Journey of Pueblo Pottery: Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian to the Poeh Cultural Center

In 2016, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) began a community loans program to establish working partnerships with tribal museums and cultural centers. As the first initiative of the program, NMAI has partnered with the Poeh Cultural Center in Pojoaque Pueblo, NM, to complete a loan of 100 Pueblo ceramics for an exhibition slated to open in late 2018 at the Poeh.

This talk will focus on the collaboration between NMAI and the Poeh Cultural Center highlighting the unique aspects of this collaboration related to cultural and artistic revitalization, preservation, and stewardship. Cynthia Chavez-Lamar is assistant director for collections at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Karl Duncan is executive director for the Poeh Cultural Center at the Pueblo of Pojoaque; his tribal affiliation is San Carlos Apache, Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan.