Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM

Panel Image: A view of the Pueblo of Acoma from the roof of San Esteban Del Rey Mission.

Text from Panel:From the place of emergence, Shipapu, somewhere far to the north, came the people of Acoma Pueblo. According to oral history, this place known as the "wetlands" was but one imprint along the path between Shipapu and the Place Prepared, Haa'ku, also known as the Pueblo of Acoma. Today the journey continues in the songs, prayers, language, and traditions. Community cooperation and planning for the future focus on the preservation of Acoma history, and the strength and continuity of traditional knowledge.

Panel Image: Hopi Butterfly Dance (Politikive) in the village of Paaqavi (Bacavi), ca. 1930. Bottom Right: Hopi lunar calendar documented from Orayvi traditions.

Text from Panel: The Hopi People will lose their way if they forget who they are and why they came to this world. Hopi life and traditions are reflected in every aspect of the architecture and the landscape here at Hoo'ovi, the "Place of the Arrow." The oral stories are reaffirmed through the tangible footprints left behind by the ancestral clans of the Hopiit, people who are mannered, civilized, and who adhere to the Hopi way.

The Hopi maintain deep spiritual and ancestral ties with this site through oral tradition, prayers, and ceremonies.

Panel Image: Navajos use sandpainting in their healing ceremonies. A Navajo sandpainting serves as a ritual pathway, connecting a patient with the healing powers of the Holy People, reestablishing that person's sense of hozho, connectedness, balance, and beauty.

Text from Panel: The Navajo people, or Nihokaa dine'e bila'ashdla'ii "Five finger people of the land," have a rich oral history of how they emerged into this, the fifth and present world, after ascending through four previous underworlds. Part of this oral history includes being one people of ancient times in the Southwest. Oral, ceremonial, and clan histories of the Navajo Nation have been taught from generation to generation, as well as documented in post-European contact.

The word Anasazi has been misinterpreted by scholars as meaning "Ancient Enemy." Based on oral history, the correct interpretation is Nihi naazazi, "Ancestors who lived around us," in time periods beginning with Paleoindians.

Panel Image: Koshare on Rainbow, artist Awa Tsireh (Alphonso Roybal), San Ildefonso Pueblo Awa Tsireh (1898 -1955) was one of the first Pueblo painters to receive recognition by the Santa Fe art community. He was a farmer, potter, painter, and silversmith. He was exemplary in representational, conventional, and abstract styles.

Text from Panel: Seven pueblos make up the Tewa speaking people. Six are located along the Rio Grande River north of Santa Fe: Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) "Village of the strong people," Kha'p'oo Owinge (Santa Clara) "Valley of the wild roses," Po-woh-ge-oweenge (San Ildefonso) "Where the water cuts through," P'O Suwae Geh (Pojoaque) "Dater drinking place or gathering place," Nanbe O-Ween-Ge ( Nambe) "People of the round earth," and Te Tesugeh Oweengeh (Tesuque) "Village of the narrow place of the cottonwood trees."

Hano is a village located on the Hopi First Mesa in northeastern Arizona. According to tradition, the people of Hano were invited to live on First Mesa to help protect the Hopi villages from attack. While an integral part of the Hopi Tribe, they still retain close ties to their Tewa relatives on the Rio Grande River.

Panel Image: Ute Culture, artist Russell Box, Sr. (Spirit Buffalo), Southern Ute. The artist integrates traditional Ute symbolism, "the old ways of my Grandfather or Grandmother... our language, culture, heritage," with contemporary art style in this image.

Text from Panel: The Nuu-ci (Southern Utes) are deeply rooted in the Ninai Tuvu'pu, their ancestral lands that include large areas of Colorado, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona and Utah.

Instructed by Sinewav, the creator, to protect their mountain landscape, the Nuu-ci believe that "if the stories are not told and the songs are not sung, our Mother Earth will die." The people strive to retain a balance, living harmoniously as instructed through oral traditions while managing their tribal destiny through modern development.

Panel Image: This image represents the traditional Buffalo Dance at Zia Pueblo. Marcellus Medina, artist and former governor of Zia, continues a family tradition of painting the pueblo's heritage.

Text from Panel: Aztec Ruins National Monument, or Aachuwa Kiwatsi, "place where cattails grow," as the Zia People call this place, was once a vibrant village. The Coyote-Arrow clan can trace their ancestry to Aachuwa Kiwatsi. Symbolically and in reverence to their ancestral home, stems from the Aachuwa plant are collected each year during the summer solstice pilgrimage. The Zia pueblo, within the mountains, slopes, and canyons and near the Jemez River, is culturally as much of the landscape as the natural features of the surrounding terrain. A strong sense of identity and adherence to Zia traditions are reflected in the cultural way of life.

Panel Image: The AAA Zuni Dance Group performed a traditional dance at Aztec Ruins National Monument in 2007. The AAA acronym stands for A:zhiwi = Zuni, A:tsana = Children, A:dehya = Precious. "Zuni children are precious."

Text from Panel: The people of Zuni have lived in the American Southwest for thousands of years. Their cultural and religious traditions are rooted in their deep ties to the mountains, forests, and deserts of this ancient Zuni homeland. Central to Zuni life and history are the ancient sites, sacred shrines, and places of pilgrimage beyond their pueblo — places like Aztec Ruins.

Zuni people express cultural traditions through painting, pottery, jewelry, and fetish carving. These artworks have significant meaning and serve to help unite Zuni's past with the present.