Drove using the GPS to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre - it was only about 6 miles from our hotel.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center was founded in 1976 and is jointly owned and operated by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. Located in the historic Albuquerque Indian School District just minutes from Downtown and Old Town Albuquerque, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is a world-class museum and cultural center created to be a place where Pueblo people can tell their story. As the Gateway to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, the IPCC is a necessary first-stop for visitors to New Mexico, providing a jumping off point for understanding the state’s landscape, legacy, story of continuance and the unique connection between cultures.
$8.40 per adult admission fee. We spent three hours walking through the museum and interacting with the various exhibits. It's quite a history of Indian (indigenous) struggles against invaders and change, challenges to retain their culture and triumphs.
Entry
This resonates with me as a belief which is worthy of our acknowledgement today....
There were four walls of historical and legal history to read, how the Indian Pueblos were recognised by the Spanish Kings and then the Mexican governments. How the American/Mexican wars ended with treaties which said that the United States should recognise land ownership of the people from the pueblos. However, these arguments were sometimes tied up in the Federal Courts for years and typically, the best agricultural lands of the pueblos and their access to clean water was made difficult or their ownership denied completely. New settlers claimed their lands in the meantime.
We looked at explanations in exhibits about how families in pueblos lived, how they made moccasins, hunted animals, made clay and fashioned it, made clothing, wove fibres to made fabric, coloured them and made ceremonial dress - just about every aspect of tribal Indian life was explained carefully and succinctly. So very interesting and connected to the creator!
I really liked the fetishes (the animal representations of animal-spirit relationships) and the pottery. We discovered that the very fine painted lines on the outside of pots are made from yucca stems and the artist has to chew the stem to removed the prickle and then chewed some more to remove the outer layer and leave the fine fibres.
Another favourite for both of us, were the pottery representations of the Storyteller. Like our Australian Aborigines, Indian culture was oral and stories were told to explain many aspects of their culture. Through these stories, children learned lessons and morals related to behaviour and why certain social morays needed to be adhered to for certain reasons.... Fascinating stuff!
Frog storyteller to all the baby frogs!
This reminds me of my job - trying to keep the children focussed on what I'm saying! Even the dog!
Left the Indian Cultural Centre mid-afternoon. Noted on a bill board, an advertisement for 'Pappadeaux' seafood restaurant, which we have visited in Texas. Didn't realise they had one here - so we found it using the GPS and took off to have dinner.
Great service, food and ambience! David enjoyed his beer, too!
David with Santa Fe 'Happy Camper' IPA.
Me.....
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