The Seattle Times: Travel: Travel Q & A: Seeing New Mexico’s Indian culture

Q: I plan to take my grandson to New Mexico as a graduation present. We’re both interested in Native American culture. Any recommendations?

A: The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (505-843-7270, www.indianpueblo.org), representing the 19 pueblos of New Mexico, is a good starting place. Its 10,000-square-foot museum in Albuquerque showcases the cultural development of the Pueblo Indians. The cultural center also keeps an events calendar and info for visiting the individual pueblos.

Also, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (505-476-1250, www.miaclab.org) in Santa Fe houses 10 million Native American artifacts from 12,000 excavations.

You also will want to visit several sites administered by the National Park Service that feature Indian artifacts and culture. They include the Petroglyph National Monument (505-899-0205, www.nps.gov/petr), just west of Albuquerque; Bandelier National Monument, 505-672-0343, www.nps.gov/band), west of Santa Fe; and Chaco Culture National Historical Park (505-786-7014, www.nps.gov/chcu), closer to the Four Corners region.

For more information, including organized tours, contact the New Mexico Tourism Department (800-733-6396, www.newmexico.org).

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