Tribal events, sites contribute to NM’s tourist traffic – Albuquerque – MSNBC.com By Harlan McKosato, New Mexico Business Weekly
The newest tourist attraction on tribal lands is the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum at Acoma Pueblo, 45 miles west of Albuquerque, opening May 27. The $15 million, 40,000-square-foot building evokes the Acoma ancestral architecture at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.
There will be interactive components in the museum, such as a chance to bake bread in an outdoor oven, or horno. Tours will take visitors atop the 370-foot sandstone mesa, home of the Acoma people for 2,000 years.
“Acoma has been involved in the tourism industry since the 1940s,” says Brian Vallo, director of the new cultural center and museum and an Acoma member.
In the 1970s, Acoma built a tourist center at the base of the mesa. This housed a museum, gift shop and food service. In May of 2000, the tourist center burned down and the tribal council approved a plan to rebuild. But first they decided to take a closer look at the tourism industry in New Mexico and funded a market study. As a result, the council decided to build the cultural center and museum.