Exhibits
June 14, 2021 through October 31, 2021
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Hummingbirds and Desert Flowers – Becoming Attractions
John P. Schaefer, PhD became fascinated with birds as a Boy Scout in the late 1940s, when he chose to pursue a merit badge in Bird Study. His experience of identifying studying bird species stayed with him and bird watching became a passion. Photography also played a role in his personal and professional life but, perhaps surprisingly, he never tried to marry the two until recently. Photographing birds is a distinct challenge, requiring time, patience, and special equipment. Living adjacent to Saguaro National Park in an area with a landscape that has been respected by those around him has made Schaefer yard a safe and welcoming environment for wildlife, including visiting and breeding birds. Feeders have attracted Anna’s, Black-chinned, Broad-billed, and Costa’s Hummingbirds to us on a year-round basis. After a few years of getting acquainted, Schaefer decided to try his hand at photographing these hummingbirds in action.
Dr. John P. Schaefer enjoys a reputation as a skilled photographer, in addition to his teaching and research. He is founder of the University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography, the archive center of Ansel Adams’ photography, and the author of three best-selling books on photographic techniques. His photographs have appeared in publications including, “Arizona Highways.”
June 14, 2021 through March 31, 2022
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Through the Lens of Navajo Photographer Priscilla Tacheney
A member of the Navajo Nation, Priscilla Tacheney is a Southwest landscape and portrait photographer. She has sold her work at various Native American Art show across Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.
Priscilla has traveled to many scenic areas across the Southwest, looking to capture the beauty of Mother Earth and Father Sky. Through the lens of her camera, she sees and captures the beauty of the landscape and feels a connection with Nature’s subjects and its energy.
Her work in the field helped her appreciate and embrace the natural wonders of the Earth. She states, “As a nature photographer, I’ve become more aware of the deterioration of our planet’s natural areas. Commercial expansion and climate change are changing the landscape at an accelerated rate. Therefore, it has become important to me to capture and document the beauty that exists today.”
Priscilla continues to travel and capture the beauty of landscapes and hopes you will enjoy her work as much as she enjoyed photographing it.
February 2, 2021 through January 16, 2022
Julie Comnick, Curator
Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest
a Traveling exhibit from the Flagstaff Arts Council
From prolonged drought to flash floods, what are the particularities and paradoxes surrounding water in the American Southwest? Who has rights to water? How is water shared among people, plants, and other animals? How do we reconcile diverse cultural and spiritual views of water? Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest explores the complexity of water in the face of climate change and increasing populations. Nine Arizona-based artists created works, informed by scientific and cultural inquiry, that reflect diverse perspectives and provocative insight into our intricate relationship with water in our natural, cultural, and political landscapes.
Photo by Shawn Skabelund.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
American Art Form: A Century of A:shiwi (Zuni) and Diné (Navajo) Jewelry
Zuni and Navajo jewelers create some of the most distinctive and beautiful jewelry in the world. Amerind is the proud home of a newly donated jewelry collection built over three generations, from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century, which includes thousands of pieces by hundreds of artists. This exhibit showcases the history and development of this jewelry and the artists who made these remarkable pieces and put their art form on the world stage.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Without Borders: The Deep History of Paquimé (Bilingual Exhibit)
Visitors can walk through this exhibit, inspired by the architecture of Paquimé, and explore sixty years of research in Chihuahua, Mexico. Paquimé was one of the most socially, politically, and ceremonially important towns in the region. It grew into a leading community in northern Mexico in the late AD 1200s and flourished through the end of the AD 1400s. Home to some of the most remarkable architecture, civil engineering, and ceramic artistry in the region—the ancient town has been designed by the United Nations as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Partially funded by Arizona Humanities, The Robert J. Wick Family Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Fleet of Foot: Indigenous Running and Games from Ancient Times to Today
Among all the people of the world, running and games are universal. Across cultures and traditions, sports and running are universal activities that can help us relate to one another. In the differences among our sports practices, we gain new insights into the ways of other communities. This exhibit considers running and running sports among the Indigenous communities of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. Partially funded by Arizona Humanities.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Indigenous Water/Ways
The Indigenous peoples of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico treasure water in all its forms. This exhibit showcases Amerind pottery, baskets, jewelry, weavings, wood, shell, and antler carvings with water designs and motfis.Visitors will also learn about the way Indigenous farmers used water and engineered the land to nourish their crops.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
A Singular Treasure: The Katsikodi Story Robe
Visitors can view an elk hide painted with scenes of hunters, singers, and dancers, created by the Eastern Shoshone artist Katsikodi. He is believed to have been born inthe 1860s and passed away around 1912. Over 20 of his distinctive painted robes have survived the forces of history, largely now preserved in museum collections like Amerind’s. Friends of Western Art supported the conservation of this elk hide.
Permanent Exhibit
Eric Kaldahl, Curator
Ma Fulton’s FF Ranch
Amerind’s founders Rose Hayden Fulton (1881-1968) and William Shirley Fulton (1880-1964) moved to Arizona in 1930. Mrs. Fulton, affectionately known as Ma Fulton, had a ranch operation where she raised and trained some of the finest quarter horses in the United States. Photographs of her horses, ranch hands, and operations are on exhibit along with her prize winning ribbons and trophies.
Permanent Exhibit
Charles Di Peso, Anne Woosley, Allan McIntyre, John Ware, Carol Charnley, and Eric Kaldahl, Curators
The Pine Study
The Pine Study was installed on the occasion of Mr. Fulton’s 80th birthday in the year 1960. The wood paneling and furnishings came from the Fulton family home in Connecticut. Many of Mr. Fulton’s personal effects are found in this exhibit. The paintings on the wall were done by family members and friends. The Pine Study served as Mr. Fulton’s office for the last years of his life.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware and Carol Charnley, Curators
Images in Time
Built in 1939, the museum building’s main gallery houses artistic treasures created by Indigenous artists from the Arctic to Mexico. Many of the pieces were made during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Visitors will learn about the amazing diversity of Indigenous cultures found throughout North America.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware and Carol Charnley, Curators
Apache People and History
The Chiricahua Apache people’s history in southeastern Arizona is rich and complex. Visitors will have an overview of the many Indigenous groups who speak the Apache language, and learn about the history of the Chiricahua Apache people specifically.
Permanent Exhibit
John Ware, Curator
Indigenous Dolls
In the museum building entryway, your little ones will find a great selection of Indigenous dolls, lovingly made by parents and grandparents from all across America.
Permanent Exhibit
Carol Charnley and Ron Bridgemon, Jr., Curators
The Potters of Mata Ortiz
Potters from the Mexican town of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua, Mexico, were inspired by the ancient potters of Paquimé creating beautiful reproductions of that ancient craft. They then began new pottery traditions with finely painted and incised pottery in new shapes and styles. This exhibit shows how these potters are inspired by the past, but are creating new traditions for the future.
Permanent Exhibit
Carol Charnley, Curator
Diné Arts
Known for their weaving and silver work, Diné woven rugs, weaving tools, silversmithing tools, and other arts are found at several locations on the museum’s second floor.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Hallway of Time
Connecting the 1939 and 1950 wings of the Amerind museum building, this hallway lets visitors peer into the archaeology of the American Southwest. Visitors will learn about the most ancient human tools found in Arizona used some 13,000 years ago. Here to people will learn about the most well studied farming cultures of the America Southwest: Huhugam (Hohokam), Mogollon, and Ancestral Pueblo peoples. These farming communities flourished some two thousand years and their descendants still call this region home.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Spanish Colonial and Mexican Religious Art
Amerind sits on land that Indigenous people have called home for 13,000 years. In historic times, the governments of Spain, Mexico, and the United States have exercised their sovereignty over the region. This exhibit displays the religious arts of colonial Spain, Mexico, and more contemporary pieces rooted in the Spanish colonial tradition.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
North American Indigenous Arts
The Amerind is home to the arts of Indigenous people from across North America. Now on exhibit are examples of cradleboards from many Indigenous communities. These cradleboards show the love and care of their makers for their children. Also on exhibit are personal accessories and clothing adorned with porcupine quillwork and beadwork.
Permanent Exhibit
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre, Curators
Yesterday's Amerind
This small enclosed room gives visitors of sense of Amerind museum history. From 1936 until the 1980s, the Amerind was closed to the public. To see its private collections, visitors had to call for an appointment. This exhibit gives today’s visitors a sense of how Amerind’s collection was displayed in the early years of our museum’s history.
Permanent Exhibit
Hopi Katsina Carvings and Hopi Plaques
