Acoma Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum

Aerial View of Sky City
photo by Marshall Henrie for Wikimedia Commons

Name: Acoma Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum
Tribe: Pueblo of Acoma
Location: Haaku Road, Pueblo of Acoma, NM 87034
Type: Historic Site, Cultural Center/Museum, Cafe, Gift Shop
Visiting Info: Open daily, 8am-5pm, call for museum hours and tour time registration
Contact: Website, telephone 800-747-0181

The Acoma Pueblo, perched on the top of a 367 ft. high mesa in the New Mexico desert, is one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in North America. It is approximately 2,000 years old and is home to the San Esteban del Rey Mission church which was completed in 1640. Both the mission and the pueblo are on the National Register of Historic Places and are a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Sky City Cultural Center
photo from Wikimedia Commons

At the base of the mesa sits the Acoma Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum building and visitor parking. The Museum offers permanent and rotating exhibits focusing on Pueblo history and the preservation of Puebloan art, specifically Acoma's famous pottery. The 40,000 sq. ft. Cultural Center complex includes the Y'aak'a Cafe, which serves traditional Acoman and contemporary southwestern cuisine, the Ts'ikinum'a Theater showing short films on Pueblo history and culture, meeting/event space with catering options, and the Gaits'i Gift Shop.

photo from Sky City Casino Hotel webpage

Tours of the Pueblo itself are available daily from the Cultural Center, from 8am to 5pm, but it seems best to call ahead (1-800-747-0181) and register for a tour time and to verify current open hours for the Cultural Center's facilities. The pueblo is continually inhabited by a small group of tribal members, and as such, there are sensitivity issues involved with touring the village. The Acoma people ask that dress should be modest (and mindful of the sometimes extreme weather), pets and smoking are prohibited, and photography is not allowed without a permit. Please read the visitor etiquette page. The tours last an hour and a half and cost $23 for adults, $15 for children. Group tours, family rates, and shorter tours of the mission only are also offered.

San Esteban del Rey Mission
photo from Ken Schneider, Flickr's Creative Commons

The Pueblo people celebrate annual feast days that are related to their specific pueblo and mission saint. The feast day of San Esteban is celebrated at Sky City on September 2nd. If you plan to attend, be sure to read up on the specific etiquette rules before you go. Every year in September the Acoma Pueblo also hosts the Tour de Acoma, a series of 25-, 50-, and 100-mile desert bike races. There is also a Luminaria Celebration and dances at the mission church around Christmas. Check the calendar for special events and annual closed days at the pueblo before you schedule your trip.

Sky City is about 70 miles west of Albuquerque and a ways off of I-40, but the Acoma do have a casino hotel and an RV park directly off of the interstate, and they offer big game hunting tours on the reservation in the Fall. Cibola County is also home to the longest uninterrupted stretch of historic Route 66 in New Mexico, which runs immediately to the north of the Casino as State Highway 124.

Resources:

Pueblo of Acoma
Sky City Casino Hotel
Sky City RV Park
Acoma Sky City on TripAdvisor
My post about the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
My post about the Poeh Cultural Center and Museum
American Indians and Route 66

Spas in Indian Country

The Spa at Salish Lodge
photo from www.salishlodge.com

This month's issue of Native Peoples Magazine has a cover story, "Natural Beauty: Health, wellness and beauty secrets from Indigenous peoples," on Native-owned spas and traditional health and beauty treatments. It's an important topic because, as with cultural appropriations in the fashion industry, the health and wellness industry is also rife with New Age-y rip offs of Native spirituality and traditional medicine.

Here's a compiled list of the businesses mentioned in both the NPM cover article and an Indian Country Today article from last year, "5 Spas in Indian Country Using Luxury Accommodations and Native-Based Treatments."

I have also previously done a post here about the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's Spa at Norwich Inn in Norwich, CT.

The Spa at Talking Stick Resort
(Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
Scottsdale, AZ

Aji Spa at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino
(Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
Chandler, AZ

Salish Lodge and Spa
(Muckleshoot Tribe)
Snoqualmie, WA

Travaasa Hana
(Hawai'ian)
Hana (Maui), HI

The Skʌ:nʌ́: Spa and Ahsi Day Spa at Turning Stone Resort and Casino
(Oneida Nation)
Verona, NY

Spa Ssakwa'q'n at Coeur d'Alene Resort
(Coeur d'Alene)
Coeur d'Alene, ID

Tamaya Resort and Spa
(Pueblo)
Santa Ana Pueblo, NM

Besides spa facilities, there are also Native-owned health and beauty supplies retailers. One example that I know of is ArXotica, Inc. in Bethel, AK. Three sisters from the Quissunamiut Tribe make bath and beauty products from hand-gathered ingredients from their arctic tundra environment in Alaska.

Another botanical products shop is Laughing Berry Botanicals of Metlakatla, AK. They make health and skincare products from the locally harvested devils club plant and black seaweed. The Shearers, the husband and wife team who own Laughing Berry Botanicals and make all the products, also own Laughing Berry Gifts and a tour company that focuses on Tsimshian culture and history around Metlakatla.

And again, from an article from last year in Indian Country Today, "All-Natural Beauty: 7 Indigenous-owned Skincare and Cosmetic Lines You'll Love," here's their list of Native-owned health and skincare companies:

Native Touch (Andrews, NC)
Sister Sky (Spokane, WA)
Medicine of the People (Tucson, AZ)
Native Naturals (Norman, OK)
Native Wisdom (Chicago, IL)
Mother Earth Essentials (Alberta, Canada)
Kamamak Cosmetics (British Columbia, Canada)

I'll continue to update this list as I find more resources!

Poeh Cultural Center and Museum

photo from the Pueblo of Pojoaque's website

Name: Poeh Cultural Center and Museum
Tribe: Pueblo of Pojoaque
Location: 78 Cities of Gold Road, Santa Fe, NM 87506
Type: Cultural and Arts Education Center, Museum
Visiting Info: Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm; Free admission, donations accepted
Contact: Website, telephone 505-455-5041

The Poeh Cultural Center and Museum is located about 16 miles north of downtown Santa Fe, NM, at the Pueblo of Pojoaque. The Center was designed to resemble a traditional pueblo with its collection of golden adobe buildings arranged around a series of open plazas. The beautiful architecture is more than just for show. The Center has been used as a training project for teaching traditional construction methods in partnership with the tribally-owned Poeh Pueblo Construction Services Corp.

The construction training program is just one of several projects designed to further the Poeh Center's mission of preserving Pueblo culture and language, promoting artistic expression, and educating both tribal members and non-natives. Although visitors are probably focused on touring the small but well-designed museum and visiting the gift shop, the Center is also home to the Poeh Arts educational institute which includes studio space for local working artists, classes, and an internship program for tribal members who are interested in arts and museum administration. Research archives provide online access to some of the Museum's collections, a photo archive that includes over 10,000 historic and contemporary photographs, and the Oral History Documentation Project. Online access is available by request.

photo from Facebook

More programs are in the works, such as a children's museum, an amphitheater for lectures and dance exhibitions, a larger library/archive facility that would include the Pojoaque Public Library, and a garden.

Already, the Museum has been expanded to include space for artist demonstrations, a gift shop, and a rotating exhibit gallery in addition to the permanent exhibit, Nah Poeh Meng. The word Poeh is the Tewa (one of five Pueblo languages, and the one spoken at Pojoaque) word for "path" and Nah Poeh Meng means "Along the Continuous Path." The imagery of time and culture as a leading path can be found throughout the Center, including the upcoming temporary Pueblo embroidery exhibit, "Paths of Beauty," which opens August 20, 2015.

Sculpture from Nah Poeh Meng
There are more photos on the PCCM website

Nah Poeh Meng leads guests through Pueblo history in six temporal or "seasonal" spaces from the Pueblo origin story to the modern day. The Pueblo people tell this history from their own perspective through art and sculpture made by local artists and storytelling presented as audio in seven languages: Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, Keresan, Zuni, Spanish, and English. The Tewa recordings provide more detailed information for tribal members to have a deeper educational experience with their own culture and "to protect sensitive portions of Pueblo culture." Adding to this examination of the broader Pueblo culture, the current rotating exhibit, "Everything and Everybody," presents the history of the Pojoaque Pueblo specifically.

Beyond the Poeh Center, local art is on display via a self-guided tour at the nearby Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino. The Pojoaque Pueblo also offers several tribally owned restaurants, another casino resort called Cities of Gold, a Hilton Homewood Suites, an RV park, a spa, and a golf course. Guests are welcome during Pojoaque's feast days for Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 and July 27, as well as at the King's Day dances on January 6.

Resources:

The Pueblo of Pojoaque
Poeh Center on Facebook
Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino Art Collection
New Mexico Tourism Dept.'s Native American homepage

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

photo from @indianpueblo on Twitter

Name: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Tribe: Pueblo
Location: 2401 12th St. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Type: Cultural Heritage Center, Museum, Library/Archive, Event Space, Café
Visiting Info: Museum: Mon-Sun, 9am-5pm (Shumakolowa Gifts closes at 5:30); Pueblo Harvest Café & Bakery: Mon-Thur, 8am-8:30pm, Fri-Sat, 8am–9pm, Sunday Brunch 8am–4pm; Museum admission: $3-$6
Contact: Website, telephone 866-855-7902

The logo of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in downtown Albuquerque says, "Gateway to the 19 Pueblos of NM," and it is a great spot for visitors to get a multifaceted introduction to Pueblo culture.

The museum's permanent exhibits detail the history of the people, and a series of small galleries displays contemporary art and pottery from each pueblo, describing the differences in style and form. A small theater has short films highlighting Pueblo artists, and murals from a special project that began in 1976 are displayed on the walls around the Center. The South Galleries and Avanyu Gallery host changing temporary exhibits.

One highlight of most visitors' experience is the dance exhibition hosted by the IPCC every weekend year-round. Performances are scheduled on Fridays at 2pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm in the Courtyard.

photo from IPCC on Facebook

The Shumak'olo:wa Native Arts store is really more of an fine art dealer than a typical museum gift shop. The pieces they have for sale are carefully curated and the staff is particularly knowledgeable about traditional and contemporary Southwest Native art. Prices reflect the artistry and authenticity of the pieces, but customers can trust that they are supporting Native artists and their community. They have some of their pieces for sale online, in addition to a guide for collecting authentic Native American art.

Green chile and bacon pancakes
photo from Pueblo Harvest's Facebook page

The Pueblo Harvest Café and Bakery serves Native/Southwestern cuisine all day with a view of the Sandia Mountains. They also host live music on the patio most nights from 6-9pm. The Café is accessible even if you don't visit the Center's exhibits, and there is a private event space.

The IPCC runs a free shuttle service  between the Center, their Holiday Inn Express & Suites across the street, the Old Town section of Albuquerque, and the Albuquerque Biological Park Zoo. (Note, the Four Winds Travel Center convenience store and gas station on the corner is also Pueblo-owned.)

Resources:
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on Facebook
Pueblo Harvest Café and Bakery on Facebook
Shumakolowa Native Arts on Facebook
IPCC Links Page - so many other great SW Native resources