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Bernadette Track
Indigenous American: Tiwa
Indigenous American: Tiwa, b. 1947
Bernadette Track
We go by the earth and the stars. That is what dictates our lives and our ceremonies on the Pueblo. There are times when I have to leave my work at the university. Sometimes it’s difficult to straddle both worlds, but it is important.
Bernadette Track learned the traditional ways of pottery along with her first language, Tiwa, in early childhood. After high school, combining her deep love for the arts and strong connection to her Native roots, she attended and graduated from the Institute of American Indian Art. Bernie went on to attend the Connecticut College Summer School of Dance. She was catapulted to Juilliard the following year. There, in a special program with innovator José Limón, she studied modern dance and theater. In 1972, following her training in the dramatic arts at Juilliard, Bernie became a founding member of the Native American Theater Ensemble (NATE). The young Kiowa playwright Hanay Geiogamah helped create this first Native theater company. He was assisted by Ellen Stewart, considered “that great lady of New York theater,” who originated and directed the La Ma Ma Experimental Theater Club. Bernadette was one of sixteen Native actors chosen from the 200 hopefuls who auditioned for Hanay Geiogamah. She toured with NATE and performed off Broadway plays at La Ma Ma.
Longing for her Pueblo Indian traditions and culture, Bernie returned to Taos. She elected to live in the traditional part of the pueblo that has no electricity and only river water. She worked as a Vista Volunteer at Taos Pueblo Day School, modeled for Navajo artist R.C. Gorman, and formed a children's theater. It started when she saw Taos Pueblo children perform Laguna Pueblo tales written by Leslie Marmon Silko in 1986. Bernie and her sister, Soge, felt that the children should be working with Taos Pueblo material, and so the idea for the Taos Pueblo Children's Theater was born. In May 1987 SOMOS (Society of the Muse of the Southwest, the Taos resource center that supports and nurtures the literary arts) got funding for the Taos Pueblo Children's Theater's inaugural performance at the Taos Pueblo Day School. That summer and the following year the Children's Theater played in various locations in Taos, including schools and the Millicent Rogers Museum, and toured to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, playing at schools, the Wheelwright Museum and the New Mexico State Fair. Bernie returned to the stage to perform for DAYSTAR/Rosalie Jones’ Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian America in 1995, and served as a theater consultant for summer workshops conducted in Jemez, New Mexico, by the Art Ranch in 2006 and 2007.
All the while, Bernie was embracing her native roots and incorporating them into her art. Although her training centered on theatre and dance, the pull of the clay was strong. Inspired by her friend, local potter Mary Witkop, Bernie fell in love with the clay which has been her enduring art expression since then. Her micaceous pots follow the tradition of Taos Pueblo, but are infused with Bernie’s own personal style. Some of her large vessels incorporate Taos Pueblo forms and designs, others are simple and unadorned. In some Native theater performances Bernie and other actors wore masks. Besides use as theatrical devices, indigenous cultures throughout the world have used masks for ritual use and storytelling since time immemorial. Both of the influences inspired Bernie to incorporate the mask motif as one of her most powerful creative statements. Ever pursuing new avenues with clay, her pottery imparts a lesson in persistent striving, curiosity and artistic devotion. Bernie has shared her knowledge by teaching micaceous clay classes at the University of New Mexico-Taos and privately. As one of Taos Pueblo’s master potters, her work is in the collection of the Albuquerque Museum and numerous private collections. She is represented by Bryans Gallery in Taos. And still, amidst all of her activities, Bernie continues to promulgate traditional life at Taos Pueblo.
A model in her own right, Bernadette Track posed for renowned Navajo artist R.C. Gorman as a teenager.
Daughter of Geronima Suazo Track – Geri Track.
Indigenous American: Tiwa
Indigenous American: Tiwa, b. 1947
Bernadette Track
We go by the earth and the stars. That is what dictates our lives and our ceremonies on the Pueblo. There are times when I have to leave my work at the university. Sometimes it’s difficult to straddle both worlds, but it is important.
Bernadette Track learned the traditional ways of pottery along with her first language, Tiwa, in early childhood. After high school, combining her deep love for the arts and strong connection to her Native roots, she attended and graduated from the Institute of American Indian Art. Bernie went on to attend the Connecticut College Summer School of Dance. She was catapulted to Juilliard the following year. There, in a special program with innovator José Limón, she studied modern dance and theater. In 1972, following her training in the dramatic arts at Juilliard, Bernie became a founding member of the Native American Theater Ensemble (NATE). The young Kiowa playwright Hanay Geiogamah helped create this first Native theater company. He was assisted by Ellen Stewart, considered “that great lady of New York theater,” who originated and directed the La Ma Ma Experimental Theater Club. Bernadette was one of sixteen Native actors chosen from the 200 hopefuls who auditioned for Hanay Geiogamah. She toured with NATE and performed off Broadway plays at La Ma Ma.
Longing for her Pueblo Indian traditions and culture, Bernie returned to Taos. She elected to live in the traditional part of the pueblo that has no electricity and only river water. She worked as a Vista Volunteer at Taos Pueblo Day School, modeled for Navajo artist R.C. Gorman, and formed a children's theater. It started when she saw Taos Pueblo children perform Laguna Pueblo tales written by Leslie Marmon Silko in 1986. Bernie and her sister, Soge, felt that the children should be working with Taos Pueblo material, and so the idea for the Taos Pueblo Children's Theater was born. In May 1987 SOMOS (Society of the Muse of the Southwest, the Taos resource center that supports and nurtures the literary arts) got funding for the Taos Pueblo Children's Theater's inaugural performance at the Taos Pueblo Day School. That summer and the following year the Children's Theater played in various locations in Taos, including schools and the Millicent Rogers Museum, and toured to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, playing at schools, the Wheelwright Museum and the New Mexico State Fair. Bernie returned to the stage to perform for DAYSTAR/Rosalie Jones’ Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian America in 1995, and served as a theater consultant for summer workshops conducted in Jemez, New Mexico, by the Art Ranch in 2006 and 2007.
All the while, Bernie was embracing her native roots and incorporating them into her art. Although her training centered on theatre and dance, the pull of the clay was strong. Inspired by her friend, local potter Mary Witkop, Bernie fell in love with the clay which has been her enduring art expression since then. Her micaceous pots follow the tradition of Taos Pueblo, but are infused with Bernie’s own personal style. Some of her large vessels incorporate Taos Pueblo forms and designs, others are simple and unadorned. In some Native theater performances Bernie and other actors wore masks. Besides use as theatrical devices, indigenous cultures throughout the world have used masks for ritual use and storytelling since time immemorial. Both of the influences inspired Bernie to incorporate the mask motif as one of her most powerful creative statements. Ever pursuing new avenues with clay, her pottery imparts a lesson in persistent striving, curiosity and artistic devotion. Bernie has shared her knowledge by teaching micaceous clay classes at the University of New Mexico-Taos and privately. As one of Taos Pueblo’s master potters, her work is in the collection of the Albuquerque Museum and numerous private collections. She is represented by Bryans Gallery in Taos. And still, amidst all of her activities, Bernie continues to promulgate traditional life at Taos Pueblo.
A model in her own right, Bernadette Track posed for renowned Navajo artist R.C. Gorman as a teenager.
Daughter of Geronima Suazo Track – Geri Track.
Artist Objects
Bowl 1992.134