Secrets of Buying Southwest Indian Rugs, Crafts

Where to Find Best Deals on Navajo Rugs, Silver Jewelry, Pottery

Sep 5, 2008

Smart senior travelers can find great buys on Native American crafts at auctions, pueblos, and museum shops in New Mexico and Arizona.

When visiting Santa Fe, Phoenix, Sedona, or Albuquerque, tourists often fall in love with beautiful American Indian handicrafts. While anyone can find a tourist-oriented shop that sells authentic Indian art for big bucks, bargain hunters can explore lesser known outlets.

Navajo Rugs

For many enthusiasts, weavings by artists from the largest Indian tribe in the United States are the ultimate in Native American collectibles. Hundred-year-old chiefs’ blankets routinely sell for tens of thousands of dollars at shops and at major international auctions.

Similarly, the best contemporary rugs are hardly cheap – even those the size of a placemat can cost $100 and up. However, the genuine article can be found at 20 to 40 percent less than typical retail price when bought without a middleman. Buyers must be willing to drive to the little town of Crownpoint, about three hours west of Albuquerque .

One Friday evening a month, year-round, the Navajo-run Crownpoint Rug Weavers Association auctions rugs made by talented weavers. For 40 years, the auction has attracted dealers and interested tourists. Visitors should arrive at Crownpoint by 3 p.m., so they have ample time to inspect the hundreds of rugs to be auctioned off that evening.

Paintings, Pots, Jewelry, Baskets

There are wonderful buys to be found in leading Southwestern museums. Among them:

Each sells not just rugs and baskets but museum-quality Hopi kachina dolls, Acoma pottery, and Navajo sand paintings, along with Zuni, Hopi and Navajo silver and turquoise jewelry at the shops on their premises. And they take credit cards.

Trading Posts, Feast Days, Annual Exhibits

These crafts also can be found at individual trading posts. Perhaps the most famous is Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona, the oldest continuously operated post that is a national historic site on Navajo nation land 60 miles west of Gallup, NM. Hubbell holds are two crafts auctions a year, in October and May. Its shop sells crafts year-round.

At individual pueblos, visitors can find shops as well as displays set up by the artists themselves. Best bets are Acoma, Santo Domingo and Zuni in New Mexico. During special celebrations, such as feast days and annual the Gallup (NM) Intertribal Ceremonial, vendors sell their crafts direct to the public.

Finally, travelers can see displays of a huge number of artists and craftspeople at two collective annual summer exhibits: the eight Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show every July and the Santa Fe Indian Market in August.

For more information contact the tourism bureaus of the pueblos of New Mexico, individual tribal web sites, and state tourism bureaus in Arizona and New Mexico.

The copyright of the article Secrets of Buying Southwest Indian Rugs, Crafts in Senior Travel Attractions is owned by Grace Lichtenstein. Permission to republish Secrets of Buying Southwest Indian Rugs, Crafts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.