AUTHENTIC NATIVE JEWELRY, rugs, and pottery displayed in the windows of trading posts, galleries, and shops along Route 66 in downtown Gallup let travelers know that they’ve arrived at the Gateway to Native America.
Road-trippers have long made it a point to visit Gallup, located near Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and other tribal lands, for the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. The 10-day event, launched in 1922, brings together Native people from across the continent to showcase their art, culture, and heritage with dances, pageants, art shows, and rodeos.
“For [early] Route 66ers, the ceremonial was a major eye-opening experience,” says Teri Frazier, director of the Gallup Cultural Center and a member of the Laguna-Hopi/Chippewa tribes. “They were engaging with the cultures that they may have heard about but never really seen up close. It’s a very welcoming environment.”
Downtown Gallup celebrates the city’s history with nearly 30 vibrant murals.
At the Gallup Cultural Center, Frazier organizes exhibitions devoted to Native art and culture, Navajo Code Talkers, Route 66, and Edward S. Curtis’s photographs. “[Curtis] respected the people and the culture,” says Frazier, who is a descendant of one of his subjects.
Downtown Gallup also celebrates the city’s history with nearly 30 vibrant murals, featuring themes such as the coal mining era, the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, and Route 66. A self-guided walking tour gives a visitor a solid understanding of Gallup’s rich history and longtime appeal to Route 66 travelers, including a 17-stop neon tour.
Read more: The owner of Richardson Trading Post continues the family business started in 1913.
