Santa Fe - American Southwest - page 167

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Originally designed as a meeting place, it has been the site of innumerable festivals and
other historical, cultural, and social events. Long ago the plaza was a dusty hive of activ-
ity as the staging ground and terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. Today, those who congregate
around the central monument enjoy the best people-watching in New Mexico. Live
music and dancing are often staged on the gazebo/bandstand in summer. At Christmas-
time, the plaza is decked with lights. Santa Feans understandably feel nostalgic for the
days when the plaza, now the hub of the tourist trade, still belonged to locals rather than
to outside commercial interests.
At the corner of San Francisco St. and Lincoln Ave. Daily 24 hr.

MORE ATTRACTIONS
Museums
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum A visit to this museum (with
over 7,000 works, often called the “national collection of contemporary Native American
art”) offers a profound look into the lives of a people negotiating two worlds: traditional
and contemporary. Here, you'll see cutting-edge art that pushes the limits of many
media, from creative writing to textile manufacturing to painting. Much of the work
originates from artists from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the nation's
only congressionally chartered institute of higher education devoted solely to the study
and practice of the artistic and cultural traditions of all American Indian and Alaskan
native peoples.
Exhibits change periodically, while a more permanent collection of Allan Houser's
monumental sculpture is on display in the museum's Art Park. The museum store offers
a broad collection of contemporary jewelry, pottery, and other crafts, as well as books and
music.
108 Cathedral Place. & 505/983-8900. www.iaia.edu. Admission $5 adults, $2.50 seniors and students,
free for children 16 and under. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun noon-5pm.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture An interactive permanent exhibit here has
made this one of the most exciting Native American museum experiences in the South-
west. “Here, Now and Always” takes visitors through thousands of years of Native
American history. More than 70,000 pieces of basketry, pottery, clothing, carpets, and
jewelry—much of it quite old—are on continual rotating display. You begin by entering
through a tunnel that symbolizes the sipapu, the Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) entrance
into the upper worlds; you're greeted by the sounds of trickling water, drums, and Native
American music. Videos show Native Americans telling creation stories. Visitors can
reflect on the lives of modern-day Native Americans by juxtaposing a traditional Pueblo

7

Cultural Chow
If you get hungry while visiting the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, the
Museum of International Folk Art, the Wheelwright Museum of the American
Indian, or the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art (all located together, southeast of
the plaza), you can now feast on more than your fingernails. The Museum Hill
Café ( & 505/820-1776 ) opens Tuesday through Saturday for beverages and
snacks at 10am, and a tasty lunch from 11am to 3pm; it serves brunch on Sunday
from 11am to 3pm.