Overview
The Amerind Museum is a foundation dedicated to Native American lives, both historic and contemporary.[1] Located in Dragoon, Arizona, the museum’s property includes large rock formations that can be climbed, picnic areas, food trucks, and a large museum and library, as well as a gift shop and bookstore. Today, the museum sees about ten thousand visitors every year.[2]
The museum is located at 2100 N Amerind Rd, Dragoon, AZ 85609. Museum hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, local time.[3]
Early History
The Amerind Museum was established in 1937, founded by William Shirley Fulton, an archaeologist whose research focused on culture.[4] The museum “seeks to foster and promote knowledge and understanding of the Native Peoples of the Americas through research, education, conservation, and community engagement.”[5] Originally, Fulton bought the land for his personal property, then called the FF Ranch, in 1930, before he established the Amerind foundation.[6] A permanent exhibit at the museum is “Ma Fulton’s FF Ranch.” Fulton and his wife, Rose Hayden Fulton, lived here, here Rose, AKA “Ma Fulton” raised award-winning quarter horses. The “Ma Fulton” exhibit includes photographs, as well as ribbons and trophies, providing insight into this aspect of the Fultons’ lives.[7] William Fulton hired Dr. Charles C. Di Peso in 1948, a leading archaeologist in the Southwest. In the 30 years that Di Peso worked with Fulton, he pioneered many excavations of sites throughout the Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.[8] The Amerind Museum was closed to the public from 1936 to 1980.[9]
Ma Fulton's FF Ranch
In 1960, a room known as “The Pine Study” was installed at FF Ranch for William Fulton’s 80th birthday, which is now a permanent exhibit, curated by Charles Di Peso, Anne Woosley, Allan McIntyre, John Ware, Carol Charnley, and Eric Kaldahl. This exhibit includes furnishings from Fulton’s life in Connecticut and includes Fulton’s personal possessions as well as paintings done by friends of the Fulton family.[10]
The Pine Study
The library was established in 1960. This library holds 22,000 non-circulating books on anthropology and archaeology. The library also holds over 600 unpublished manuscripts, such as field diaries, including photographs depicting excavations, site surveys, as well as Fulton’s rare book collection. The archives host professional papers, art, and archaeologic artifacts. Physical access is by appointment, but the library and archives can be viewed digitally.[11]
Exhibits
The museum is host to nearly 38,000 cultural objects.[12] Current exhibits include “The Plein Truth,” by curators Emely McConkey and Maria Martinez. This exhibit focuses on the concept of “en plein air,” French for “open air,” as a painting method centered around the sun and light, as well as “a race against the changing shadows.” The exhibit involves artists from the Sonoran Plein Air Painters and offers workshops, in which groups can come paint. This exhibit runs July 12th, 2022 through October 31st, 2022. [13]
Coral Bean Boulders by Terri Gay, The Plain Truth
Curators Randy Kemp, Maria Martinez, and John Miller are curators to another current exhibit, “Transformation, Spirituality, and Humor.” This exhibit showcases artwork that cover themes related to the mythology and folklore of Indigenous cultures. This exhibit runs July 10th, 2022 through May 10th, 2023.
One of the museum’s permanent exhibits is titled “American Art Form: A Century of A:Shiwi (Zuni) and Diné (Navajo) Jewelry,” curated by Eric Kaldahl. This exhibit includes a jewelry collection by Zuni and Navajo jewelers over three generations. The exhibit includes thousands of pieces, which date from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Eric Kaldahl is also curator of “Without Borders: The Deep History of the Paquimé,” a permanent exhibit. Here, visitors can walk through Paquimé architecture from Chihuahua, Mexico. The town of Paquimé was an incredibly important town in Mexico, from approximately 1200 AD to 1400 AD. This exhibit intends to show off “remarkable architecture, civil engineering, and ceramic artistry.” This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated by the United Nations, and is partially funded by Arizona Humanities, The Robert J. Wick Family Foundation, as well as the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. “Fleet of the Foot: Indigenous Running and Games from Ancient Times to Today” is another permanent exhibit from Eric Kaldahl. The exhibit is designed to showcase the importance of sports and athletics and what they contribute to communities. This exhibit is partially funded by Arizona Humanities. “Indigenous Water/Ways” is a permanent exhibit, featuring ways in which Indigenous people in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico use and cherish water. This exhibit includes pottery, baskets, jewelry, weaving, wood, shells, and carved antlers and details methods of Indigenous farming and engineering. “A Singular Treasure: The Katsikodi Story Robe” is a permanent exhibit that displays an elk hide painted by Eastern Shoshone artist, Katsikodi. The hide is painted with depictions of hunters, singers, and dancers. Katsikodi was an artist, born in the 1860s, and passed away in 1912.[14]
Exhibits Without Border
Indigenous Water Ways
A Singular Treasure: The Katsikodi Story Robe
Fleet of the Foot: Indigenous Running and Games from Ancient Times to Today
John Ware and Carol Charnley curated the permanent exhibit, “Images in Time.” The main gallery holds art created by Indigenous artists from across northern and central America. Ware and Charnley are also curators of “Apache People and History,” another permanent exhibit. This hosts artifacts belonging to the Chiricahua Apache people.[15] John Ware curated the permanent exhibit, “Indigenous Dolls.” This exhibit is housed in the museum’s entryway and showcases handmade dolls from across America.[16]
Images in Time
Apache People and History
Indigenous Dolls
Carol Charnley and Ron Bridgemon, Jr. curated “The Potters of Mata Ortiz.” This exhibit explores how pottery from the town of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua, Mexico built new methods for Mexican pottery based off traditional work. Charnley curated the “Diné Arts” exhibit, which showcases weaving, silver work, rugs, tools, and other arts from the Diné people.[17]
The Potters of Mata Ortiz
Anne Woosley and Allan McIntyre curated the “Hallway of Time,” an exhibit that showcases ancient tools, dating back 13,000 years, and found in Arizona. This exhibit studies farming from the Huhugam (Hohokam), Mogollon, and Ancestral Pueblo people. Woosley and McIntyre also curated the “Spanish Colonial and Mexican Religious Art” exhibit, which holds religious art from colonial Spain and Mexico, as well as contemporary pieces. They also curated the “North American Indigenous Arts” exhibit and the “Yesterday’s Amerind” exhibit. The former showcases cradleboards and personal accessors, while the latter is an enclosed room, showing how Amerind’s private collections were displayed before the museum was open to the public. [18]
Yesterday's Amerind
[1] “About Amerind - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/about-amerind/.
[2] “Amerind Today - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/amerind-today/.
[3] “General Info - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 20 Apr. 2022, https://www.amerind.org/general-info-2/.
[4] “About Amerind - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/about-amerind/.
[5] “About Amerind - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/about-amerind/.
[6] “Amerind History - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/amerind-history/.
[7] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[8] “Amerind History - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/amerind-history/.
[9] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[10] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[11] “Library and Archive - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/library-and-archive/.
[12] “Amerind Today - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 17 June 2020, https://www.amerind.org/amerind-today/.
[13] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[14] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[15] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[16] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[17] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
[18] “Exhibits - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, Art Gallery.” Amerind Museum, 22 July 2022, https://www.amerind.org/exhibits/.
