By Goodie Berquist
In 1921, Prescott was financially troubled and a group of white local businessmen decided to keep the annual Frontier Days Rodeo alive by staging a "Way Out West" show. They dressed up like cowboys and Indians using costumes, body paint and makeup. Their performance was such a success that the fictitious tribe, the Smoki, was born. In 1922, Sharlot Hall wrote a booklet titled "The Story of the Smoki People." The organization appealed to many Prescott residents who became affiliated in one way or another, and the yearly performances continued until 1990. Women and children also became involved.
The Smoki People decided in 1923 that their mission would be to preserve and perpetuate elements of Native American culture. In addition to replicating authentic Indian dances each summer, members began to collect "artifacts, books, costumes and dance paraphernalia," which they temporarily stored in the basement of the Palace Bar on Whiskey Row. They also supported archaeological digs in the Prescott area, retaining the artifacts with their collection.
A permanent home for their growing accumulation was needed. Three sympathetic supporters led the way: Bryon Cummings, dean of archaeological studies at the University of Arizona; Grace Sparkes, executive secretary of the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce; and Kate Cory, prominent Southwest artist.
Cummings believed Arizona's artifacts should remain in Arizona rather than being shipped out of state. He dreamed of having a central Arizona branch of the Arizona State Museum built in Prescott, but funds were unavailable in the midst of the Great Depression. Cummings persuaded the local chamber of commerce to establish an archaeological committee to foster efforts to explore, exhibit and educate.
Grace Sparkes was a tireless booster of county tourism who recognized the importance of establishing an Indian museum as a tourist attraction. In 1935, she was in charge of federal funds to hire the unemployed - the work force that built the museum.
Kate Cory, an accomplished painter and photographer, went to the Hopi Reservation in 1905 and remained there for seven years while she studied and painted that culture. It was she who urged the Smoki work crew to erect a double Zuni fireplace on the south wall of the museum, and it was she who created the painted native figures and fixtures seen there to the present day. Kate also donated a large body of her paintings to the Smoki collection, second in size only to those housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Also donated were many of her photographs and documents.
In 1935, 14 years after their founding, the Smoki People built the 5,100-square-foot museum seven blocks east of the courthouse. The building contains a 60-square-foot exhibit room designed to resemble a village plaza with a covered roof. The exterior floor is paved with randomly cut sandstone. The ceiling is composed of 30,000 pine laterals, and local ponderosa pine tree trunks are used to support the roof. Most of the display cases, hand-chiseled furniture and models were built shortly after the building was completed and qualify as antiques. The builders, using native stone and wood, were so skilled that in the year 2000, the National Register of Historic Places listed the Smoki building as a "national treasure."
According to the final cost figures released by the federal government on Aug. 25, 1935, the museum building cost $30,764.06 to build, half of which was devoted to labor. Man-hours totaled 24,368. The museum project was initiated by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed by the Emergency Relief Administration of Arizona.
In the winter of 2009, American Heritage magazine, a periodical devoted to topics related to American history, selected eight of its favorite historical sites in Arizona. The Smoki Museum was the only site named in Prescott.
The mission of the Smoki Museum today is to instill an understanding and respect for indigenous cultures of the Southwest. There are exhibits of kachinas, baskets, pottery, paintings, rugs and blankets along with many more artifacts representing Native American craftsmanship. Many of the displays contain the artifacts from local archaeological digs. The story of the Smoki People is told in both sight and sound at the museum.
The museum, closed until Jan. 14 for yearly cleaning and repairs, will re-open with a new display, "Cowboys and Indians in Sculpture," which will continue through April 28. Call 445-1230 for hours of operation and information on admission fees.
See sharlothallmuseum.org/archives/history/dayspast for additional photos and many more Days Past articles. You are welcome to submit an article of local historical interest for consideration. Contact Sharlot Hall Museum archivist Scott Anderson at 445-3122 for information.
Sharlot Hall Museum/Courtesy photo
The Smoki building is seen at 147 N. Arizona Ave. while under construction in 1935.