About

The Arts of Indigenous America

Indigenous peoples are essential to our region’s past and present. The land on which Pueblo was built is the homeland of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Apache, and Native Americans from a variety of cultures continue to be a part of our community.

This exhibition includes artworks created at many points in time and many different places. One thousand years separates the inhabitants of Mesa Verde from the contemporary artists whose work dates from the last few years. Although most of the works on display stem from the Southwest, Plains, and California, some originate as far away as Alaska.

The cultures represented here are diverse. Their languages, religions, and ways of life vary, and they inhabited vastly different regions, with varying climates and resources. Some cultures built towns, while others benefitted from seasonal migration.

Map of indigenous territories in the Southwest. Source: Native-land.ca

G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co, Map showing the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad system, with its Connections. New York, 1883. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

The Orman Collection

James B. Orman, governor of Colorado from 1901 to 1903, his wife Nellie and their son Frederick traveled throughout the United States collecting Native American objects and artworks along the way. Except for the work of Arley Woodty and Severino Martinez who are local contemporary artists, all of the objects on display stem from the Orman family’s collection.

Railroads are central to this collection’s history. By the time that James Orman moved to Pueblo in 1874, the town was a major railroad hub. Orman was involved in the construction of many of the railroad lines that connected Pueblo to other parts of the country, including the Santa Fe line. The Santa Fe line ran through New Mexico, Arizona, and California, connecting indigenous artists throughout the Southwest with art collectors and tourists, the Ormans among them.

Indigenous artists took advantage of this opportunity to expand art production and to financially support their communities. Artists adapted to the tastes of tourists, often melding tradition with innovation. Some invented new techniques, developed methods to work with new materials, and experimented with new visual effects and imagery. Often, artists used artworks found archaeologically as inspiration, reviving techniques and designs that their ancestors valued long ago.