Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

This place far exceeded my expectations. This was my first stop in NM. I had a lot of time to kill while I waited for my friends to arrive, so I came here.The museum does the most amazing job explaining & showing you Pueblo culture from the past-present. I've never seen anyone be so informative, giving, & welcoming to foreigners.I was blown away by their history, knowledge of their land, art, & culture. Looking at the displays was breathtaking. So much beauty & amazing details.I happened to be in town during GON & they had a lot of things going on outside. After touring the museum, I walk out & there are Acoma Pueblo, Navajo, & Apache child dancers showing us their regalia & doing ceremonial dances. It was beyond beautiful. I was in awe. Plus the singers/announcers explained what their dances meant, what their regalia meant, & edge dancers introduced themselves & spoke in their native language.Then there were Pueblo artists around the outside with their arts & crafts for sale. The very first vendor I spoke to (Colleen Chino) was so sweet, she was Acoma Pueblo & had the most beautiful pottery. Having just learned about Pueblo pottery in the museum, & coming outside seeing their modern day pottery was AMAZING. She was so sweet, proud& happy to show you her art & how it's created, told me how to get to her Pueblo & that I have to enjoy the state. She was such a sweetheart & was so funny.As I walked around the vendor tables I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing detail in the art & how it reflected what I saw in their museum displays & far exceeded what I was already amazed by.Thank you so much to everyone who works & came out to the cultural center. This place truly won my heart & was an amazing experience.Not to mention the restaurant attached to it (I ate here thrice while in town). Thank you Pueblo people, The Apache's, & Navajo for showcasing your peoples culture & talent.I had a once in a lifetime experience.

The cultural center was so enriching and full of history that you may not be familiar with. It was pretty insightful and I loved learning all of the history this place had to offer. When you're there really take the time to soak it all in and learn things you may not be aware of. Once you go outside, you'll see a few local vendors to shop from. All hand made items. All in all a very cool and insightful place worthy of a visit!

This museum was so interesting to visit. It really is unlike any other museums I've ever been to for a couple of reasons. I wish that they had traditional performances on the weekdays as well, I think it would definitely have added to my experience.Here are some of my observations:- I don't think I've ever been to a museum where the descriptions were written in first-person format. It felt like there was a lot of ownership of the museum.- I wish I got the chance to also eat the Pueblo food, I think it would have made the experience more immersive.- This is a weird thing to say but I think my favorite exhibit was the exhibit where they showcased the local Pueblo school kid artwork. I thought it was so funny the price that was tacked onto each of the artwork because it was determined by each child. Special shout-out to the child who said his artwork can be sold for $12.99, it's such a supermarket price haha.Overall, a good museum to visit if in Albuquerque. Would recommend coming on a weekend to watch the cultural performances and eating at the museum restaurant.

Things Will Work Out IndianOwned and operated by the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico, this +10k-sq-ft Museum/Cultural Center/Performance Venue opened in 1976 to showcase and educate visitors and locals alike about the culture and history--both good and bad--of the Pueblo People. The Good:*Lots of amazing artifacts and art to discover.*Extremely inexpensive at $12/adult & $10/kids (w/ additional discounts for seniors and veterans) for what you get. *Native craft makers selling their wares in and around the museum. *Restaurant (Indian Pueblo Kitchen) that features Native American cuisine. *If you see an older gentleman (sorry, I forgot his name) about to give a (free) tour, I highly recommend you take it. He gives lots of amazing info, even if he does go a little long on some things. *Native music and dancing every Sat & Sun (11 a.m. & 2 p.m.) and some Fridays (check their calendar of events on their website).*Rotating exhibits*Terrific gift shopThe Meh:*The restaurant was just OK, but that's a review for another day and another Yelp page. :)The Ugly:*Grumpy Gus 12-year-old who bemoans going to museums because it "feels like I'm in school." -_-TLDR: Fantastic place to visit and get your learn on while visiting Albuquerque. Highly recommended.

When we first got to the Center, we saw the Turtle painted on the wall, next to the parking. It was beautiful! After paying for one New Mexico resident ($10) and 2 Seniors ($8 each), we joined a Mural tour outside. The one mural the tour operator was describing was by Helen Hardin. He asked about the faces in the mural - 6 faces, singing & providing music for dancing men. He suggested Googling her to learn more about her. Before moving on to the next mural, it was too cold outside so we went inside. Inside, I liked looking at all the fetishes in individual small display cases - especially the Pelican with a fish in its mouth. In one room, we looked at a Pueblo. Around it, we saw the many ways the Pueblo people used every bit of hunted animals and harvested vegetation. We watched videos of dances. We liked the exhibits featuring pottery, and a touch screen explaining each way it was made by each artist. In another room was a display about making drums and moccasins. We sat and listened for a bit to greetings and stories of different Pueblo families in their languages, north to west of Sandia. We walked through a hands on exhibit, with magnetic pictures to use in 4 seasons. It had tables and chairs & books for young ones. Next to it, in another room, we saw where little ones could build a Pueblo. In a small alcove, we listened to storytellers. One section concentrated on the Spanish forcing religion on Pueblo people. That was disheartening. We were happy to see the story of the revolt! But then came boarding schools and colonization. The inside mural - before the projected quotations from Pueblo people on a wall - was colorful & beautiful. I was ignorant about so much of this history. Now that I'm learning, I'm understanding. This center is a marvelous way to preserve their history, and allow us to know their stories.

Me & my family came here yesterday and had a beautiful experience. I love to be surrounded by Native music in the air, it just feels up my soul. The pottery & art that is displayed so uniquely is incredible. If you choose the door to your right when you walk in, the displayed pottery is so beautiful to see the way it is displayed. A great way to view it & for children not to touch it. They had Native Artist there selling there wares. Some of the most beautiful pots I've ever seen. We kind of went late (our mistake) & I wanted to buy stuff but by the time we finished the museum, we were so hungry & decided to go eat at their restaurant. Thank you for a wonderful experience.

Was invited to speak at a conference that was hosted here. It's a lovely venue and the service during the conference was great. We had some technical audio difficulties in one talk and they were promptly there to offer a fix. Food was ok but that's not on them.Make sure to check out the exhibits and take time to walk the venue and appreciate the history.Look forward to coming back to future conferences here.Lovely place for a conference with added history.

I love visiting places I've never been and learning all about the culture and food of a place. We mainly stopped by the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center to grab a bite to eat at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen but it was pretty interesting inside so we decided to stay a bit. Even if you don't want to come to a museum, I'd recommend eating here. Very delicious!!!The center itself is a good size but I will agree with most other reviewers that the exhibits are smaller. I would say that it wouldn't be more than an hours worth of viewing. We got to see the tail end of a tour and the information given was very interesting. I would say that I do think it's worth the $20+ to enter. The courtyard out back is really nice. We didn't get to see a performance but I'm sure they are good when there is one. The gift shop was pretty darling and the people working inside were knowledgeable and friendly. There are a lot of different items to choose from but I will agree that most of the items are higher priced things.

This was our first trip to Albuquerque.We really enjoyed our visit to this unique center! We lucked out -- as we walked in there was a docent led tour starting. We found this to be immensely helpful as the guide (Camille) added so much more than we would have understood from just walking through on our own.As avid museum goers, we found this center to be among the best to get an overview of the culture and history of the Pueblos.Also, there is a lovely cafe/restaurant with great food and a wonderful gift shop with authentic native American jewelry etc.

I loved the exhibits. Definitely such a learning experience. Everyone there was super nice and welcoming!