🏺A emPOWERing Day of Learning at the Heard Museum 🖼️

Our recent field trip to the Heard Museum was a day filled with solemn moments, inspiration, reflection, and awe. From the moment we stepped inside, our students were immersed in a carefully curated experience that invited them to pause, consider, and deeply reflect on the rich histories and living cultures of Native American communities.

Walking through the exhibits, we explored artifacts, stories, and artwork that helped us understand how the past, present, and future of Arizona and our country are connected. Students were encouraged to think about how empathy, cultural understanding, and collective innovation help shape a future where we learn from one another, coexist respectfully, and honor the contributions each community brings to the world.

Exploring Dance, Art, & Culture as Expressions of Life

Throughout the museum, our students learned that dance, art, storytelling, and craftsmanship are not just “art forms”—they are deeply tied to social well-being, education, entertainment, community identity, and civic responsibility. These expressions reflect resilience, creativity, and cultural continuity.

Featured Exhibitions We Explored

October Art: The Collection of Delores Browne Abelson

We had the privilege of walking through the powerful exhibition celebrating Delores Browne Abelson—ballerina, educator, arts advocate, and founder of October Art, a New York gallery dedicated to Native artists. The collection includes breathtaking works by Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu/Portuguese/Native Hawaiian) and other contemporary Native artists whose work Abelson championed throughout her life. Students were inspired by how one person’s passion for the arts can impact generations and elevate voices that deserve recognition.

Bob Haozous: A Retrospective View

This exhibition marked the first major retrospective of the brilliant artist Bob Haozous (Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache), whose career spans more than six decades. Students explored more than 75 works, including sculpture, jewelry, paintings, and prints—each filled with sharp social commentary, intentional symbolism, and layers of meaning.

Haozous uses satire, irony, and bold imagery to confront questions about American Indian identity, cultural expression, commodification, and what it means to be Indigenous in the postmodern world. His work challenged students to think critically, ask questions, and engage with art not just visually, but intellectually.

HOME: Native People in the Southwest

The HOME exhibition took students on a vivid journey through the American Indian Southwest with nearly 2,000 cultural treasures, immersive environments, and interactive learning spaces. The Sky-Dome experience in Substance of Stars invited them into a breathtaking world of Indigenous sky knowledge, landscapes, languages, and spiritual traditions that have guided communities for generations.

A Day That Will Stay with Us

By the end of our visit, students expressed feeling more connected to the land we live on, the histories we inherit, and the responsibilities we share moving forward. The experience tied beautifully into our ongoing lessons on culture, empathy, creative expression, and social awareness.

This field trip was more than a day out—it was a meaningful journey through stories, identities, resilience, and art. We are grateful for the opportunity to learn in such a powerful and peaceful environment. Our students left feeling enlightened, inspired, and grounded in the importance of honoring every community’s contribution to our shared future.

Learn more or plan your visit here: https://heard.org/