Indian Reservations in AZ-- which are easy travel from Phoenix (Tucson: big house, buying)

[NezzaBlue]

Good morning all,

I have my mother visiting from Connecticut, and she is in love with all things Southwestern and Native American. We went up to Sedona yesterday, and had a blast. So today we are looking for something closer to home.

Does any one know of an actual indian reservation we can visit? Or any fairs or places with Native American culture and sights?

Thanks in advance. As always any suggestions are helpful!
Have a great day...

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by NezzaBlue

Good morning all,

I have my mother visiting from Connecticut, and she is in love with all things Southwestern and Native American. We went up to Sedona yesterday, and had a blast. So today we are looking for something closer to home.

Does any one know of an actual indian reservation we can visit? Or any fairs or places with Native American culture and sights?

Thanks in advance. As always any suggestions are helpful!
Have a great day...

The reservations in AZ don't hold to this romantic notion you mother seems to have... They're just living establishment with nothing really to see IMO.

If you have time, you might wanna visit Mission San Xavier, but obviously it's as far as Sedona - Index



You can see Native Americans selling fry bread (and have some, of course - it's yummy )



and possibly playing chicken scratch

http://www.canyonrecords.com/img/8114.jpg (broken link)

Waila: Chicken scratch (broken link) - the latter, if you're lucky. There are also some shops selling arts and crafts, but that you can find anywhere.

The only authentic, interesting, and functioning Indian pueblo I've gone to was near Taos, NM. It allowed visits, but there were a lot of restrictions about what you can and cannot do, which is understandable... people actually live there and go about their daily lives.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by NezzaBlue

Does any one know of an actual indian reservation we can visit?

Casino Arizona
Ft McDowell Casino
Harrahs Ak-Chin
Wild Horse Pass

Kitt Peak SW of Tucson is on the Tohono O'odham reservation. They have star nights there available for the public.

Two museums to visit if you're interested in learning about local Native American tribes: Heard Museum in central Phoenix and the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

[Yeahhh right!!]

If you really want to see how Natives lived before the pioneers came, then you must see the Casa Grande Ruins just outside of Coolidge. Remnants of the Big House are still erect from hundreds of years ago, and the museum has much information to entertain for most of your morning or afternoon, whichever you choose. It is found 35-40 minutes south of Chandler on highway 87 just outside of Cooldige. Just google it for more info. It describes how native life was when the Gila river flowed year round and they would irrigate crops with it. Also the community was over 10,000 strong back in the hay day, and they would have events such as athletics and a type of baseball game in ball courts. A must see! Much of the ruins are leveled through the years by erosion, but the museum still has the community laid out to visualize. Hope it helps!

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by NezzaBlue

Good morning all,

I have my mother visiting from Connecticut, and she is in love with all things Southwestern and Native American. We went up to Sedona yesterday, and had a blast. So today we are looking for something closer to home.

Does any one know of an actual indian reservation we can visit? Or any fairs or places with Native American culture and sights?

Thanks in advance. As always any suggestions are helpful!
Have a great day...

Not an Indian Reservation but The Train from Williams to The Canyon is the absolute best outing in Arizona.

I've taken it about six times and every time I see and learn something new. Cannot be beat and worth every penny!

GRAND CANYON RAILWAY | Grand Canyon National Park train | Grand Canyon Railroad

Good Luck

[Ponderosa]

The Gila River Arts and Crafts Center, located along Interstate 10 (I-10) at the Casa Blanca Interchange, sells one of Arizona’s finest selections of Southwest Indian arts and crafts. The Center also contains a museum and restaurant/coffee shop.

The Gila River Heritage Theme Park features self-guided tours of traditional Indian homes of the Pima, Maricopa, Tohono O’odham, and Apache tribes.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

The Gila River Heritage Theme Park features self-guided tours of traditional Indian homes of the Pima, Maricopa, Tohono O’odham, and Apache tribes.

Oh, really? That's interesting. Thanks, Ponderosa.

[dogrescue]

To the writer who has mother visiting from CT: BTW Sedona, beautiful as it is-- is way too commercial and very high prices. If you had taken-- from Sedona the back way to Flagstaff-- called the switchbacks on 89 going up-- as you get closer to Flag-- on the right is a large area of seller s that are at this viewpoint-- ask anyone and they will know. A lot of Navajo sell there and it is beautiful place to walk around and see the canyons below--
as far as the statement below there are no interesting , authentic Pueblos except Taos. That is insane. IF you were to go north on rt 25 from Albuquerque (which sounds way too far for what you seem to want- a day excursion) you would hit many Pueblos. Santa Clara-north of Santa Fe has the most beautiful pottery and artists -- very famous and some very upscale pieces as well, Santa Domingo-- has a lot of jewelry and pottery artists and is outh of Santa Fe. Many DO allow you to see ceremonies -- they are beautiful, Back to AZ-- Yavapai Apache south of Sedona-- you can reach off 17 going south from Flagstaff or the Sedona turnoff-- have several events and you might want to contact them to see if you could attend one. I attended one in Camp Verde that was great dancing, food, jewelry etc,
You should contact the various tribes here- Salt River, etc and see what they have going on-- Of course if you want to drive north of Flagstaff you can go to the Tuba City flea market which is on Fridays and large. You can get food, including frybread and Navajo tacos, lamb stew (I dont eat lambs) etc, There are several jewelry and rug (Navajo rugs are very good collector pieces and very beautiful as well as famous) artists-- lotsof booths and art. It is casual and friendly-- and a better chance to experience and speak with Navajo. The flea market is for the locals as well as open to tourists so you see much more locals who drive in on Fridays or live right in Tuba. GREAT fun for her and less touristy and "white" than the sedona experience! It is 45 min to Flag from Sedona and then another hour and 15 min up to Tuba. or hour and a half going normal lol. Tuba has cafes, fast food, nicer places to eat, Bashas grocery, everything you might need to make the trip fun. You could go up there in the morning and meet a lot of people! Have fun.

as well-- prices are MUCH lower and more reasonable than Sedona prices- where you are actually paying for the gallery owners overhead. Buying direct is always better for the consumer as well as the artist who get ripped off from gallery owners,

[observer53]

dogrescue-- you might want to look at the date of a post before responding to it. The rest of this thread, and the post you are responding to, is from November of 2007. So, the poster you are responding to may not see, or still need, the info. But, it may help someone else.