The Museum of Northern Arizona’s Heritage Program is dedicated to honoring the cultural diversity of the magnificent Colorado Plateau. Meet Native artists, performers, ethnobotanists, and cultural interpreters to explore the rich heritage of northern Arizona and the Four Corners region through stories, dances, and songs.
72nd Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture • July 2 and 3
The oldest Hopi show in the world, this festival celebrates the rich artistic culture and traditions from the Hopi mesas of northeastern Arizona. This year’s focus is on Hopi weaving, a diminishing art form, and one of the oldest and least often taught arts. Recognizing this decline, MNA is highlighting all forms of Hopi textile weaving, including belts, sashes, blankets, and clothing. Juried weaving awards, demonstrations, and discussions help to breathe new life into this ancient tradition. Enjoy the renowned Hopi handmade arts of katsina doll carving, pottery, painting, and silver overlay jewelry against a backdrop of storytelling, music, dancing, and steaming piki. Learn about the Hopi values of humility, cooperation, respect, balance, and earth stewardship. Nature lovers can take a hike with a Hopi medicine woman along the Museum’s Rio de Flag Nature Trail to learn the many uses of regional plants.
56th Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture • July 30 and 31
Entering the Navajo Festival is like an up-close and personal visit to the vast Navajo Nation, which stretches from Northern Arizona across the Four Corners region. This event is an authentic presentation of the Diné culture by more than 50 Navajo artists, storytellers, and cultural interpreters from many clans. Navajo basket making is an exacting art and a tradition that is not practiced as much as it once was. This year’s festival fosters the work of the few remaining Navajo basket makers whose vision and fine workmanship are keeping this art form alive, even though they may only craft a few pieces a year. See juried awards for basketry. Meet basket makers creating works on-site. Hear presentations about the importance of this waning art form. Join rug weavers, silversmiths, potters, painters, and storytellers to learn about the Navajo “Beauty Way” philosophy of living in harmony. Explore the tribe’s intricate language with a Navajo linguist and come to understand many ancient legends and traditions. Hike with a Navajo ethnobotanist.
2nd Annual Celebraciones de la Gente • October 29 and 30
The Museum comes to life for Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, an ancient Meso-American holiday held throughout Mexico, Latin America, and the Southwestern United States. Transforming grief into celebration, this ritual pays homage to the lives of lost loved ones by inviting them back to enjoy their favorite music and foods, and to remember their contributions in life. This festival embraces rich New World customs through musical and theatrical performances, traditional storytelling, puppet shows, and hands-on demonstrations of artistic traditions. See altars, luminaries, strolling mariachis, ballet folklorico, and hear a blend of modern and ancient music. Meet a range of creative people from Spanish Colonial artists who create tin work, straw mosaics, papél picado (paper art), and filigree jewelry to local artists from the Arizona art scene. Join in this vibrant celebration of life.
MNA’s Heritage Program is sponsored by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Flagstaff Cultural Partners, and the City of Flagstaff. The Museum of Northern Arizona sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks and is located three miles north of historic downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For further information, call 928/774-5213 or log on to www.musnaz.org.