About Us

 

We welcome you to our Circle of Friends at Gathering Tribes!

Gathering Tribes first opened as a gallery store featuring Indigenous arts, fine crafts, and jewelry in the San Francisco East Bay in 1991.  Pennie Opal Plant, an Indigenous woman of Yaqui, undocumented Choctaw and Cherokee descent, and European ancestry has always been the owner.  During the first three years, the offerings were humble, but over many years the gallery has offered art and jewelry by award-winning artisans such as Michael Horse, Ray Tracy, Gerald Stone, Veronica Poblano, Jovana Poblano, Todd Westika, and many others.  After becoming very good friends for many years, Michael Horse and Pennie are happily married. 

Gathering Tribes hosted artisans from Costa Rica to Alaska on weekend events where they received 100% of their sales. Other events offered were lectures by Indigenous people, a Dia de los Muertos event with Azteca dancers with a community alter, and in the first three years when there was a large gallery space available, mini pow wows each month.  There was always a contribution jar on the counter to raise funds for events such as The Longest Walks, Indigenous actions such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline camps, the United Houma Nation after Katrina, and raising funds for a water pipe for a band of Huichol people in Mexico, and many more events, actions, and projects benefiting Indigenous people.

A couple of months after the COVID lock-down in the Bay Area, the gallery had an epic closing sale, and this website was created to continue to offer Zuni fetish carvings, jewelry, and small handmade crafts. We are also the only online store that features ledger paintings and jewelry by Michael Horse.  The opening of GatheringTribes.com was successful from the first day and continues to provide hand-picked offerings to our Circle of Friends, including you.

Feel free to contact us with any questions or just to say hello at treasures@gatheringtribes.com. We hope you enjoy looking at our offerings!