The Yavapai-Apache Nation

I’ve been in or around many cultural centers, from the simplest cinder block concrete floored structure with few windows, folding tables and chairs, to mighty, architect-​crafted publicly funded edifices. I’ve helped populate a museum in at least one.
This sweet little building, funded by your voluntary contributions to the Cliff Castle roadside Wealth Extraction Institute is really nice. It is built on a hill overlooking Arizona’s most under-​appreciated gem, the Verde River. It’s lit mostly by northern sunlight pouring through a wall of windows, lighting the main space. If you’re interested, it tells the story of the Yavapai people, the Mountain Mohave frequently mistaken for Apache by Arizona’s early Euro North Americans. It also tells the story of the Apache people closely allied with the Yavapai.
The time has come to put away Hollywood’s and Edward Curtis’s directed, posed, bequeathed stereotypes. The time has arrived to appreciate the intelligence, devotion and endurance of this continent’s first people. This is a beautiful place to begin.