NOB HILL--This is not a tough luck story. This is a report on the state of Love in our streets.I have known Robert Goodluck for maybe 8 years, not intimately, but well enough that whenever I bought a smudge stick from him I asked for a blessing with it. He always obliged. He always brought me luck--not 'casino' luck, but a sort of spiritual luck that lets my soul drift into better places and calmer waters.
Robert hasn't been around for a while. He and his parner Johanna have been staying with family over near Gibson Blvd., but something happened and now the two of them are on the street again. They were selling sage sticks on Central Ave. trying to get enough for a room. I bought one...well actually I just gave them a couple bucks and didn't take a sage stick. After all, what I really needed was the blessing.
They told me of being at the Indian Market in Santa Fe, and their camp near the Villa L
inda Mall. One night the police came and held them at gunpoint while they knelt in the darkness. The police, it seems, had a report of shots being fired and were looking for the shooters. Eventually the police went away.But, all in all, this is the best Robert has looked since I have known him. Johanna too. They talked about how good people have been to them and their recent blessing by a Pipe Carrier. Johanna keeps them doing the little things that make life better--like replacing lost documents. Robert has that kind of dangerous sensitivity that many artists share...that ability to reach into his own soul for images. But this gift is not totally positive. This opening up of one's insides makes him vulnerable to bouts of sadness and se
lf-medication. But not this time. I think Johanna keeps him focused on the better life.I have been told that Robert has work in the Heard Museum. He is listed on AskArt. I do know that he in an Icon here in Nob Hill. Wouldn't it be great if a little of that "One Percent for the Arts" money found its way into his hands? Wouldn't it be great if something of his were displayed right here in Nob Hill?
14 comments:
That's an excellent idea, that arts moneys be partially earmarked for help with artists who've become indigent.
My boyfriend Brian and I met Robert tonight on campus at UNM. He's still the artist he's described as here, and did a drawing for us while he ate the sandwich we bought him for dinner. He says, with real art supplies, he can "make images come alive." A neat guy, definitely down on his luck. It was a privilege to meet him.
Robert is my brother, the third child in a family of four brothers and one sister. My brother is a genius that lost his sights on success to something that haunts most Navajo people, the drink. We are all still living, some more successful than the other but the love I have for Robert and my other brothers does not diminish with each passing day. Robert and I just finished talking on the phone about our lives, our children and the kind of legacy we want to leave behind for them and their children. Life's a struggle but we have each other to lean on, and God to help even when we think we don't need help. I'm glad to report that Robert is still keen of mind and fun to talk with. It's a privilege to have such a wonderful brother. Nena Phillips
Recently I met Robert at the Campus Laundry as we were both washing and drying our cloths. We struck up a great conversation and found that we went to the same high school, Albuquerque High and though he was a few years older than me, we shared so many of the same things growing up in the area. We continued to talk until I was done folding and ordering my cloths in my baskets, when he asked for a piece of blank paper and drew a quick sketch and gave it to me. We decided to continue our conversation at the Frontier when I realized that if he had some materials to work with he might be able to make enough to at least feed himself an get a room if the weather gets bad again.
I dropped Robert off at the Duck Pond where we exchanged our good by and good luck. He walked away with his small duffle bag of cloths and on crutches. It was my good fortune to have met him as he filled my morning with meaning, I hope I was able to do the same for him. I was glad to have found this page, I decided to look him up and maybe find an article on the days he played basket ball for AHS in the years before my time there. This morning I will be having a 1973 reunion with some of my high school buddies and will be asking others to remember him as well. Blessings to Robert and all our Roberts on living day to day. He certainly is a blessing to me. Cynthia J.
I ran across this article and am proud to see that I was able to finally see a lost relative. I am the daughter of Nena Phillips Roberts sister. My mother has been blessed to have five wonderful children, Christine Goodluck, Natasha Smith, Sonya Mcdonald, Patrick Mcdonald, Arthur Phillips as well as being the grand mother to Sade Goodluck, Ashley Goodluck, Aaron Goodluck, Natasha Smiths son and Christina. I and Natasha were placed for adoption at an very eary age, but miraculously God allowed us to cross paths. Now, I am honored to find a picture of another long lost relative, Mr. Robert Goodluck. May you have peace for the rest of your days.
This is the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. I just bought Robert Goodluck some art supplies at an art store on Indian School and 16th street. I didn't know who he was but he was roaming the isiles looking at the sketch books and he approached me. I didn't really know what to do, but I felt compelled to buy him a few colored pencils and other tools he would need. I hope with these tools he finds a way back to where he needs to be.
I work for a cvs pharmacy in downtown phoenix. Mr. Goodluck and a friend of his, a man with a bear paw tattoo over one eye, steal liquor, cosmetics and other product from my store on a weekly basis. Unfortunately I had them arrested today for yet another liquor theft. That is how I came to know Robert's full name and a bit of his history in the arts.
I went to art school with Robert in Santa fe many years ago I'm so glad your still alive Robert . It's funny I've been thinking of him lately and just googled his name I'll be at Indian market next weekend in Santa fe. God is with you Robert more closer than any pope or minister on earth I truly believe he lays beside you every nite and wakes with you everyday please ask for our forgiveness. Someday we all will walk together in that sacred pasture of life because we did live together at this time of earth. If I don't see you at market Robert we will meet in the pasture together again. Peace and love bro
It is now mid 2016. I haven't seen Robert for several years. I met him, and he enriched my life. I was sorry for the position the government has left him in... I gave him many art supplies that were stolen while he slept in homeless shelters. Even his crutches were stolen one night. What a story! He left me with a dozen beautiful Medicine Man images that I will cherish the rest of my days on this earth. I know they will bless their next owner, as they have me.
Marian Hemstree
7/16
Robert goodluck senior is my dad. He is gone now. I sit here on Father's Day and read of my father. I was there with him in his last 3 years. I was with him when he took his last breath. I never was able to spend time with him. I got the hear stories. He was an awesome artist. I have that ability in my life. Art has given me a direction of meaning. I also struggle with the drink in my younger life. 23 years of sobriety. Are you learning to be who I truly was meant to be. I'm here for my children as a father. I have learned to put their needs first before mine. In a healthy way.Hozho. I'm grateful. Breaking the cycle. Who's getting me the face to understand that we can walk through the genocide that was handed to us. That we can become strong within ourselves. Many blessings to everyone. My name is Michael Goodluck
Hello, Michael Goodluck...I knew your Dad from 1978. We were brothers out in the Streets of Albuquerque. and lived mostly around UNM area. Mainly on the South side of Central back then. I stayed out there in the streets drinking mainly with Robert, his James, and Paul his younger brother and Dave both who came around in the later years like 1980s. Those particular years seemed like a long time. Meaning each year seemed like 5 years. I only drank heavy there from 1978 to 1982. I stopped drinking in 1982 in Santa fe. But in 1980 I died for a while in the UNM Hospital. The Doctor told what happened after I came back revived. I was told by Our Creator that I was sent back to help my People when I died at that time. In my mind I am not as sure what that means as I am... in my Spirit. But I stopped drinking alcohol in 1982. And when I put myself in Detox and then in a Rehabilitation Center. I went back to Albuquerque and lived on the Streets for another 4 years to help my People, who was everyone that needed my help and they came to me from all walks of life. I never preached...I just showed everyone who seen me as a drunk who came back walking straight instead of staggering everywhere. People couldn't believe it and the ones who wanted to know how I did it came to me. One Alcoholic Counselor called me an Unpaid Alcoholic counselor who worked on the Front Lines Out in the Street. I never labeled myself anything. I did what our Creator told me to do without regret or without even wanting anything from no one. I know my duty and I stayed out there until it was time for me to help myself. I have been sober for 37 years now. I seen Robert, James, Dave, and Paul sometimes when I would come back to Albuquerque to hang in the Streets for a while. Robert and I was best friends back then. There were others who I ran with. We called ourselves the Troops. When we were all still drinking...each one of us had gone though our own changes throughout that time. But we took care of each other and back each other up. We were all Brothers and the Females we knew were like close sisters. We were all very close...like a real Family...All from different Tribes. The stories we could tell...We were intimate meaning very close. One of these days I will tell the Stories about the Troops. Living in the streets was a different kind of war. Our worst enemy was ourselves and our addiction, but I was proud to go through it my brothers. Most have lost that war but we stayed as good people even in our addiction. You can be proud of your Dad and his brothers,your Uncles... to be able to get through those times together! Every time I go to Albuquerque I walk the streets just to do my duty once in a while. And then I leave...Who knows we may meet on the path.
December 9,2020...Nick Halsey
Robert Goodluck and I was the best of friends. We used to live out in the streets of Albuquerque mostly and sometimes in Santa Fe. We were drinking alcohol back then, but I was fortunate to be able to stop drinking at an early age. Robert and Johanna were very good friends of mine. We had good times together and in our later years when we got off the streets we went back to doing our art for years. Robert and I knew each other very - well and I am proud to call him my friend
Nick Halsey Dec.10 2020
I believe that I took care of Robert Goodluck's son in the pediatric unit at St. Anthony Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1969 or 1970. He and his wife were a lovely young couple. The little boy was beautiful with a birthmark on his back. I invited the to visit me and my husband and offered some advice. He gave me a small drawing of an Indian boy in pastels.
I have often wondered what had become of him and goodgled him. I am so sorry that he had an alcohol problem and was homeless at times. He should have been famous!
Hello, I am Nena Phillips, sister to Robert Lee Goodluck, and to my other brothers who are mentioned in this blog--James, David, and Paul. I am sad to state that all of my brothers have passed back to mother earth, Paul in 2012, Davie in 2013, Robert in 2014, and Jimmy in 2015. They joined my mom, Viola Dixon Goodluck Graves and my dad, James George Goodluck Sr.
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