Souvenir Shopping in Arizona and New Mexico
Native American Crafts include Silver Jewelry, Ceramics, Navajo Rugs
Sep 14, 2009
The Native Americans of the Southwest have a long tradition of artisan crafts. Both Arizona and New Mexico are shoppers' paradises for travelers, with Arizona and New Mexico souvenirs that bringi a bit of southwestern style home. Even a remote trading post on a dusty road is likely to have something of interest, and major cities and tourist centers such as Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Flagstaff, Tucson, and Sedona have large and varied shopping and gallery areas.
Navajo and Pueblo Silver and Turquoise Jewelry
Southwestern turquoise jewelry comes in many different styles and price ranges, from turquoise earrings and beaded necklaces to inlay work using several different semi-precious stones.
Silver and turquoise beadwork is a hallmark of Navajo jewelry, and authentic Indian jewelry in silver and turquoise is available throughout the Southwest, just about anywhere where anything else is sold. Even if it’s just a little grocery store on a reservation or a convenience store by the main road, shoppers can usually find a few pieces of Indian jewelry in a case somewhere.
Upscale Southwestern tourist destinations such as Taos and Santa Fe (in New Mexico) and Sedona (in Arizona) have a wide variety of shops, selling everything from inexpensive silver earrings and bolo ties for a few dollars a piece to finely wrought, artist-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. Serious shoppers looking for the best jewelry prices should head to Gallup, New Mexico, a dusty town strung out alongside Interstate 40 about 140 miles west of Albuquerque. It’s a sort of wholesale center for Indian jewelry, with discount prices available to the public.
Inlaid stone, usually on silver, is a hallmark of Pueblo Indian jewelry, which is also widely available in the Southwest, especially in Arizona. Turquoise is mixed with other stones and colors, with artisans creating beautiful jewelry that mirrors the colors of the Southwestern deserts: the pinks and mauves of the redrock canyons, the reds and oranges of sunset, the turquoise sky, along with the beiges and sands of the desert floor. Inlaid work is popular in earrings, rings, necklaces, and bolo ties.
Kachina Dolls
Abither common Arizon souvenir is the kachina, which is a Pueblo tradition. Kachinas are spirits and deities of the Pueblo people and kachina dolls, which are usually about a foot 18 inches tall, represent the panoply of different spirits in Pueblo mythology. The spirits can also be represented in religious ceremonies by people wearing masks. Both masks and dolls are available for purchase; they are not, however, toys, but rather representations of the spiritual culture of the Pueblo people.
Navajo Rugs and Blankets
Navajo rugs are famous the world over. Made of rough sheep wool, they feature geometric patterns (not always strictly symmetrical), usually in a combination of brown, red, black, beige, and white. High-end rugs costing upward of $10,000 are made by premier artisans, and are sold in shops and galleries in Santa Fe and Taos, as well as Albuquerque. Antique Navajo rugs cost even more. Much less expensive rugs and blankets are available in different sizes, weights, and quality. Bargain hunters should stop in at reservation trading posts, where local artisans might have bartered a rug for household supplies, and where visitors might find a rug for sale sitting next to a display of household goods or packaged food.
Pueblo Ceramics
The tradition of intricately decorated ceramic art dates back hundreds of years in the Southwest, to the Anasazi and other Pueblo people, who adorned their ceramics with geometric designs. Pots are still being found as old kitchen middens are discovered, unearthed, and excavated. These middens provide valuable information to archaeologists, and removing ancient pottery found on public lands is illegal. Unfortunately, a black market for these items exists because of their rarity and value to collectors; an intact ancient bowl can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
Modern versions of Indian pottery, however, are perfectly legal and widely available. Native American ceramics are still made, both as art objects and for practical use in the home. Navajo ceramics tend to be plain and functional, while Pueblo ceramics have more intricate deign work, often following the traditional patterns of the Anasazi and other ancient peoples.
To learn more about the traditions that inform the artisanal jewelry, rugs, and pottery of the Southwest, visitors can pay a visit to the Albuquerque Museum, which is dedicated to preserving and presenting the arts, history and culture of Albuquerque and New Mexico’s middle Rio Grande Valley. The museum has its own gift shop, and New Mexico tourists will find many galleries and shops selling native American souvenirs in Albuquerque’s old town, where the museum is located.
For more on shopping worldwide, see Resources for Souvenirs.
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