Huhugam Heritage Center
Huhugam Heritage Center
3.5
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
This modern cultural center highlights the ancestral, historic and current cultures of the Gila River Indian Community, made up of two tribes – the Akimel O’otham and the Pee Posh . Our mission is to ensure our Akimel O’otham and Pee Posh cultures flourish for future generations. The Huhugam Heritage Center was built in 2003, fulfilling our Community vision to create a place for Community, culture, land, tradition and spirit: a place to honor and preserve our Him dak (our way of life). Come experience our unique and calming architecture. The Center stairsteps up out of the desert, the building silhouettes designed to blend in with the nearby mountain ranges and hills. In our state-of-the-art collections repository we care for Huhugam, Akimel O’otham and Pee Posh treasures from our ancestral lands boundaries of the Huhugam (also known by the archaeological name Hohokam), master artists, farmers and crafts people of our desert home. Collections which include large archaeological project holdings including the Snaketown, Gila River Cultural Resources Management Program and Bureau of Reclamation Central Arizona Project Collections, an outstanding collection of nearly 500 O’odham baskets, an exquisite Pee Posh pottery collection, the trombone and memorabilia of renowned Akimel O’otham jazz trombonist Russell Moore and the Blackwater Store & Trading Post and Arts and Crafts museum collections. Sap eth tha:thak em nei (We are happy to see you)
Duration: < 1 hour
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3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles16 reviews
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Travel lover
35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Friends
This place is GREAT!!!! So many interesting things to see and learn about! Free and lots of parking. Talking exhibits and video upstairs are educational and informative! We went during the week and we were the only ones there!! It is sooo clean and they have the coolest exhibits! I would recommend this as a must see if you are in the area!
Written 18 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

vagabondodelmondo
Santa Barbara207 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
We saw this odd-looking building just off the highway to the Ak-Chin Southernn Dunes golf course. It sits in the middle of empty desert. We Googled it and discovered it is a free museum of the local tribal history. The exhibit area is small but informative, we especially liked the video on the Havasipai Valley. There's even a display on the nearby relocation center where Japanese Americans were unjustly held during WW II. Definitely worth a stop!
Written 15 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mark V
Puyallup, WA177 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
Super cool and interesting subject but very poorly executed. No sign on entrance to the museum. They talk about the two cultures but never tell why one evolved to the other. No information on the incredible engineering that took place. Even the facility itself was not explained.
Written 27 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michelle B
New Orleans, LA110 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Friends
I was actually looking for a museum with Amil Pedro's work. They did not have it here, but the basket weaving and pottery exhibits were outstanding. I also loved the military exhibit. The 365 was interesting to see modern life on the reservation. Excellent job.
Written 21 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Helen M
North Yorkshire, UK4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2016
Dropped in as we were passing and enjoyed our visit. It's an interesting little museum and a really nice, calm and restful building.
Written 19 December 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jonena B
Phoenix, AZ23 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2016 • Friends
If you are passing by on I-10 or visiting Rawhide, Wild Horse Pass, or the outlet stores, this is worth a quick visit. The exhibits are well done. There are historical artifacts as well as displays from current times.There are also displays outside. When we visited there was a display of art from a local woman and a video and display from a member who had recently served in the military. One of the woman's art pieces alluded to a story about coyote and quail. The fellow working at the front desk was happy to tell me the story of how quail fooled coyote and other stories. It was evident they are proud of the accomplishments of their members then and now. The observation deck upstairs was a highlight for me. I live just a couple of miles away and it gave me a whole different perspective of the area.
Written 31 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

john m
San Benito, TX16 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2015 • Couples
This is a small musuem of artifacts of the Huhugam triibes people. It is small but very interesting. We just happened on it when driving south of Phoenix.
Written 19 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TSFfromNM
Tempe, AZ201 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2015
If you are looking for something to do while at Wild Horse Pass area, check out this little museum. They have some great works of art and history of this native community. They have special events too.
Written 8 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kev1963
Vancouver, Canada798 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2015
Historic native museum on the Sheraton Wild Horst Pass Resort site. Make sure you turn when you first see the sign or you drive for miles (10-15) before you can turn around
Written 6 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Josephine B
Arizona74 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2014 • Solo
Basking in the sun like two thunderbolts of lightening in the clear blue sky. These slivers of red clay dominated by a ceremonial mound blend the earth with the sky. Clay-colored trimmed vomitorium entranceways surrounded by wired stones seamlessly escort visitors from the parking lot into the amphitheatre of the Grand House and the open air Ball Court used for gatherings and ceremony. Chiaroscuro textures and shadows bounce from steel beams and intertwined perforated aluminum strips immediately welcome you to the inner HuHuGam Heritage Center.

The music of Pima native trombonist “Big Chief” Russell Moore carries you into an exhibit about his big band career and why he was “the luckiest cat in the world.”

And Bertha Pankhurst’s profile begins the black and white photo exhibit of her everyday experiences at the Casa Blanca Day School, revealing the benefit of day schools where parental and community involvement went hand-in- hand.

Objects from the Gila River Arts and Crafts Center, the Blackwater Trading Post and Museum
and 23 vessels purchased from the Denver Art Museum, wet your appetite for more pottery and baskets acquired from the Snakestown Collection found in the Great Room Gallery next door. You’ll see several two-foot wide Sacaton red-on-buff jars sitting on comfortable white pillows, also visible from the steel patio landings extended from the concrete walls above.

The stairwell with corner views facing the barren landscape, carry the visitor to panoramic vistas of the Gila River Indian Community, a perfect place to relax.

On your way out don’t miss the Veteran’s Exhibit adjacent to the Archive Center, with commemorative portraits of Gila River Indian Community members serving during Desert Storm, WWII, Vietnam War and the Korean War including the famous portrait and profile of Ira H. Hayes, Pima native from Sacaton, Arizona, widely recognized as one of the six- member team that raised the American flag at Mt. Suribachi on February 23, 1945, photographed by Joe Rosenthal for the Associated Press.

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Before Your Visit:

Address: 4759 N. Maricopa Road, Chandler, AZ 85226 Hours: Wednesday-Friday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Phone: 520-796-3500 Admission: Cash or Check Photos: Outside only

Work in progress: Museum store and ethno-botanical garden

Listen & learn more about Russell Moore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB09H2PvbaI&noredirect=1 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIniv3cnAoU

Photos and documentary on Ira Hamilton Hayes: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/irahayes.htm

Terms: Variant spellings of HuHuGam: Hobokam, Huhugam and Huhukam; a Pima (O'odham) word used by archaeologists to identify a group of people who lived in the Sonoran Desert of North America.
Written 20 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Huhugam Heritage Center - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Huhugam Heritage Center is open:
  • Wed - Fri 10:00 am - 4:00 pm


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