WNMU
Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2004

CONTACT: DR. CYNTHIA ANN BETTISON, 538-6368

SUBJECT: MRAC/WNMU MUSEUM ANNOUNCES NEW DEADLINE DATE FOR HOPI & ZUNI TOUR

The Mimbres Region Arts Council and the Western New Mexico University Museum will once again be offering their 4-day, 3-night Art and Culture Tour of Hopi and Zuni lands from March 25 through 28. The NEW deadline to confirm participation through payment in full is March 10, 2004.

The tour will explore the prehistory, history, modern culture and art of the Hopi Tribe and Zuni Pueblo with tour leaders Dr. Cynthia Ann Bettison, professional southwestern archaeologist and director of the Western New Mexico University Museum, and Faye McCalmont, executive director of the Mimbres Region Arts Council.

Participants will stay in the wonderfully quaint Inn at Halona, located near Middle Village in historic Zuni Pueblo, Zuni, New Mexico on the first night. The second and third nights will be spent at the La Posada Hotel, a National Historic Landmark hotel, in Winslow, Arizona. The La Posada Hotel is considered to be "The Last Great Railroad Hotel" of the Harvey House chain and has just recently undergone an $11 million restoration. Each guestroom is unique and contains antiques, historic photographs, fine art, murals, full baths with 6-footlong porcelain tubs, and beautiful views. The 5-Star Turquoise Room Restaurant and Martini Bar feature elegant drinks, Fred Harvey dishes from the 30s and contemporary southwestern cuisine.

Tour group members will be treated to scenic views throughout New Mexico and Arizona while Dr. Bettison offers interesting facts regarding the groups that inhabited the areas.

The first day the participants will travel into the southern Colorado Plateau and El Morro National Monument. They will have the opportunity to explore Inscription Rock, which features both prehistoric rock art and historic inscriptions, and the ancestral Zuni village of Atsinna pueblo, situated on the mesa top.

The tour spend the second day in Zuni, admiring Dowa Yallane, sacred Corn
Mountain and the new A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center located in the historic Hapadina building, across from the Inn at Halona. At the new museum, opened in 2002, a Zuni guide will provide a brief explanation of Zuni origins, after which the group will view pottery excavated from Hawikku by Frederick Webb Hodge over 80 years ago. Depending on Zuni Pueblo’s ceremonial cycle, participants will be offered an "insider’s" tour of Zuni with a walking tour of historic Middle Village. The Young Olla Maidens will entertain participants with a social dance during lunch at the Inn at Halona and the day will conclude with a visit to the actual historic site of Hawikku, where the Zuni’s fought Coronado in 1540.

The next day the group will spend exploring the Hopi Mesas with a short side drive to the Little Painted Desert overlook. Participants will travel to the Hopi Cultural Center on Second Mesa where they can view galleries and interact with local Hopi artists. If traditional kachina (katsina) dances are being held and non-Indian visitors permitted, vans will take the group to the dance site. After lunch, depending on the ceremonial cycle, the group will travel to First Mesa to tour the ancient village of Walpi, which has been inhabited since A.D. 900. First Mesa provides a spectacular view of Hopi land; however, it can be closed to non-Indian visitors during dances.

As the tour heads home the final day, they will visit Casa Malpais, a unique prehistoric Upland Mogollon community dating from A.D. 1260 to A.D. 1400 that is ancestral Zuni and Hopi. The site is built out of rugged lava blocks and consists of a large masonry pueblo, a great kiva complex, an enclosing fortified wall, rock art panels, and underground catacombs and sacred chambers.

The cost of the tour is $700 per person for members of the Arts Council or WNMU Museum and $800 for non-members, double-occupancy. Single occupancy rates are an additional $150 per person in each category. The cost includes transportation, entrance fees, lodging, and meals. Payment in full to confirm reservations must be made by Wednesday, March 10, 2004.

For more information on this fabulous tour, call the Arts Council office at 538-2575 or the WNMU Museum at 538-6386.