Visitor Guide Spotlights Zuni Pueblo’s A:shiwi A:wan Museum, Traditions

The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and the Zuni Visitor Center together form the practical starting point for visits to Zuni Pueblo, offering orientation, photo and video permits, and sign-ups for guided tours of Halona:Idiwan'a and Hawikku. Check-in at the Visitor Center at 1239 State Highway 53, Zuni, New Mexico, phone (505) 782-7238 (additional listing: (505) 782-7239), where staff also advise on ArtWalk schedules and permit purchases; Zuni Tourism can be reached at (505) 782-7000, by email at tourism@ashiwi.org, or by mail at PO Box 339, Zuni, NM 87327.

The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, located at 02E Ojo Caliente Road, was established by a small group of Zuni tribal members in 1992 as a Pueblo of Zuni Tribal Program. The museum describes its mission as serving the Zuni community with programs and exhibitions that help reflect on the past and remain relevant to present and future interests; its website headings include About the Museum, Permanent Exhibits, and Keshshi. The Pueblo of Zuni Tribal Archives are charged with preserving records and digitizing materials to maintain governmental, historical, and cultural knowledge for tribal members and elected officials.

Visitors can join a Halona:Idiwan'a walking tour that includes an oral presentation of the Migration Story through the Middle Village, an inhabited neighborhood where unguided visits are discouraged. Artist-focused offerings include Artists’ Workshop Tours and Artist Studio Demonstrations that introduce inlay silverwork, stone fetish carving, traditional pottery, silversmithing and jewelry, wood carving, painting, bead work, and traditional Zuni embroidery and Pueblo textiles with artists Elroy Natachu and Kandis Quam. Zuni tourism copy notes, “With perhaps 80% of our workforce involved in making arts, we are indeed an ‘artist colony.’” and adds, “You won’t find those fabled ‘Cities of Gold’ or glitzy entertainment here, but you will find genuine hospitality, authentic arts, and a living community committed to age-old traditions.”

Historic-site programming includes tours of Hawikku, described as where European explorers first made contact with the A:shiwi in 1539 in one source and as the site where Coronado arrived in 1540 in another; the material includes both dates without resolving the discrepancy. The 1632 Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Mission is presented as one of the earliest restored Spanish Colonial missions. Full-day Re-Discover the Cities of Cibola tours list Halona:Idiwan'a, Hawikku, and unexcavated sites K'wa'kin'a, Kechiba:wa, Mats'a:kya, and Kyaki:ma, with a seventh site noted as on top of a mesa and inaccessible. An archaeologist, Kenny Bowekaty, is shown leading tours in site captions.

Youth programming is active through the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, which unveiled the Zuni Turkey Maiden film as part of its Delapna:we Oral History Project during a 4th annual event at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12; Delapna:we are traditional oral stories used for entertainment, intergenerational bonding, and education. Apprenticeship components include regional art show visits and an end-of-apprenticeship showcase and sale. Ho’n A:wan Community Park is listed as COMING SOON as an ArtPlace America / ZYEP initiative.

Practical visitor rules are explicit: purchase photo/video permits at the Visitor Center, check in for current orientation, and “Practice common sense etiquette as well as respect all rules and regulations of the Pueblo - violators are subject to Tribal or Federal penalties.” Zuni tourism adds, “We welcome all visitors, but please respect our cultural privacy by following appropriate etiquette and guidelines – and always ask if you are unsure of what to do.” NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Diné) praised grant support, saying these grants “provide valuable humanities resources to tribal communities and represent a lifeline to the many Native heritage sites and cultural centers that are helping preserve and educate about Indigenous history, traditions, and languages.” Elahkwa / thank you for visiting Zuni Pueblo!