Santa Fe ~ Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Look for light

Listen for inspiration on the wind

Let water cleanse your soul

Set yourself on a firm foundation

Serve as the plants

Do not offend your fellow creatures

Live in harmony with all creations

~The Seven Paths of the Anasazi Way: 

The Making of a Forward Walking

After our adventure through the International Folk Art Museum, up on Museum Hill, we had a lovely lunch at the cafe between the Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.  I had the salmon tacos which were fresh and flavorful, so thumbs up to eating at the cafe up there.

Here's some beautiful music to go with the post!

After our tasty lunch, we headed into our next museum adventure ...

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Mountain Spirit Dancer, c. 2000
by Craig Dan Goseyun, San Carlos Apache

All dreams spin out from the same web.

~Hopi proverb

Being a lover of turquoise, which also happens to be my birthstone, I was excited to see the Turquoise, Water, Sky: The Stone and its Meaning exhibition (through May 2nd, 2016), at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. No photography inside, but the exterior spaces were beautiful, especially in a blanket of snow!

The Doris and Arnold Roland Sculpture Garden

Unfortunately, the titles of many of the sculptures, along with the artists were covered in snow! I looked online and only found a few of them. If anyone knows the others, please let me know! 

Fred Begay Sculpture, below

Kim Seyesnemn Obrzut: Greeting the Sun, 2001

Bronze 

Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman 

Standing Strong with m Feet Rooted to Mother Earth

I have been to the end of the earth,

I have been to the end of the waters,

I have been to the end of the sky,

I have been to the end of the mountains,

I have found none that are not my friends.

~Navajo Proverb

Of course, seeing all the turquoise in the museum ... I was inspired to go into the gift shop! Here are the earrings I bought. 26 bucks and I LOVE the color.

A great place to by Native American jewelry and art is directly from the artisans who sit outside the old Palace of the Governors, and the artists are regulated by a group of Native American craftspeople who keep it very reputable. My mom bought this beautiful bracelet for me for my birthday (which was a couple of days before we headed to Santa Fe.) I met the woman who made it, and I will try to find her card to post here!

On Christmas Eve, I opened this from my sister! I love it, and I love that she has an identical one and also bought them for my nieces! As you can see, it is very easy to find beautiful things in Santa Fe, especially the turquoise.

As I said, no photography was aloud inside the museum, but this next video is the Curator of Archaeology at the museum is giving a tour of the exhibition. She explains how turquoise is created in nature, as well as showing pieces from the show. The views of the pieces seem to get better as the video continues.

This video explains the meaning of turquoise, to the Native American people of the Southwest.

This next video explains about the color of turquoise and how the color was more important than whether or not the stone was actually "real" natural turquoise stone ...

Here is an 8 minute documentary of the history of the ancient Anasazi people in the American Southwest, Chaco Canyon, and Mesa Verde, as well their architecture and how they formed trade routes a thousand years ago.

A HOPI ELDER SPEAKS:

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour,
now you must go back and tell the people that this is THE HOUR. And
there are things to be considered...

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, 
"This could bea good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. 
It is so greatand swift that there are those who will be afraid. 
They will try to hold on to the shore. 
They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. 
Know the river has its destination. 

The elders say we must let go of the shore, 
push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, 
and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. 
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. 
Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, 
our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. 

The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves! 
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. 
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner
and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation

For the link to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture click here

Mountain Spirit Dancer, c. 2000
by Craig Dan Goseyun, San Carlos Apache
(Love the green orb that showed up in the photo!)

Blessings and light!