Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian facts for kids
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Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
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Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
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 Location in New Mexico
Location in the United States
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| Location | 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Architect | William Penhallow Henderson |
| Architectural style | Navajo Ceremonial hooghan |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001917 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1990 |
The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a special place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is dedicated to showing and celebrating Native American arts. This museum was started in 1937 by two friends: Mary Cabot Wheelwright from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and traditional healer.
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Discovering the Museum's Story
Wheelwright and Klah first met in 1921 and quickly became very close friends. They soon decided they wanted to create a lasting record of Klah's and other Navajo singers' important traditions and stories. Klah would share the stories, and Wheelwright would write them down. This included the amazing Navajo Creation Story and other big tales that are central to the Navajo religion.
While Wheelwright focused on the spoken words of Navajo traditions, another person named Frances Newcomb worked on the sandpaintings. These beautiful paintings are made during special healing ceremonies and then destroyed. Newcomb recreated versions of them using paint on paper. Klah also helped in another way: he was a weaver. His huge woven tapestries were also permanent records of these sandpaintings.
By the early 1930s, Wheelwright and Klah realized they needed a museum to achieve their goals. It couldn't just be a place to store sound recordings, writings, paintings, and tapestries. It had to let people experience the beauty and deep meaning of Navajo traditions.
They chose William Penhallow Henderson as their architect. He designed the museum to look like a hooghan (the hogan), which is the traditional Navajo home. Hooghans are also where many Navajo ceremonies take place. Klah blessed the land where the museum was built, but he passed away a few months before it was finished.
In November 1937, a traditional Navajo house blessing was performed by a singer named Big Man. Many of Klah's family members attended. The museum was first called the Navajo House of Prayer and then the House of Navajo Religion. Soon after it opened to the public, its official name became the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
Changes and New Directions
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Navajo Nation became more independent. They started their own college system, and Navajo singers created the Navajo Medicine Men's Association. Traditional Navajo religion became very popular again. People began to feel that only Navajo people should teach about Navajo religion.
Because of this, in 1977, the museum returned several important Navajo items, like special bundles used in ceremonies, to the Navajo people. This process is called repatriation.
After this, the museum changed its name to the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Even though it no longer focuses only on Navajo religion, it has amazing collections. These collections show Navajo art and culture from 1850 to today. The museum also features changing exhibits on both traditional and modern art from the Navajo and other Native American groups.
See also
