Hi, I’m Jeff Barton. My connection to Zuni fetishes began in 1996, when I built the very first website for Indian Summer Native American Art, a respected gallery based in Salt Lake City, Utah. I didn’t know it then, but that project lit a spark that’s still burning nearly thirty years later.
Over the years, I’ve worked alongside Jill and Wes Holmes, who come from a fourth-generation family of Native art dealers with roots that trace back to Santa Fe in the 1920s. Together we learned the ropes of bringing authentic Native American art online, back when the web was still brand new. Through that work, I got to know the carvers, the traders, and the stories behind each piece. Every fetish has its own kind of spirit and purpose — and that’s what hooked me from the start.
Today, through Zuni Fetish Market, I curate and feature Zuni fetishes directly from Indian Summer’s inventory — a collection I’ve helped showcase for decades. This site isn’t about new buying or direct sourcing; it’s about helping more people discover and enjoy the genuine carvings that have been part of Indian Summer’s long-standing relationships with Pueblo artists.
Whether this is your first Zuni carving or your fiftieth, my hope is you find one that speaks to you the way my first bear did all those years ago.
Thanks for stopping by, and for supporting real Native art and the artists who make it.
– Jeff Barton
Founder, Zuni Fetish Market