Rhoda ConchaHopper stays on the Red Road
RHODA CONCHA-HOPPER was born and raised at Taos Pueblo. As a dancer, she traveled the country with the Taos Mountain Shadow Dancers, which included Sonny Spruce and Robert Mirabal at the time. By her late teens, she’d met and fallen in love with Duane Hopper, the cousin of Dennis and David, and she soon moved in with him at the Mabel Dodge House, where they helped caretake the property for Dennis, who had bought it.
They married in 1974, and began to build their own home in Taos Canyon, and had their first daughter Dawn. Another daughter, Daphne soon followed. The couple built up their jewelry business, opening the Buffalo Dancer gallery on Taos Plaza, and then just a few years later, when Rhoda was giving birth to the couple’s third child, their son Dylan, tragedy struck.
Sent into a coma by a careless and negligent anesthesiologist, few thought Concha-Hopper would ever reclaim even a semblance of her former self, but she defied the odds and lived.
A much-traveled artist in her own right, Concha-Hopper has also been known to model for a rare few. Although she and Hopper divorced years ago, they remain close. She is the proud grandmother to three boys and one girl, with another on the way.
Tempo spoke to Rhoda ConchaHopper by phone recently, to get her take on current events.
What is going on?
God is housecleaning so we can restart the new America, home of the free!
How do you feel about your grandkids growing up in this?
I’m just praying that they are going to see a better world. 2021 is going to be a year of renewal, I believe, with the ugly stuff buried and behind us.
Are politics changing anything?
If Native Americans are finally in the White House inner circles, then I think so. This is the change we have been waiting for, and we can look to a brighter future as the New Year comes in.
There’s a lot of information coming at us: alien objects appearing in the Utah desert; aliens in Taos; and just last week an Israeli scientist claimed that aliens are already among us, that a Galactic Federation is collaborating with humans – how do you relate to that?
I saw them a long time ago in my front yard in Taos Canyon, I was woken up by a whirring sound and the lights. I got up and went to the window and saw the most amazing sight.
This incredible thing – both doors were open with small steps to the ground – they must have felt my presence. I saw four of them – very short – calmly go up the steps. The doors closed behind them and it took off into the southwest. It was the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen.
Duane woke up the next morning and said, “Rhoda what were you going on about last night?”
I said, very calmly, “Duane, there was a spaceship here last night.” I felt it was very sacred actually.
Let’s talk about health. You are someone who has done a lot of healing.
Health and body matter – we are all connected and we are all part of Mother Earth. I’ve been pronounced dead twice, and have not only survived but I’ve healed a great deal of the paralysis that struck me. I’ve approached my own healing with both modern medicine and traditional ways. I believe in both, but I will say the medicine work I did with two great Native healers – my Grandpa Ruben Snake of the Hochunk people, and my Grandma Guadalupe who was Huichol – had the most profound effect.
Now I not only live alone, I drive a car, I can get out of the wheelchair and use a walker. I am totally self-sufficient. I’m supposed to be sitting in some convalescent home.
Can you talk a little about the various methods of healing you have used?
Well, I do take one pill a day and feel ok with that, but I eat well and use the Native plants to smudge and clear energy. I love sweetgrass, cedar and, of course, sage for cleansing. I also use crystals which are very powerful conductors of energy, but you need to care for them and clean them. Bathe them in saltwater and put them in the sun. They can be great helpers for us now – protecting us from harmful emissions from radioactivity and also helping our own energy stabilize during this difficult time.
People can use all these tools to cleanse themselves and pray while doing it. It’s a good way to connect with Spirit. We have gotten away from this spiritual connection, but it is all part of holistic healing. Don’t forget to keep your immune system strong with osha root, echinacea and elderberry.
What do you think people need to be aware of at this time?
I hope that we can begin to consider our choices carefully; when leadership is bad, people suffer.
Are you hopeful?
Oh yeah, I’m looking to happier, brighter days come March. Once Biden is sworn in and there’s a woman standing right by his side in a position of power – it’s going to signify massive change and a shift globally, in the right direction. So yes, I’m hopeful, though aware we have a few more bridges to cross first. We’ve come a long way though.
Do you have a message for your people?
I think our outgoing Governor Edwin Concha (no relation) has shown how to lead with dignity and compassion, keeping our people safe as much as he could, he took precautions early on, preventing the catastrophe other tribes experienced. I will always be grateful that we had such great leadership during these difficult times. Not that we were expecting it. He showed real leadership in taking care of his people during COVID. He put his people first.
This was the 50th Anniversary of the Return of Blue Lake and 2020 was supposed to be a year of celebration for Taos Pueblo but instead, everyone found themselves in lockdown. How do you interpret this?
I see 2020 as a big book that was opened to show us just how much evil is present in this world. It’s an eyeopener for all of us to stay awake!
So do you think in retrospect, we will view this year in a more positive light?
Yes, definitely. It brought back an awareness of Spirit as things slowed down. We were moving too fast. This will be seen as the year that changed all that.