In 2007, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, celebrates its twentieth anniversary as one of the world’s premier institutions dedicated to the accurate and sensitive interpretation of the complex and diverse Native peoples of the Southwest. It is here, among the masterworks of Native American artistic achievement, that one can listen to Native voices as they describe their origins and histories through rich stories and songs. While learning about the history of the region’s Indian cultures, visitors also witness examples of their most recent artistic expressions in pottery, textiles, basketry, and jewelry.
The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture grew out of the need for the Laboratory of Anthropology to provide a place where its collections could be viewed by the public. Together, the museum and the laboratory realize the dreams of early cultural leaders who encouraged the sensitive collection and preservation of Native American arts and material culture. Today the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture introduces the world to the Native peoples of the Southwest by providing a public space for exhibitions, artist demonstrations, and educational programs, while the Laboratory of Anthropology is a leader in archaeological and historical research. Both are renowned for their pioneering approach to the interpretation of Native arts and cultures; collaborating closely with Native communities to achieve public appreciation for their historic and living traditions.
Built upon a foundation of nearly a century of research, the Museum and Laboratory collections are unparalleled, with holdings of more than 10 million archaeological collections dating back to 9500 b.c. and over 80,000 ethnographic and fine art pieces dating from the 1700s to today. The collections are representative of the Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, and other indigenous cultures in the Southwest. Some of the unique works in the collection include one of the first black-on-black pots fired by the famous potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo; a horse bridle that belonged to the famous Apache leader Cochise; Dorothy Dunn’s personal collection of paintings made by her students at the Santa Fe Indian School; an extensive collection of Mimbres and Ancestral Puebloan ceramics; a ceremonial turquoise and shell bead cache from Chaco Canyon; and an extraordinary 151-foot-long hunting net made of human hair created around a.d. 1200.
From its inception, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture has set out to be a different type of museum from those that normally exhibit Indian art and cultural materials. Instead of focusing on the usual anthropological or historical view of Native peoples, the Museum took a very proactive approach in presenting the Indian point of view. In 1997, the Museum completed a major renovation and added a new wing that now houses the exhibition Here, Now and Always. With over 1,300 objects from the collections, this exhibit combines the voices of living Native Americans with ancient and contemporary artifacts and interactive multimedia to tell their stories. Over 260 examples of pueblo pottery dating from a.d. 600 to the present can be found in the Buchsbaum Gallery of Southwestern Pottery. An education facility with a hands-on classroom and Children’s Discovery Center were added in 2001. The Lloyd Kiva New Contemporary Indian Art Gallery features temporary exhibitions of well-known artists as well as emerging young Indian artists. In 2003, the addition of the Arnold and Doris Roland Sculpture Garden provided a space to exhibit large-scale bronze and stone sculptural works by such famous artists as Allan Houser, Tammy Garcia, Doug Hyde, and many others.
Shelby J. Tisdale, Ph.D.
Director, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology
Photo by Peter Vitale