Summer Indigenous Arts & Dances

Experience authentic traditional dances from a variety of area tribes, featuring traditional drum, rattle, and flute instruments along with explanations regarding the cultural traditions that surround these dances.

This is a rare chance to not only experience the dances by watching the dances but often you can join in, then meet the dancers and musicians and take photos with them after the event. Photos are encouraged! You can also shop with local native artist vendors in the porticos surrounding the area south of the dances, or buy some fry bread or a snow cone with food vendors at the site.

The program will kick off on May 2, 2022, and happen Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays through the Summer. The program will kick off on May 2, 2022, and happen Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays through the Summer. It will include Indian Dances as well as Indigenous Arts & Crafts vendors and on-site indigenous arts demonstrations on Friday evenings.

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Gallup Cultural Center

The Gallup Cultural Center has a rich history. The building is a two-story, stucco-clad building constructed in 1918 to serve as an area headquarters for the Santa Fe Railway, the successor to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. In 1923, an adjoining structure was built to house a famed Fred Harvey hotel and restaurant complex known as “El Navajo.” Designed by the company’s Mary Colter, the hotel was dedicated during a ceremony that included a performance by local Navajo singers and “medicine men.” Much of the hotel portion of the building was demolished in 1957 to make way for a widening of U.S. Route 66.

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More about the Gallup Cultural Center
The city of Gallup in partnership with the Southwest Indian Foundation renovated the old depot in 1996 in order to preserve it. This measure was successful, and the Gallup Cultural Center opened inside the depot that same year. In addition, the building serves as an Amtrak Station, the Storyteller Museum and Gallery of the Masters; the Kiva Cinema, Enchantment Skate Shop, and Angela's Cafe.