Lawrence Jacques is a Navajo Folk artist. It did not start as his career, but an accident made it impossible for him to continue working in construction. He was born in 1965 and quit school before entering high school. He didn’t have many options without education because of his injuries.

His family taught him the traditional ways of the Navajo, and he always had been good at art, so he began painting works related to Navajo ceremonial sand painting. People liked his paintings, and he was enjoying some success when an automobile accident near his home, close to Nageezi Trading Post, killed his mother, sisters, and children.

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In the Diné culture, many people feel it is wrong to recreate sacred images, and his artwork certainly did that. Was that the cause of the accident? While he struggled with that, other artists also pointed out how they depicted Navajo Ceremonial Art. He was assured that the cause of the accident was a drunk driver. It was nothing he had done.

Jacques began to work again and turned his attention to sculpture, carving images out of wood. His images of Yeis (Deities) and Yeibichai (dancers depicting the Yeis) were incredibly detailed. Ultimately, his work earned several top awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market and the Gallup Ceremonial.

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Unlike many Native folk artists, his work was not so much stylized or simple; it was realistic. The detail was outstanding. He also began to carve images of Skinwalkers, evil creatures that Navajo people fear. Jacques knows they exist.

Several Navajo friends have told me these creatures are real; some have seen them. In addition— this has nothing to do with Lawrence Jacques—people other than Navajos have also seen them. In his book, The Owl in Monument Canyon, my father told the story of a man who worked for him and had a hair-raising experience.

I won’t use his name, although he has probably passed. This man was the driver of a Pepsi-Cola truck who worked for my dad’s bottling company. One of his routes was on the Navajo Reservation. He drove back between Newcomb and Shiprock one day after delivering soft drinks to the Two Grey Hills Trading Post. He had just pulled onto the highway when he saw what looked like a coyote with human legs standing beside his truck’s window.

He sped up, and the creature ran alongside him even though, according to the driver, he was doing 60 miles an hour. After a while, it veered off of the side of the road, leaving him shaken.

When he returned to Durango, he told my father he would not deliver that route again, and he didn’t. So, I don’t know what he saw, but he was a huge, rugged cowboy who wasn’t afraid of anything! Navajo friends who heard the story, including a couple who worked for my dad, didn’t think it was strange.

Anyway, that’s a side story. My father’s book is out of print, but one can usually find a used copy on Amazon or Abe’s Books.

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I want to share a piece of Lawrence Jacques’s work that is not a ceremonial figure or a Skinwalker. It is a sculptural portrait of a woman named Molly Toledo. She is an elderly woman wearing traditional clothing, walking with a cane, and decked out in her best turquoise. Look at her eyes and the creases on her face. He has perfectly captured this woman’s persona, and I believe it is one of the best carvings that Jacques has ever done.

 

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The sculpture was owned by Harold Tregent, a collector and dealer from Estes Park who owned the Glen Comfort Store. It was in his private collection. 

Jacques is featured in The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, a wonderful book by Charles and Janice Rosenak.