People, Places and Things: Sundance Gallery

She remembers vividly that it was as if a light had gone on.  Forty years ago, Janet Smith-Peterson, then a high school student, was driving with a friend to visit her brother in Arizona.

“It was my first trip to the southwest, and I felt an immediate connection to the place and the people. It was life changing,” she said.  “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do but I made the decision then that I wanted to work with Native American people.” 

True to her decision, Smith-Peterson has owned and operated galleries specializing in Native American jewelry for 27 years.  

In October 2010, Smith-Peterson opened Sundance Gallery in downtown Downers Grove. The shop carries hand-crafted Native American jewelry, pottery, sculptures and blankets. Smith-Peterson said that she makes approximately five buying trips each year, visiting Native American artists in the southwest. She is most proud, she said, of the strong relationships she has established with the Native American community, and how she’s often welcomed as part of a family of a culture she respects tremendously.

Smith-Peterson said that what she loves most about the Native American culture is how it embraces a belief system that she values.  

“I’m drawn to it because their belief system is how I think we should be. They care about their families, they care about the earth,” she said. "The way they honor their history and their land, in much the same way as they make jewelry. It’s about creating something for future generations. I see them blending all of the things I feel are important.”

Smith-Peterson said that she has created and nurtured Sundance Gallery as a place for the Native American people to “have a voice; both literally and figuratively.  They express themselves through their art; and then some of the artists will come to the gallery and meet people and talk about their art, to try to invoke in people some kind of response. To get people engaged in the idea that this is part of our history. An important part of our history,” she said.

Smith-Peterson said her objective is to support people who are in turn supporting their families by creating jewelry.

“It’s a tough time for artists in their community, and I’m committed to this. I keep our prices low so that it turns and it keeps circulating,” she said.

The general popularity of Native American design ebbs and flows Smith-Peterson said, but there’s a core group of enthusiasts who remain consistently loyal.

“There are people that want nothing but Native American jewelry. People who don’t want to wear gold or diamonds or costume jewelry. They want nothing but Native,” she said. 

There are only a couple of other Chicagoland galleries specializing in authentic Native American jewelry. Smith-Peterson stressed that the Native American jewelry of today is “not your grandpa’s jewelry. People walk in off the street who would say they’re not really into Native American jewelry because they don’t like big chunks of turquoise. They are surprised when they see that we have simple, gorgeous jewelry.”

In addition to supporting the Native American community by promoting and selling their work, Smith-Peterson commits a great deal of time and energy into related volunteer work. She works with Red Feather Development Group, helping to build homes and buildings for impoverished Native Americans. She also sits on their board of directors. Smith-Peterson is a lecturer about Native American art, as well as about contemporary issues that this population faces.  She helped to start the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Aurora University, is on the Native American Educational Committee at College of DuPage, and is a past board member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association. She also works with Santa Fe’s Native American Art Market.

Smith-Peterson said that the success of her gallery has little to do with her. 

“Energy is a big part of it. The jewelry is imbued with the spirit of the artist that makes it; and they have the spirit of the past generations within them,” she said.