Events

Museum exhibits • Tours • Festivals

Meetings • Education • Conferences

Events

■ NEW EXHIBITS Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Santa Fe, N.M.—“The Pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo” traces the history and development of pottery making at Santa Ana, a small Keres-speaking community just northwest of Albuquerque that for centuries made distinctive pottery for domestic and ritual use. The exhibition traces the history of Santa Ana ceramic art from its origins in several distinctive ancestral styles to the development of a unique Santa Ana style. This is the most complete collection of Santa Ana ceramics assembled for an exhibit. (505) 827-6463, www.miaclab.org (New long-term exhibit)

Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park Phoenix, Ariz.—The museum celebrates its 75th anniversary with a new exhibition, “Journey to the Past,” that documents the museum’s decades-old role in documenting and interpreting the history and culture of the ancient Hohokam people. Using a combination of historical photographs and objects from the museum’s collections, the exhibit explores the changes at the museum and the 1,500-year-old Hohokam village site located on the museum grounds. (602) 495-0901, www.pueblogrande.com (New longterm exhibit)

Heard Museum Phoenix, Ariz.—The exhibit “Home: Native Peoples in the Southwest” features more than 2,000 of the museum’s most outstanding pieces and explores the concept of home. The exhibition is divided into five sections to reflect the different geographic areas: the Pueblos, the Colorado Plateau, the Colorado River, the Central Mountains, and the Sonoran Desert. This completely redesigned state-of-the-art gallery, developed in collaboration with many native people, features a video area and house structures that vividly tell the story of home for many of the Southwest’s native cultures. (602) 252-8840, www.heard.org (New permanent exhibit)

Fenimore Art Museum

Cooperstown,N.Y.— The museum is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the "Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art," one of the finest private collections amassed in recent years.The collection,displayed in the museum's Thaw Gallery,is grouped into six major cultural areas.It consists of over 800 exceptional pieces that represent the highest artistic levels of North American Indian culture.(607) 547-1400, www.fenimoreartmuseum.org (Long-term exhibit)

Florida Natural History Museum

The University of Florida,Gainesville,Fla.—“The Pearsall Collection of American Indian Art: 40th Anniversary Selections”consists of more than 300,000 19th- and early 20th-century objects,including 400 baskets,nearly 600 argillite carvings and 19 totem poles from the Northwest Coast,southeastern Middle Mississippian era pipes and pottery,Arctic carvings in ivory and horn,and many other important and unique objects. Selections from this little-known collection will be on exhibit for the first time in 40 years in honor of the collector,Leigh Morgan Pearsall,who spent his life collecting art from nearly every Native American group in North America.(352) 846-2000, www.flmnh.ufl.edu (Long-term exhibit)

Events

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Harvard University,Cambridge,Mass.— A special new exhibit,“Gifts of the Great River: Arkansas Effigy Pottery from the Edwin Curtiss Collection,” features the pottery of the Mississippian Culture,which thrived in the American Southeast and Midwest from about A.D.1200 to 1600. Excavating at mound sites along the St.Francis River in Arkansas between 1879 and 1880,Curtiss recovered thousands of artifacts,including more than 1,000 ceramic vessels.Fifteen rare effigy pots,vessels shaped like animate beings resembling animals or humans,are included in the exhibit.(617) 496-1027, www.peabody.harvard.edu (Opens June 2)

California Academy of Sciences

San Francisco,Calif.—From the ancient rain forests to the supermarket shelf,the new exhibit “Chocolate”takes visitors on a delicious expedition that explores the science,history,culture, and products of the cacao plant and the relationship between human culture and this rain forest treasure.In pre-Hispanic times,Central Mexico was one of many cacao-growing areas of Mesoamerica,and the Aztecs used bitter chocolate drinks in many of their ritual ceremonies.(415) 321-8000, www.calacademy.org (June 11–September 5)

■ CONFERENCES, LECTURES & FESTIVALS “Explore! The Big Sky” June 1–July 4, Fort Benton and Great Falls, Mont. This national Lewis & Clark Bicentennial signature event commemorates the Lewis & Clark Expedition and honors the Plains Indians they encountered. Immerse yourself in the traditional ways of the Plains Indians by exploring a traditional village and cultural displays presented by Montana tribes. Watch native athletes compete in horse and canoe races, listen to stories from the past, enjoy native music, attend lectures by distinguished authors, and visit the numerous special exhibits held at cultural museums throughout the region. The event culminates in a statewide parade, community picnic, special music, and fireworks on the 4th of July. Contact Peggy Bourne (406) 455-8451, pbourne@ci.greatfalls.mt.us, Val Morger (406) 622-3803, valmark@mcn.net, or www.explorethebigsky.org

Indian Fair at the Museum of Man June 10–12, San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, Calif. Performers and artisans from throughout the West will converge on the museum and its central plaza during the 22ndannual Indian Fair, a tribute to Native American culture and art. Traditional Indian dancers, musicians, storytellers, and award-winning artisans will perform. Traditional foods will be available. (619) 239-2001, www.museumofman.org Native American Festival July 9, Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine. This annual festival celebrates Maine Native American cultures with a variety of programs and demonstrations, arts and crafts, and a silent auction of items donated by master craftspeople. Maine’s largest gathering of Native American basketmakers and artisans, this event features more than 50 native craft vendors as well as musicians, storytellers, and traditional dancers. (207) 288-3519, www.abbemuseum.org

Native Harvest Festival August 6, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Ill. This year’s festival includes exhibits and activities relating to the ways in which native peoples farmed, fished, hunted, and gathered. Special displays provide information on the origins and types of corn by-products used to make materials today, from packaging to tires. Other events include hands-on corn grinding, nut cracking, and Indian games. (618) 346-5160, www.cahokiamounds.org

78th Annual Pecos Conference August 11–14, Bandelier National Monument, White Rock, N.M. An opening reception will be held at park headquarters from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday the 11th. Field reports, poster presentations, and symposiums presenting the results of new research on the Pajarito Plateau and the Northern Rio Grande will be held Friday and Saturday. Friday and Saturday nights will feature live music, dancing, and vendors. A wide variety of site tours will take place on Sunday. Contact Mike Bremer (505) 438-7846, mbremer@fs.fed.us, Rory Gauthier (505) 6723861, ext. 543, rory_Gauthier@nps.gov, or www.swanet.org/2005_pecos_conference