The Amerind Foundation is a museum and research facility dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories. Its facilities are located near the village of Dragoon in Cochise County, Arizona, about 65 miles east of Tucson in Texas Canyon.
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I had never been here, neither had any of my colleagues. But I've seen it as I'm driving down to Willcox, Bisbee, Douglas, etc. I run a college readiness program for high school students and I thought this might be a good educational opportunity for my students during the summer. My students usually love museums. Once we arrived, it was apparent that we were not trusted in the museum, as we were escorted to every section we were "allowed" to see and we were not allowed to browse on our own. Not only was the docent escorting us, but a second staff person (a woman) followed us around everywhere. I got the sense she was making sure we (the students) behaved ourselves and didn't touch anything. Kind of like when someone follows you through a store because they think you are going to shoplift (if you are a person of color, you know what this is like).
Upon entering the art gallery portion of the museum, we were taken to a small room where quilts hung. I attempted to take a photo of my students looking at the exhibits and was scolded by the woman following us that no photos were allowed. I apologized and put my phone away. Into the next room was a room filled with beautiful paintings that resembled water. I was reading about the artist when the docent walked in front of me and said, "Don't bother reading it. It doesn't make any sense to me. Besides, I have some issues and personal beliefs about the artist." It did not make sense to me, but as I continued reading I learned that the artist was a Native Queer woman. While he was not direct about it, it was very obvious he was referring to this. At that point I was prepared to take my students and leave.
However, we stayed and continued our tour where the docent talked "at" us and did not allow for questions or freely looking at things. During a section on MesoAmerican peoples he brought up an artifact and said, "Can you imagine how Mexican you have to be to make this." (later on several of my students made mention of this and how uncomfortable they were upon hearing this). I also noted that many descriptions and information cards had references to Native Americans "giving" their items to the museum. However, this was made clear that the artifacts were from an estate that took the items from the specified tribes.
During our last exhibit, an area focused on games and sports in Native communities, the woman who had been following us closely pulled me aside to ask why we had high school students here. I explained the nature of the program and what types of activities we did with students. Her response to me was, "Oh, so they're college-bound....no wonder they are so well behaved." Among all the offensive things that were said to us that day, this was perhaps the most belittling. This statement just underminded the efforts my students make to be contributing citizens to the world. Despite the very difficult and horrible experience we had there, my students walked away with dignity and with lessons on how NOT to treat people. My staff and I were appalled at how poorly we were treated and moreover, how the students...
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This is an incredible experience. Expertly curated and professionally presented.
The attention to detail and the crispness of the execution is both elegant and complementary to the experience. You can tell the teams that brought this together cared passionately about sharing their knowledge and inspiring others to delve and create their own experiences.
Photography is not allowed for the art, but I took a photo of the interactive table in the first jewelry exhibit. 6 activities for kids to adults to learn both design, creation, and methods.
There are so many things to like about the museum I could write a 2000 word essay, but please come here and see for yourself.
The Paquime exhibit is incredible.
The art gallery is decent, but the exhibit there that talks about the ranch and the founding family was fantastic.
The grounds are designed with huge space to sit and eat and rest, so bring coolers and blankets and enjoy the serene area.
100%...
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Place was hidden the the gem of texas canyon. Took a drive down the dirt road and it opened up behind the rocks to a big property. We go here late as closing time is at 4. The 2 ladies who were at the front greeted us and let us explore the one room free of charge to get a taste of what else is in the museum. Was amazed at all the different artifacts that was in the lower entrance room. I definitely will be back to see the rest of this museum. Also on the way out make sure you stop by the pioneer cemetery that's at the beginning of the dirt road. Learned a lot of history of the area and how the museum came to be. There's plenty of parking out front there's a art gallery right next door to the museum. There is no cameras or photography in the museum. They have clean restrooms, picnic tables all around and lots of little hiking trails you can go on and see nature and get up close to the rocks. Nice little gem hidden and...
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