NEW MEXICO AND THE PACIFIC WEST COAST
New Mexico is particularly known for its picturesque pueblos, or native villages. Using Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center as a base, you can visit 19 of them, beginning to the south at mesa-top Acoma and ending to the north at attraction-filled Taos, two of America’s longest occupied communities. Along the way are communities producing outstanding pottery, encompassing casinos and, in the case of the Tesuque Pueblo, encompassing Camel Rock Studios, the first native-run one. Among its productions is the Dark Winds TV series starring two Native American actors as Navajo detectives.
Also unmissable is Santa Fe, where indigenous crafters sell their wares at the base of the Governor’s Palace, the oldest continuously-occupied government building in the USA, and where the world’s largest juried native craft show has been held for more than 100 years.
The Pacific Coast states are also rich in Native American heritage. For instance, more than 631,016 American Indian and Alaska Native people now live in California, making it the state with the largest such population. Among them are the 163,464 American Indian and Alaska Native people living in Los Angeles, making it the US city with the largest indigenous population.
The Greater Palm Springs cluster of cities, built around the hot springs enjoyed by the Aqua Caliente Indians for centuries, offer an interesting co-existent culture of native and non-native people. The latest attraction of Palm Springs itself is the opulent 5.8 acre Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, which includes a luxurious spa, shopping and a museum scheduled to open in November 2023.
Also notable among the state’s indigenous attractions is the Paskenta (Obsidian) Distillery at the Rolling Hills Casino, set in the shadow of Mount Shasta in the state’s north-west corner and owned by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians.
Not only is that state home to 29 federally recognised tribes but Seattle is the only major American city named after a native chief (Seathl), leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish people. You can find his grave and the Suquamish Museum on the Kitnap Peninsula west of Seattle. And in Oregon there are nine tribal groups including descendents of the Chinook who interacted with the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Alaska’s rich indigenous heritage is most easily experienced by visiting Anchorage’s Alaska Native Heritage Center, which includes on its grounds six quite-different native dwellings staffed by interpreters. And don’t forget the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC – when visiting, make sure to sample native foods from five different areas of the country in the museum’s Mitsitam Native Foods Café, voted the ‘Best Café in DC’.