The Museum of Indigenous People, formerly known as the ''Smoki Museum of American Indian Art and Culture'', is located in Prescott,

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

holds collections of Native American artifacts.

History

The museum was started, in part, due to the efforts of

Kate Cory Kate Cory (February 8, 1861 – June 12, 1958) was an American photographer and artist. She studied art in New York, and then worked as commercial artist. She traveled to the southwestern United States in 1905 and lived among the Hopi f ...

, who donated eight of her paintings and her photograph album for its collection, and Dr. Byron Cummings of the University of Arizona in order to house some of the artifacts he and his crews were excavating at the time.

Sharlot Hall Sharlot Mabridth Hall (October 27, 1870 – April 9, 1943) was an American journalist, poet and historian. She was the first woman to hold an office in the Arizona Territorial government and her personal collection of photographs and artifacts ...

provided other

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

information. The museum evolved from events conducted by a group of white Arizona residents who enacted Native American

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...

dances, which was not appreciated by the

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

people. The white ceremonial enactors called themselves the "Smoki Tribe."Susan Bernardin.
Trading Gazes: Euro-American Women Photographers and Native North Americans, 1880-1940
'. Rutgers University Press; 2003. . pp. 19–20, 76. Beginning in 1931, Smokis met and held ceremonial presentations at a pueblo next to the current museum location. The stone and log museum building was constructed in 1935 by the Civilian Works Administration and operated as a museum. By 1990, the "Smoki Tribe" no longer performed dances due in part to pressure by Hopis to desist what were considered insulting portrayals of their sacred ceremonial practices.Tim Hull.
Moon Arizona
'. Avalon Travel; 2011. . p. 316. Instead of "Smoki Tribe" performances, the museum hosts educational programs.Robert D. Leighninger.
Long-range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal
'. Univ of South Carolina Press; 1 January 2007. . p. 52. In 1991 the museum became a non-profit museum. It is now listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Raymond E. Miller.
Prescott
'. Arcadia Publishing; 2010. . p. 98. Effective Feb. 10, 2020, the museum is named the Museum of Indigenous People (MIP)

Overview

Its more than 2000 artifacts include pottery, basketry, lithics and beadwork. The articles range in age dating from the

Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

up to modern times. The baskets in the museum collection are considered among the best in the United States, and the pottery displays are impressive. Other exhibits rotate on an irregular schedule, but average 4–6 months in duration.Marty Campbell.
Arizona Family Field Trips
'. AZ Adventures; 2002. . p. 53. The museum is open everyday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. except sunday from 1:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

History

Overview

See also

References

Further reading