USA! USA!

Day 119 - Phoenix, AZ - Cloudy and Rainy Mid 60's:

We knew rain was in the forecast and therefore had planned a day of inside activities. Our first stop was The Heard Museum. This museum is an incredible gallery/learning environment of American Indian art and culture. As you may know I am not big on museums well at least not art ones this place was different though. The museum was alive. The artwork and sculpture were so vibrant, detailed, and intricate. Not only did the museum offer galleries and exhibits but it also had a learning center and an experience similar to that at the Holocaust Museum where you participate as an American Indian being sent to boarding school.

Our visit began by looking at artwork and sculptures by Allan Houser. He has been called one of the most important artists of the 20th century and after looking at his work it was easy to see why. His work is so beautiful and detailed. It was almost as if he was telling a picture with each piece. He also has illustrated a number of children's books about Indian life which were fun to look at as well. After Houser we moved onto Harry Fonseca's work. His work was incredibly vibrant. He is famous for his coyote pieces.

After the artists we moved into an exhibit with seed baskets and pots. They were so small and yet so incredibly intricate. Once we finished there we headed into the learning center. Here you can learn to speak different American Indian languages, do different beading techniques, create pieces of art, and explore the ways to make baskets. It was quite fun!

Without question my favorite part of the museum was called Remembering our Indian School Days: The Boarding School Experience. I had no idea that American Indians were removed from their families and taken to schools where they were taught to be "white". Their names were changed, their hair was cut, and their clothing was taken from them. It was a really eye opening experience. There were differing opinions within the Indian community as some did not want to send their children and others were trying to send their children with the promise of a constant food supply and a good education. It was a trying time for many families and very traumatic for the children. The crazy part is that I had no idea that these schools still exist today. One of the writings spoke to the fact that the whites and the blacks have been integrated and yet the Indians are still put in their own schools. Today the Indian community holds these schools as a source of pride as well as a payment on a promise by the government. You see when the Indians sold their land to the government one of the guarantees was that their children would be educated. This is payment on that promise and today the Indian community fights to keep them open. I plan to do a lot more reading about this and I STRONGLY recommend that others do the same.

Next we took a look at a wonderful collection of Hopi Katsina Dolls. These were some of the most incredible dolls I have ever seen. They were beautiful, some were funny, some were scary, but all showed the incredible talent of the American Indian people. We moved from there to a room that showed different cradles that are used to carry their babies. They were beautiful and again full of intricate bead work. The next stop was into a gallery dedicated to the Inuits. This room was full of sculptures and paintings of how animals are an integral part of their work.

Our last stop was gallery called We Are! Arizona's First People. This gallery was FULL of pieces unique to the twenty-six tribes that call Arizona home. This included things like calendar sticks (a calendar of life...it is a long stick with images carved in depicting the life of someone), wedding gowns, baskets, and clothing. It ended (actually it began but apparently we went backwards) with a beautiful fence of blown glass.

If you ever visit Phoenix you CAN NOT MISS THIS MUSEUM. I would give yourself a full day. They have a cafe or you can pack a lunch and eat outside. We didn't plan well and wished we had had more time to take a tour (they are given by American Indian teens). We overheard one and I wished we had taken it!!

From the museum we headed to the 16th Street Sports Bar and Grill. I was in great need of lunch and we were both in need of watching the USA Canada Hockey Game. We planned to eat and watch a "bit" of the game before heading to the Art Museum of Phoenix to see the Ansel Adams exhibit. Needless to say that never happened and we ended up watching the whole game. It was an INCREDIBLE game and unfortunately the USA did not come out on the better side.

After leaving the bar it was a drive around Phoenix and then we headed toward the hotel to try and find me some hiking pants. We didn't find any :( I'll just keep hiking in wind pants and shorts until we find some. We then headed to Wal-Mart to stock up for Joshua Tree National Park. It was then back to the hotel for a run, dinner, laundry, and packing!

We will be in Joshua Tree for the next three nights and will not have Internet access and will likely have very spotty cell phone service. If you need us...try but we make no promises!!

Lata!