The FRIENDS is a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting the museum. FRIENDS membership is $35 a year for individuals and $60 for families. (Please note: You must first be a museum member to join.) FRIENDS can attend special lectures and other events, trips to artists' homes, museums, Indian dances, and more.

FRIENDS actively help the museum in a wide variety of ways:

• Greeting guests as gallery hosts
• Making sales in the Case Trading Post
• Giving gallery tours as docents
• Helping with the annual benefit auction
• Being involved in special fund-raising events
• Working with exhibitions and curatorial department projects
• Providing hospitality at FRIENDS and museum events
• And more!

Please email info@wheelwright.org if you are interested in becoming a FRIEND of the Wheelwright Museum.

Wheelwright FRIENDS’ Book Club
Please join us in September for another exciting year of book reviews especially selected to reflect the history and events of the Southwest. The Wheelwright Book Club meets the third Wednesday of each month starting in September at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Cabot Wheelwright Library. Following is a listing of upcoming book titles and authors. For additional information on the FRIENDS book club, please contact Valerie Baugh at 505-982-8444 or valeriebaugh@hotmail.com

September 16, 2009
Hopi Summer: Letters from Ethel to Maud by Carolyn O'Bagy Davis. Reviewer: Phyllis Lehmberg.

October 21, 2009
Dine Bahane: The Navajo Creation Story by Paul G. Zolbrod. Reviewer: Mary Louise Graw.

November 18, 2009
Through Their Eyes: Indian Paintings in Santa Fe 1918-1945 by Michelle McGeough. Reviewer: Gini Inman.

January 20, 2010
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by John G. Neihardt. Reviewer: Carol Elwood.

February 17, 2010
The Lady in Blue: A Novel by Javier Sierra. Reviewer: Mary Pat Beach.

March 17, 2010
The Dance House: Stories from Rosebud by Joseph Marshall, III. Reviewer: Paulette Yonker.

April 21, 2010
People of the Whale: A Novel by Linda Hogan. Reviewer: Joanne Yeager.

Suggested Additional Readings

The World We Used to Live In by Vine DeLoria, Jr.
Wolf Killer: Wisdom from 19th Century Navajo Shepherd by Louisa Wade & Harvey Leake Weatherill
My Life in San Juan Pueblo by Esther P'oe Tsawa/Martinez
A Life Well-Led: The Biography of Barbara Freire-Marreco, Anthropologist by Mary Ellen Blair
Canyon of Remembering by Lesley Poling-Kempes
Pueblos, Spaniards, and the Kingdom of New Mexico by John Kessell
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
The Fetterman Massacre by Dee Brown
Acoma: A Novel of Conquest by Lara M. Harrigan
In Beauty I Walk: The Literary Roots of Native American Writing by Jarold & Lori Burlingame Ramsey

For more information on FRIENDS events, please contact Program Chair Mary Dale Gordon at 505-982-9667.

Unless otherwise indicated, all programs are held in the Mary Cabot Wheelwright Library.
Events are free to FRIENDS Members. There is a $5 charge for non-members. Refreshments are served at 3:00 p.m. and programs begin at 3:30 p.m.

Monday, September 8, 2008
Annual Picnic
FRIENDS will picnic at Nambe Falls situated near Nambe Pueblo in the shadows of the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Bring your own lunch to enjoy in a shaded area near a lovely stream. FRIENDS will hear Lonnie Vigil talk about the history of the pueblo and his growing up there. Lonnie is a former Trustee of the Wheelwright Museum and an artist whose micaceous pottery has won many prizes, including Best of Class at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Starts at 11:00 a.m.

Monday, October 13, 2008
Archaeological Perspectives of the Navajo
Eric Blinman, Director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, has worked in archaeology of the western United States since 1967. Among his research topics have been paleoclimate studies, archaeomagnetic dating, yucca fiber textiles, and pottery technology dating back to the “Anasazi.”  For the FRIENDS he will present a review of the latest thinking (and controversies) about archaeological evidence related to the origins of the Navajo.

Monday, November 10, 2008
Nacimientos in New Mexico:  Native Nativity Sets and Their History with Susan Weber
Southwest Native American nativities have been made of various materials, such as wood, pottery, and stone, and celebrate not only Christmas but also Kings’ Day (January 6). It is said that Tesuque Pueblo potter Manuel Vigil created the first Pueblo nativity scene in 1959 at the suggestion of Sallie Wagner of Santa Fe. Susan’s Christmas shop under the turquoise portal is practically a Santa Fe institution. Susan Weber opened the shop 30 years ago because of her love of Christmas and handmade things. Among the handmade items are the wonderful native nativities. Her presentation will be full of examples of the creations of many nacimiento artists from the famous to the emerging. She will present slides of many of the miniature nativities by the late Christ Thomas and show some museum quality sets, including some from Sallie Wagner’s collection and one by Manuel Vigil himself.

Monday, January 12, 2009
An Explanation of My Relationship to the Art-Making Process with Eliza Naranjo Morse
In her lecture Eliza (Santa Clara) will discuss how coming from a family of clay makers, a formal education, and an awareness of contemporary art inspires her artistic process.  She has studied art at Skidmore College, Parson’s School of Design, and IAIA.  In 2007 she was awarded the King Artist Fellowship from SAR. More recently she was chosen to participate in SITE Santa Fe’s Seventh International Biennial.

Monday, February 9, 2009
Insects and Spiders: From Ancient Egyptian Bracelets to Art Noveau with Liz Wallace
Many FRIENDS are well acquainted with the special insect and spider jewelry designs that Liz Wallace (Navajo/Washoe/Maidu) has created. Liz will give us some history of these creatures as found on jewelry from ancient times to her own work. Liz has studied blacksmithing, plique-à-jour (backless cloisonné), and raising. She has used these techniques in her designs of insects as well as a tiara that is in the Wheelwright Museum's permanent collection. Though she values the work of Navajo and Pueblo jewelers, she has her own interpretations in both design and materials.

Monday, March 9, 2009
Architectural Design wtih Ramona Sakiestewa
Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi) is one of Native America’s best known and influential artists.  She taught herself to weave by evolving adapting techniques from her Hopi ancestors.  Ramona has works in numerous institutions including the Smithsonian and the Wheelwright Museum. She is also well known as a design artist. She designed two limited-edition series of commercially woven blankets. From 1994 to 2005 Ramona served as a design consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. She mentored the development team for the master planning of “Our Universes,” one of three major permanent gallery themes. Ramona will discuss her past and current involvement with public art and design projects.  

Monday, April 20, 2009
Tour of the Gutierrez Hubbell House and Visit to Isleta Pueblo
The Hubbell House, an adobe hacienda in the South Valley of Albuquerque, is one of the few remaining structures of its type in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area. It was built along the Camino Real as a private residence for James Hubbell and Juliana Gutierrez Hubbell and their twelve children. It was also used as a trading post, stagecoach stop, and post office. The restoration of the hacienda was funded in part by Save America’s Treasures. The FRIENDS will have a guided tour of the property, now owned by Bernalillo County. From the Hubbell House, the FRIENDS will drive to Isleta Pueblo where we will have a tour of the church, a visit to a potter’s home, and lunch at the casino. This is a FRIENDS only event.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
FRIENDS Annual Meeting: Spring Fling
The FRIENDS annual meeting will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Acequia Madre House. There will be a brief annual meeting and the election of officers, followed by a talk and tour of the house. This is a FRIENDS only event.

Monday, May 11, 2009
FRIENDS Tour of the Puye Cliff Dwellings
A guided walking tour of the newly reopened Puye Cliff Dwellings with lunch prepared by the FRIENDS hospitality committee. Bring comfortable walking shoes, binoculars, hat, water, and sunscreen. Cost: $50 per person. Limited to first 40 reservations. RSVP by May 5, 2009. Contact Jo Kaye Highstrete at 989-7446 or jokayeretired@hotmail.com to sign up or obtain more information. This is a FRIENDS only event.

Friday, June 12, 2009
Insider's Visit to Santa Fe Artist Studios
Come join the FRIENDS on a private tour of some of Santa Fe's best art studios. Participants will visit the studios of Cody Sanderson, Seth Norbeck, and Gregory Lomayesva. Cost: $50 per person. Includes a lunch at the Museum Hill Cafe. Space is limited. Priority will be given to FRIENDS members. RSVP by June 8, 2009. Event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Arrive at the Museum at 9:30 a.m. to carpool to studios. Contact Joan Barrett at 505-989-8470 or Carolyn McCollum at 505-989-9947 for more information.