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 a county 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 Pr ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and holds collections of Native American artifacts.

History

The museum was started, in part, due to the efforts of Kate Cory, 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 provided other

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

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 origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

dances, which was not appreciated by the

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

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