BLUE SPRUCE STANDING DEER

(Pba-Quen-nee-e)

Blue Spruce Standing Deer (Pba-Quen-Nee-e) is a Tiwa Indian artist and Musician, and was born and raised at Taos Pueblo in Northern New Mexico.

Through his painting and music he seeks to express the living essence of his Tiwa people. Although this tradition is very ancient, Standing Deer brings it to life with a highly individual and contemporary style.

He frequently receives the images for his paintings from the Spirit World as he sings and drums. These spirit messages come in through the songs, and then flow out in the vibrant colors of the rainbow which he renders in acrylic on canvas. In recent years, Pba-Quen-Nee-e has been trying his hand at stone sculpture with magical results.

Blue Spruce Standing Deer loves the traditional music of his people and often has drummings at his home for friends and family. At these special gatherings he usually sings with his father from whom he learned the old songs. These gatherings frequently become spontaneous international events with visitors from various parts of the United States and the world.

Although tradition is given great value in his work, Standing Deer is a man who bridges worlds; his traditional Tiwa world, and the modern world. He composes songs that have universal appeal and touch the hearts of people from many backgrounds, and cultures. He is an innovative and imaginative composer of Native music richly imbued with tradition but as universal and as a heartbeat.

Pba-Quen-Nee-e's ancestral home, Taos Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in North America and may be over a thousand years old. It is also a World Heritage Site.

Although Taos Pueblo is the most Northern and Eastern of all the Pueblos and has a long history of contact and trade with Plains Indian tribes, Spanish settler's, and other European newcomers, it has a reputation for maintaining a purity of tradition.

Standing Deer has traveled extensively in Europe and the United States, and is the only Native American invited to do a blessing and drumming within the ancient Neolithic stone circle, Stonehenge, in England.

He has visited Italy twice to do drummings and workshops. In addition to being invited to visit Australia and Japan, he was recently interviewed by aJapanese magazine. In the past he has been featured in numerous publications including Catalyst and Awareness magazines, and has been interviewed on radio.