Civilian Conservation Corp Tour Stop 3

a painting by Pablita Velarde

NPS

Quick Facts

Amenities

8 listed

Accessible Rooms, Benches/Seating, Captioned Media, Fire Extinguisher, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Tactile Exhibit, Wheelchair Accessible

Walk through the museum. The first section is part of the original building, with the same stone floors as the lobby. The section with the concrete floors was added in the 1970s. The original museum exhibits consisted of glass cases containing items related to the past and present Pueblo culture. As a part of the Works Progress Administration Arts Program (WPA), the late Helmuth Naumer Sr. used pastels to depict local scenes and pueblos. Young Pablita Velarde of Santa Clara Pueblo was hired to paint scenes of traditional Pueblo culture as illustrations for the museum cases. She went on to become one of the best-known Pueblo artists. As Pablita later said about her work, “This period of my life at Bandelier, I figure, I’ve learned more about my own people … than I would have … and I appreciate what the old ones have tried to pass on … I want the earth to remember me through my work.”