New Mexico is a Land of Many Tribes

New Mexico offers myriad options to experience their cultures

Gathering of Nations, Albuquerque

Albuquerque

Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque 

Albuquerque’s history dates back more than 12,000 years, when the Ancestral Puebloan Indians settled there. Over time, they planted corn, beans and squash, and constructed adobe and brick pit homes along the banks of the Rio Grande. Native Americans now account for less than 5 percent of the city’s population, although most of the state’s pueblos are within an hour’s drive.

Museums & Sites

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture

Situated a few minutes’ drive from downtown, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center contains a museum featuring a permanent exhibit, Our Land, Our Culture, Our Story, which provides a brief historical overview of the pueblo world and an exhibit featuring artwork and craftsmanship from each of the 19 pueblos.

Groups visiting the center are able to meet artists selling their handcrafted work, as well as take an in-depth tour that can include making pottery and painting gourds.

The center also has 24,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. Indian Pueblos Marketing, located in the facility, can provide traditional feast-day food, healthy options and gourmet adventures. Catering options also are available. Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is open every day and group discounts are offered.

Maxwell Museum of Anthropology on the University of New Mexico campus has exhibits and programs relating to cultures around the world, with a special emphasis on the Southwest, including Native American traditions. Guided group tours are offered.

Petroglyph National Monument features designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images have profound spiritual significance to contemporary Native Americans and descendants of the early Spanish settlers. Groups of 15 or more can arrange for a ranger-guided educational program.

Dining

Located inside Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Pueblo Harvest Cafe & Bakery is a full-service restaurant from acclaimed chef Michael Giese. Harvest Cafe reinvents Native American cuisine by incorporating traditional flavors into contemporary cooking. Groups can enjoy a meal in the Southwestern dining room among original works of Native American art or dine outdoors on the patio. Large groups are welcome.

Every Thursday through Saturday, the center hosts “Party on the Patio,” featuring live music, drink specials and Horno-baked pizza.

Special Events

Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Albuquerque

Gathering of Nations is a three-day event in which Native American tribes come together to share their cultures with each other and all attendees. It features a traders market, a talent contest, and traditional and modern musical performances. The highlight is the two-day powwow at WisePies Arena (aka “The Pit”) featuring more than 3,000 dancers and singers representing more than 500 tribes from the United States and Canada.

“The event draws thousands of visitors from all over the world and is suitable for groups, due to its size,” says Robert Enriquez, vice president of convention sales, services and sports for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The event also includes Miss Indian World Talent Presentations, in which young Native American women represent their people as cultural goodwill ambassadors. Gathering of Nations will next take place April 28–30, 2016.

During the Gathering of Nations, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center hosts American Indian Week, featuring traditional dances, art markets, artist demonstrations, native-inspired cuisine and world-renowned pottery.

Santa Fe

Santa Fe Indian Market

Santa Fe originally was occupied by several pueblo villages that were founded between 1050 to 1150. One of the earliest known settlements in what today is downtown Santa Fe began sometime after 900.

Native Americans have played a major role in shaping Santa Fe’s development. Today, they comprise less than 3 percent of the city’s population, although Native American influence can be seen virtually everywhere.

Museums & Sites

The Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, located downtown, has the largest collection of contemporary native art in the world. Group tours are available, but must be arranged at least two weeks in advance.

Located two miles southeast of Santa Fe Plaza, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian features unique exhibitions of contemporary and historic Native American art. It’s particularly noted for focusing on little-known genres and for solo shows by living Native American artists.

The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture is dedicated to the collection, preservation, public education, interpretation and exhibition of the arts, cultures and histories of the American Southwest. “This outstanding collection showcases classic and contemporary Southwestern Indian paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, basketry and weaving,” Feins says.

A permanent exhibition that traces the life of Native Americans, Here, Now and Always, was curated in part by Native American elders, scholars and tribal members. Group tours are available.

Dining

Amaya restaurant at Hotel Santa Fe The Hacienda and Spa mixes classic technique, contemporary flair and fresh seasonal ingredients from the rivers of Alaska to the Great Plains and nearby local farms. It highlights local pueblo and Northern New Mexican influences, as well as regional foods from around the United States.

Red Mesa Cuisine is the only catering company in the Santa Fe area that buys ingredients from Indian nations throughout the Americas and prepares authentic Native American cuisine. Each menu is specially and carefully prepared to cater to the needs of each group.

Special Events

Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival, which occurs at Santa Fe Convention Center each Memorial Day weekend, features the works of more than 180 Native American artists. Participating artists come from a wide range of tribes and pueblos, and work in a wide range of forms, from traditional to contemporary.

Santa Fe Indian Market is the largest and most prestigious intertribal fine-art market in the world. It features 1,000 of the best Native artists, crafts people and designers. “This spectacular festival is celebrating its 92nd year,” Feins says. “It attracts visitors from all walks of life, and for many of them it offers a rare opportunity to meet the artists and learn about contemporary Indian arts and cultures.” The market is slated for Aug. 22–23 on the plaza.

A smaller version of the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Winter Indian Market, takes place in late November at Santa Fe Community Convention Center and features more than 200 native artists from the United States and Canada.

The American Indian Arts Festival, scheduled for Oct. 3–4 at Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, features the work of more than 100 indigenous artists who produce traditional and contemporary art in a plethora of mediums, including clay, silver, glass and leather. The event also features entertainment, food and dances.

Summing Up

One of the best things about New Mexico is the easy accessibility of its Native American cultures. Besides the ever-present native influence in the major cities, reservations and pueblos have special celebrations and other events scheduled throughout the year. These events provide attendees with an intimate, unforgettable view of the tribal cultures. And a plus for planners is that in the Greater Albuquerque area in particular, the great weather facilitates meetings even in the winter months.