IN DINÉ ARTIST MELISSA BENALY’S pictorial weaving, two figures in white space suits plant an unwavering red, white, and blue flag onto the vast lunar surface while Earth floats like a misty blue orb amid a literal tapestry of blocky stars. Benaly’s image of the Apollo 11 moon landing—once broadcast to TVs across the country and now rendered in the age-old Diné tradition—serves as a worthy centerpiece in the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) exhibition Makowa: The Worlds Above Us, bridging the past and the present while telling an Indigenous story that stretches into the cosmos.

“What resonates deeply with me about Makowa is how it celebrates Indigenous science, centuries of observation, experimentation, and documentation that reveal a profound understanding of the world,” says Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota), the museum’s executive director.

At the Santa Fe museum, a walk through the 92-piece exhibition, which includes 60 artists from at least 25 tribes and nations, is like traveling through time. Ambient light shifts from pale blue dawn to the deepest hues of night, mimicking the sun and moon cycles on Earth. Traditional pottery, woven baskets, and rugs featuring images of lightning, anthropomorphized suns and moons, and triangular cumulus clouds, sit alongside contemporary works, such as a ceremonial shield adorned with the three stars of Orion’s belt by co-curator Marlon Magdalena (Jemez). 

“Everything is connected,” Magdalena says, noting that while the sun is millions of miles away, we can feel its warmth and understand its impact on growing plants. But there’s a deeper, spiritual message threaded through Makowa, about a Native relationship with the heavens as well. “We bring all these beings from the sky and depict them in 2D form down here,” he adds.

from left "Evening Star" by Kathleen Wall (Jemez). "Spaced Out" by Rosemary Lonewolf (Santa Clara). Courtesy of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Addison Doty.

Video interviews with Indigenous scientists and an interactive 3D mapping kiosk, developed by the NASA PUNCH Outreach Team, provide broader context. Surrounded by photography and physical 3D models of petroglyphs, the kiosk allows visitors to not only explore Chaco Culture National Historical Park, but also to witness how the sun and moon cycles affect the site throughout the year.

“Observation is this key tenet of Western science and Indigenous ways of knowing,” says Elisabeth Stone, MIAC deputy director and co-curator of Makowa. “Rather than juxtaposing Western science and Native knowledge, we wanted to bring them into conversation and help people see that pattern and those shared practices.” 

 The multidisciplinary approach includes a wide variety of scientists, educators, and artists that helps to demonstrate a deep connection to the sky. “We don’t have to have one person telling a story,” Stone says, noting that interviews range from the first Indigenous astronaut, John Herrington (Chickasaw) to artists included in the exhibition. “Then you can get a richness of voice.” 

Toward the end of the exhibition (or the beginning, depending on which of the exhibit’s two entrances you take) sits Jemez sculptor Kathleen Wall’s Evening Star. Painted in black and white, the smiling koshare (clown) gazes longingly at a star—plucked from the heavens or ready to be placed there—as two others rest at its feet. Playfully introspective, it asks museumgoers to join in the ceremony—and consider their role as a guest on this Earth who may one day return to stars far beyond.

Makowa: The Worlds Above Us

Through September; Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, 710 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe; 505-476-1269.