thedrifter
11-18-08, 08:42 AM
Artist's vision leads him to sobriety
by Beth Duckett - Nov. 18, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
SCOTTSDALE - Jesse Monongya had a vision when he was drunk.
The vision was of his 20-year-old daughter, Stephanie, who had died in a car accident in Scottsdale.
She told him to find a purpose. She told him not to die.
Monongya listened.
A successful Navajo jeweler from Scottsdale, Monongya turned the tables on his alcoholism. That was in 2006.
Now, he counsels other Valley alcoholics.
Forty years ago, Monongya catapulted to fame with his sought-after bear necklaces. The coveted creations often feature turquoise, coral and other gemstones set in silver or gold. Many cost upwards of $80,000.
"I make two to three a year," Monongya said. "The big collectors pay lots of money just to get their hands on one."
Abandoned as an infant, Monongya was raised by his grandmother on New Mexico's Navajo Reservation. He attended boarding school and, during the summer, fought fires to pay for his family's clothes.
After graduation, Monongya joined the Marines and served in Vietnam.
Upon returning to the U.S., he started to drink.
He also met his father, Preston Monongya, legendary jeweler who transformed the face of Indian art.
"Because of him, it really became an art instead of being identified with different tribes," Monongya said. "He was the patriarch of Indian jewelry."
For Monongya, fame had its price.
"Once I got famous, the drinking was free," Monongya said.
Then, in 2002, Monongya's daughter was run off the freeway by a drunken driver.
Her truck fell into a culvert off Loop 101, where her body and the bodies of two passengers lay undiscovered for five hours.
The other driver, a 22-year-old Scottsdale man, was reported to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.172 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Four years later, Monongya had the vision of his daughter, and he called a family member for help. At the emergency room, doctors told him he was sick but would survive.
The saying "Only a snake can heal another snake" is the mantra by which he counsels hundreds of recovering alcoholics in the Valley.
Ellie
by Beth Duckett - Nov. 18, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
SCOTTSDALE - Jesse Monongya had a vision when he was drunk.
The vision was of his 20-year-old daughter, Stephanie, who had died in a car accident in Scottsdale.
She told him to find a purpose. She told him not to die.
Monongya listened.
A successful Navajo jeweler from Scottsdale, Monongya turned the tables on his alcoholism. That was in 2006.
Now, he counsels other Valley alcoholics.
Forty years ago, Monongya catapulted to fame with his sought-after bear necklaces. The coveted creations often feature turquoise, coral and other gemstones set in silver or gold. Many cost upwards of $80,000.
"I make two to three a year," Monongya said. "The big collectors pay lots of money just to get their hands on one."
Abandoned as an infant, Monongya was raised by his grandmother on New Mexico's Navajo Reservation. He attended boarding school and, during the summer, fought fires to pay for his family's clothes.
After graduation, Monongya joined the Marines and served in Vietnam.
Upon returning to the U.S., he started to drink.
He also met his father, Preston Monongya, legendary jeweler who transformed the face of Indian art.
"Because of him, it really became an art instead of being identified with different tribes," Monongya said. "He was the patriarch of Indian jewelry."
For Monongya, fame had its price.
"Once I got famous, the drinking was free," Monongya said.
Then, in 2002, Monongya's daughter was run off the freeway by a drunken driver.
Her truck fell into a culvert off Loop 101, where her body and the bodies of two passengers lay undiscovered for five hours.
The other driver, a 22-year-old Scottsdale man, was reported to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.172 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Four years later, Monongya had the vision of his daughter, and he called a family member for help. At the emergency room, doctors told him he was sick but would survive.
The saying "Only a snake can heal another snake" is the mantra by which he counsels hundreds of recovering alcoholics in the Valley.
Ellie