Smoki Museum

Designed to resemble an Indian pueblo, the Smoki Museum was built in 1935 of native stone and wood. It was constructed with labor provided by the Civilian Works Administration and the Smoki People. The Smoki People were a group of Prescott citizens organized in 1921 and dedicated to the perpetuation of American Indian ceremonies and dances. Until 1990, the Smoki People held annual pageants at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds, but they also became a large social organization focused on developing appreciation for Southwest Indian tribes through the Museum and their annual program. Most of the display cases, hand-chiseled furniture and models were built shortly after the building and qualify as antiques. The challenge is to maintain the historical value of the building, the display cases, and the like while making visitors comfortable and the collection physically and environmentally safe. The ethnographic collections include clothing, ornaments and ceremonial paraphernalia from the Sioux, Apache and Woodland Indians. The extensive collection of baskets on display are from the local Yavapai, Apache, Pima, Tohono O'odham and Seri tribes and various California tribes. The Museum's art collection includes oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal drawings and hundreds of Hopi photographs by Kate Cory. Ms. Cory decorated the Museum walls with several incredible kachina paintings. The Smoki Museum library contains some 600 volumes, mostly on Native American prehistory and ethnography. In the library, you will find periodicals from Museum News and Pottery Southwest, among others.