(upbeat music) (Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, celebrate Arizona's indigenous cultural heritage with two renowned Navajo silversmiths.

(Alex) It's easier to go to the store, but I rather put in my own effort into it to make sure, to ensure the people that I know, everything's handcrafted.

(Shane) It's a part of our family history and I wanna pass that on and keep that legacy alive.

(Tom) The group Kyklo plays folk songs from the Aegean region.

Kyklo is unique.

You know, it celebrates diversity in a very real way.

And for me, I find that inspiring because I love to discover the world and Kyklo is kind of a window into another place.

(Tom) And meet a young man with autism who has found community through poetry.

(Joshua) Before spelling, life was quite upsetting.

I treasure time when my poetry is heard by other people.

Poetry puts me into the world.

It connects me.

(Tom) Hello and welcome to another all new episode of Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

And we're coming to you from Tucson's Lost Barrio, which is just east of downtown Tucson.

Now it's called The Lost Barrio, but it's more like The Hidden Barrio.

I know I've been in Tucson almost 30 years and this is my first visit here.

But if you know how to find it, you'll discover a handful of unique shops and galleries in these historic warehouses.

Preserving Native American arts and language is important for indigenous cultures in Arizona.

Now Alex Beeshligaii has worked as a Navajo silversmith for more than 30 years, creating beautiful works of jewelry by hand.

Now he hopes to perpetuate his art form by passing along his language and traditions to his children.

[music] Everything that I'm using comes from the earth.

Growing up, that's what we were taught.

I'm a part of the earth.

We go back to the earth.

Everything that we consume, it don't matter what kind of material.

My name is Alex Beeshligaii.

Beeshligaii means silver in Navajo.

Since 93, I've been doing this because the affiliation with my name.

I don't consider myself an artist.

it's more or less like a craftsman.

It's just the process to mold the metal, the rocks, grind them, the shells.

It's a lot of work put into it.

A lot of this I learned from other artisans.

One of my main influences was in high school, and his name was Sherwood Nunkima.

He was an art teacher.

He used to watch me do soldering, cutting designs out of silver, and he used to tell me, "Do this, do this, do this."

And I was like, "Nah."

But I ended up coming back to this.

The stone work, this kind of work.

I learned from a guy named Alan Wallace, who's a Washoe Maidu.

Another guy named Rick Manuel, locally, he's Tohono O'odham.

He does fine overlay.

Those are probably my three major influences.

Of course, I have to give credit to my mother for giving me life and teaching me the songs and prayers that go with that.

(singing in foreign language) Growing up, we came from a family that were taught.

About prayers and when we were giving these prayers and songs, that's what makes us go.

(singing in foreign language) It's a part of what they call a small blessing way.

It's a protection song that they give you.

When you sing that protection song, you sing to it.

You pray to it.

That's going to be beneficial for that individual and that they will wear it with pride.

Well then, almost Well then, it's on this side, huh?

Tap.

At first, it was a way for me to earn a little bit of pocket change as a kid.

But at the same time, it was the only time I had to spend with my dad.

It was the only time I had to learn about my history or my culture.

He's been learning since probably like nine years old.

So he can know where that name came from and how to use these materials as I've taught him.

Growing up, I didn't really have a whole lot of identity.

I felt like I felt really separated.

And so I just wanted a connection in order to deal with, I guess, the duality of being a half-breed is what we call this when we were younger.

But since I was half Navajo and half white, it's the only way to learn about my Native culture.

And that was every summer, every month off I got, I'd come out here and do a little bit of jewelry and I would do it more.

Every couple of turns, you've got to anneal it.

Because if you dont, it separates.

Because the molecules have to come back together.

So there's a little bit of science and whatnot involved what you do with this.

Here, we have to do this by hand when we go through the process to get the thickness that we need.

It's easier to go to the store, but I rather put in my own effort into it to make sure, to ensure the people that I know everything's handcrafted.

That was inspired by my daughter with missing murder indigenous women series She drew, made a design, and so we incorporated that.

And then the other pieces were bolo ties that were sandcast and they're those were the basket series like a Apache basket and Navajo basket and those are just reflecting the baskets that we see for Navajo wedding basket ceremonies and then the Apache basket used for utilitarian purposes.

I think that each time I work with my kids, they do something, I work with them, they work with me.

And whatever piece goes that we work together those are very meaningful to me.

Without his knowledge, I wouldn't be able to create some of the pieces that I've over the years.

It's helped me everything from soldering techniques, different ways of forming metals.

He's given me a ton of information that I probably wouldn't have learned through a classroom setting, but probably would have had to have developed like he did over a long time.

It's a part of our family history and I want to pass that on, keep that legacy alive.

It's like a spiritual journey to me.

That's embedded in here.

Also, my background's embedded in here.

No matter who wears it, who buys it, still has my DNA, my son's DNA.

So in that sense, it's a part of us.

It's always gonna be part of us.

(Tom) Be sure to watch for upcoming episodes of Arizona Illustrated, where we'll be celebrating the cultural impact that Indigenous communities have had on our state in tandem with the national PBS series, "Native America."

Season two of the groundbreaking Native directed show reveals the beauty and power of today's indigenous world.

"Native America" airs Tuesday nights at nine on PBS six from October 24th to November 14th.

And you can stream it on the PBS app.

Kyklo means "cycle" in Greek, but here in Tucson it's the name of a band that plays otherworldly, mystical music.

They explore songs from the Aegean region, Bulgarian, Greek, and Turkish music.

And sometimes Kyklo's music is so alluring it inspires the audience to get up and follow in the steps of an old folk dance.

[ Tambura playing Balkan music ] [ Flute begins ] [ Singing Balkan music ] (Paul) A good friend I grew up with is a poet.

I said, how did you choose to be a poet?

And he just said, I can't not do it.

And I feel exactly the same way about music.

I just can't not do it.

And the most amazing things about being a human being is having music.

I come from a very sort of normal American, if that's possible, sort of WASP background.

And so I learned piano and flute and all of those things.

I'm from Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is interesting country with communism for many years.

My dad was a musician and he played weddings.

So being a musician was a little bit getting away from the communist regimes and getting his own ways.

And coming here to the States, My dream is to really meet somebody, play music.

And I'm really glad I met Paul.

[ Balkan music, singing ] “Let's try it with a chorus ” It wasn't until I started to teach English as a second language.

I realized that there are a lot of world musics out there, and usually they were dismissed because Americans didn't understand them.

They were relegated to sort of, oh, isn't that cute or quaint?

[ Singing Turkish music ] (Corky) Years and years ago, before Kyklo existed.

Paul took me to a Balkan band concert in a rug store in the Lost Barrio, and I had no idea what was going on.

And we went there and he just said, you have to hear this music.

It's really incredible music.

And I just got taken with that music.

And then Paul started Kyklo with Anton started playing and that was, I don't know, seven, eight years ago, nine years ago.

(Paul) Nobody can pronounce the name of our band.

We had to choose a name fast.

I remember that for like, Tucson Meet Yourself.

It means circle in Greek.

“Red looks more Bulgarian.

Right?

” “And this is kind of too Greek.

This is too... ” (Anton) Sometimes lately we've been influenced by ancient music too.

But the Balkan music is great for me because it brings me home.

[ Greek music playing ] (Amy) We have a nice expanse and expression of Latin music in this community, in some other places of the world.

But this sort of really specialized area of Eastern Europe and southern Mediterranean music is very special and very unique.

And it really comes from their lived, true lived experiences.

And that's what I think is so beautiful about their music.

[ Playing, singing Greek music ] (Alma) I do like to listen to it because it's just really beautiful music.

It just makes me feel joy inside.

[ Balkan music ] (Anton) The guitar was my main instrument.

My dad was a guitarist.

[ Music continues ] Once I left the country, I got very into the folk traditional music, so I build my own tambura actually here, and that's a Bulgarian, kind of like a little guitar.

[ Tambura fades into Bulgarian music ] (Anton) I always like bagpipes, a very special instrument.

[ Bagpipe and drum ] (Anton) It's made out of a whole goat.

Basically, it's the whole skin, inside out.

(Anton) I always wanted to learn the mountain bagpipes, they're bigger, so I was able to get a set and I've been practicing playing the bagpipes as well.

(Paul) And you play very well.

I mean, when you go back to Bulgaria, you play in ensembles.

(Anton) Well, I play I had, I had a group there.

now I play sometimes with different people.

groups and we play in festivals.

Definitely.

My main instrument is the Gothic harp.

[ Harp playing ] (Paul) So I've been doing that for many years.

I mostly play woodwinds.

I started on the silver flute like most people that then got into the Irish flute.

That changed with the Turkish Ney, which is in blown, and then the Kaval.

for Bulgarian music and then the Shakuhachi.

I also play a Chinese instrument called the Guqin, which is a very ancient zither.

[ Greek music plays ] (Starr) I love it because it kind of transports you.

I go to support my friend Paul, who plays in the band, and I've been watching them play for a few years.

I love that about Tucson.

You can experience different cultures...here.

(Ryan) Kyklo's unique.

You know, it celebrates diversity in a very real way, and for me I find that inspiring because I love to discover the world.

And Kyklo is kind of a window into another place.

[ Turkish music plays (Paul) A traditional musician is not somebody who's just doing something from before.

It's somebody who is approaching the music with certain sort of sensibilities.

So you'll have a lot of new traditional folk music, new traditional bluegrass, new traditional Irish.

It's fine as long as it's kind of continuing whatever that something is that marks that tradition.

(Anton) When we play, sometimes there's this moment of improvization.

So in the middle of the songs and I could feel what Paul is feeling.

He gets really somewhere in some Turkish village.

Yeah!

[ Turkish music continues (Paul) Trying to really understand what these different human groups were doing with music and how beautiful it was.

But to my original ears when I first heard it, it didn't work for me.

It sounded noisy.

It sounded like it wasn't supposed to sound.

And so for me, it's been very transformative, not just listening to records and reading about it, but to actually participate, to go, to learn the instruments from people, from teachers in those countries, and to continue to participate with a lot of respect.

[ Turkish music slowly ends ] [Applause] (Paul) “Thank you ” (Tom) Next, we meet 21-year-old Joshua Greiner.

Now, he is autistic and he's been using spelling methods to communicate ever since he was 13 years old.

Prior to using those sometimes controversial methods, Joshua couldn't communicate.

But now he's even writing poetry, and this has given him a sense of independence, community, and newfound hope for his future.

(Amy) All right, let's get that leg down.

We got A, C. (Narrator) This is Joshua Greiner.

He's 21 years old, autistic, and non-speaking.

It wasn't until he was 13 years old that he started using spelling methods to communicate, where he points to letters on a letter board or a typing device.

Prior to that, he had no viable way to communicate.

For this story, I asked Joshua what his preferred voice is, and he said his automated voice, although he prefers the letter board because it's less laborious.

And because it takes a long time for Joshua to construct sentences, I left him with questions to answer in his own time.

(Joshua) Accuracy.

Requires as too much accuracy.

(Amy) I really thought when he first was able to communicate that it'd be a lot of, "Oh, I love you, Mom," and, "Thank you, Mom."

But he has lots of other things to say, too.

M. S. Momma.

(Amy) It's doing the auto-correct, and so that's why it got screwed up.

Especially at the beginning, it was a lot of hard things to hear.

Him being bullied in school or just his frustration of being in the body and going through so many years of trauma.

Nobody, not even me, understanding.

You just think about the level of frustration that would build up, you know, year after years.

All right, you want to use the letter board or you want to use the keyboard?

It used to be just a total guessing game of, you know, if he's screaming or if he seems to be clearly in distress.

Is it a physical thing?

Is he hungry?

Is he thirsty?

Is he not happy about something?

You're just totally judging the outside body and trying to, you know, figure out what it is.

(Joshua) I started spelling with rapid prompting method when I was 13.

I loved it, but I felt I needed physical support to feel my body in space.

(Narrator) Joshua also has apraxia, which is the loss of ability to execute or carry out skilled movements and gestures, despite having the physical ability and desire to perform them.

It results from the dysfunction of the cerebral hemispheres of your brain, which is involved with movement, coordination, and processing sensations such as taste, hearing, and touch.

(Katie) Really stripping things back down to a motor basic level is really helpful in communication with apraxic bodies because of that disconnect.

So that's why you'll hear like some different verbal commands of putting your feet to the ground or just giving the mind extra input to connect with the body and coordinate those movements and patterns.

(Amy) Use those abs.

(Katie) With the spelling, that pushback is giving the body proprioception feedback so it knows where it's at in space.

(Joshua) Before spelling, life was quite upsetting.

People thought wrongly that I was without intelligence, without emotions.

I was treated like I didn't understand anything by everyone, even my favorite person.

My mom.

I tried everything to reach her.

Not having a voice is terrifying.

I used to try to use toys that talk.

Mom thought it was a coincidence.

Picture exchange cards was impossible.

It worked for requests only.

Sign language was too hard for my apraxic body.

The communication device was too slow and too difficult to remember pathways.

I also use YouTube videos to tell people the things I want or feel.

I've done that for many years and my mom finally understood.

(Amy) It was hopeless.

It's alright.

It's alright.

You're good.

You're good.

When he was 18, we saw someone at a conference where someone was pushing back on their arm.

So we tried it and that really opened up so much for him and I just push against his arm.

I'm not leading his arm to anything.

I'm pushing against it so he can feel where his body is in space.

It's sad even once when we had started when he was 13 and he wasn't able to really demonstrate too much of what he was able to do.

But the schools were definitely not open to it at all.

So we homeschooled the last seven or eight years, bringing him up to speed on all the academics that he missed out on.

(Narrator) Spelling methods are viewed by some as controversial because they say that facilitator bias cannot be ruled out.

And because of this, schools have yet to accept it as a legitimate form of communication.

(Amy) It just all points back to presuming competence and believing there's a real person in there that has just the same feelings and thoughts as you do and being open to it and engaging with them.

If you think this is BS, come to our house and talk with us.

We'd be happy to talk with you.

B. Alright, correct.

There are common factors that influence physical, mental and emotional health.

(Amy) He had reflux, which we didn't realize, but he was able to explain the symptoms of it.

And he had, you know, still struggles with depression, but it's something that we can talk about now because just judging from the outside, you would have no way of knowing.

Like we used to go places, we'd go to the park and he would just start screaming and we would think, okay, he really hates this.

See, we shouldn't have come here.

Let's go home.

And now we know when he's screaming or he seems upset, it's really that he's really excited about something or he's feeling proud about something.

And so being able to ask is just, you know, night and day.

Now he writes his poetry, which is just like another avenue into the world.

And it's brought so many new people into our lives.

(Tyler) Let me ask the library staff about it.

(Tyler) And this is Joshua's poem.

And this is called "Monument to my Life."

Tree like living mountain.

Monument to my life.

Living with my ancestors.

Looking over all of us.

Pews in the sand getting light.

Filtered pure light.

Sounds regal, pretty for me.

Restful tree topping our real true light.

Earned by struggles.

Pews in the sand listen into the trees with love.

July day I hope to escape your heat in my church.

Such a beautiful poem.

(Joshua) I treasure time when my poetry is heard by other people.

Poetry puts me into the world.

It connects me.

I will love to try teaching autistics.

Will help to heal their pain from being stuck in a body that is under its own power to free their voices.

I love you.

B-U-D-D-Y.

I love you, buddy.

(Amy) Unfortunately, autistic people, they're just solely judged on the outside of their body.

They don't have a chance to explain their story.

It's just assumed that it's because they don't understand.

They don't have empathy.

That's why their bodies might lash out.

(Raye) This next poem is one that had a really big impact on me.

The intro to this is a little description to all the poems about Johnua.

The Johnua is a name I give to my wild, uncontrollable body.

We're the two sides.

Joshua on the inside.

Johnua is the outside.

It is to help other people understand that I'm in here.

Johnua hits, but I love.

Johnua scratches, shouts, screams.

He's not me.

He loves no one.

He just hurts everyone.

Upsetting, using my body to hurt.

Johnua sucks.

Greedily wrecking everything.

Johnua knows how to make my body move better than I do.

(Joshua) People with autism, they deserve to be given the kindness of people just like everyone else.

It is important to remember that we are intelligent and we understand everything.

I look to my future purely with excitement.

To independently live.

(Tom) Before we go, here's a sneak peek at a few stories we're working on.

(Barbara) Everything has a story on the loom.

They have a sky beam.

The earth beam.

The night and the day.

Where the fog comes in.

Where it's a very fertile ground.

That's where the thoughts of your pattern comes from.

(Lex) Usually I just work from memory.

Flowers are just a circle with some more shapes sticking to it.

So for me it's like I just want to get lost in that.

I start with a bit of inspiration and then I quickly let that go.

When I'm making decisions and making choices in the moment, I just tell myself I can do whatever I want.

And doing whatever I want is what keeps me moving forward on a piece.

(Tom) Thank you for joining us from here in The Lost Barrio.

Time for us to get lost.

I'm Tom McNamara.

We'll see you next week for another all new episode of Arizona Illustrated.