SPECIAL INTERESTS
NATIVE AMERICAN ARTS & CULTURE
Long before America came into being, the Native Americans and Native Alaskans were the stewards of the rocks and rivers, the canyons and cliffs, the wildlife and plant life. They respected and revered the wondrous beauty and natural bounty of the American West, California and Alaska. Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park and Olympic National Park – these places were sacred to the Native peoples of America. And their history and stories are forever linked. With the help of our expert guides, you learn more about these fascinating people and their cultures.
Children and adults alike thrill to the opportunity to climb through Ancestral Pueblo or Anasazi cliff dwellings, using the same hand and footholds that the residents used more than 500 years ago to return home. Pictographs – drawings or paintings made on rocks – and petroglyphs – images carved into the rock – offer a visual connection to the events and lives of Native Americans long ago. Or get a glimpse into how these traditions are honored today when you get face-to-face with storytellers or artisans.
HIGHLIGHTS
Explore Mesa Verde National Park with a Private Guide
Explore Mesa Verde National Park with a Private Guide
Your guide, a professor from Fort Lewis College, will teach you about the culture and history of the ancestral Puebloan people who called Mesa Verde home. Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from AD 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
COMBINE WITH:
> Mesa Verde National Park & Durango
> Moab
Pottery Lesson & Private Tour of Taos Pueblo
Pottery Lesson & Private Tour of Taos Pueblo
Meet a vibrant and life-long Taos Pueblo potter in her tribal home in Taos Pueblo, the iconic multi-storied adobe buildings which have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. Learn what makes Taos Pueblo pottery stand apart from other Pueblo styles of pottery, how the earth is harvested, sifted, and formed the ‘old way’, do a traditional firing, and take your own piece of art home.
COMBINE WITH:
> Mesa Verde National Park & Durango
Native American Rock Art Tour
Native American Rock Art Tour
The lush and diverse environment of Palomas Creek on the Ladder Ranch in New Mexico, once provided a home to several indigenous cultures. Most prominent, are the ancient remnants of the Mimbres and Apache tribes that can be found throughout the ranch in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs. The tranquil settings of these two Native American Rock Art sites on Palomas Creek provide an unrivaled opportunity to step back in time and reflect on the former inhabitants of this magnificent landscape.
COMBINE WITH:
> Sedona
> Grand Canyon
> The Black Hills