Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian - Santa Fe, NM - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian was founded by Mary Cabot Wheelwright. Born into a wealthy Boston family, Wheelwright traveled widely and had a lifelong interest in the study of religions. Her collaborator in the establishment of the museum was Hastiin Klah, an esteemed and influential Navajo singer, or “medicine man.” Klah was born in 1867, when most of Navajo people were held as prisoners of war by the United States government.

By the early 1930s it was clear to Wheelwright and Klah that a museum would be necessary to realize their goals. It could not be simply a repository for the sound recordings, manuscripts, paintings, and sandpainting tapestries. It had to offer the public an opportunity to sense the beauty, dignity, and profound logic of Navajo religion. Their chosen architect, William Penhallow Henderson, based his design on the hooghan, the traditional Navajo home and the setting for Navajo ceremonies. Klah blessed the ground on which the museum is built but died a few months before it was completed. A traditional Navajo house blessing was conducted by the singer Big Man in November 1937; and many of Klah’s relatives attended. The museum’s earliest names were the Navajo House of Prayer and House of Navajo Religion, but soon after it opened to the public its name officially became Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.

In 1977, the museum changed its name to the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Although it is no longer actively involved in the study of Navajo religion, it maintains growing, world-renowned collections that document Navajo art and culture from 1850 to the present. It also presents changing exhibitions on traditional and contemporary Navajo and other Native American arts.

Street address: 704 Camino Lejo Santa Fe, NM United States 87505 County / Borough / Parish: Santa Fe Year listed: 1990 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person, Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Recreation And Culture, Museum Current function: Recreation And Culture, Museum Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2007 To: 12/31/2007 Hours of operation: From: 10:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.