara Murphy, representing Northern California Tribes with baskets, and Debbie Martinez-Rambeau, making and selling gourds and quilts. Debbie’s work is also featured at the Gene Autry museum in Los Angeles.

This show is a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys the native culture and art.

Don Phelps

Teacher, Collector, Dealer & Promoter

I Thought I was An “Indian”