Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian - Santa Fe, NM
Posted by: heringermr
N 35° 39.778 W 105° 55.648
13S E 416053 N 3946964
Located on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Waymark Code: WM21K7
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 08/20/2007
Views: 15
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
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