There are holidays available where you can explore the legends and history of the Native Americans. Simply sitting around a campfire or by taking jeep rides across mountainous deserts can conjure up the images you already imagine, but there is nothing like exploring the destinations further with regards to their history and culture.
So, we shall look at where you can visit while on holiday to truly follow in the footsteps of the Native Americans.
Monument Valley (Arizona and Utah)
Monument Valley in Navajo Tribal Park boasts sandstone structures and red-rock formations. The red comes from their iron content. It is also the reason for the red associated with the planet Mars. These desert environments and open spaces will help you to imagine the western movies you might have watched at the cinema or on TV.
The Park here straddles the border of Arizona and Utah, which is sacred to the nation of Navajo. This is why only the Navajo guides can take outsiders to the community beyond Vally Drive. Native-led you can, as a tourist, take a van, jeep, or ride on horseback, and then stop at the Ancestral Pueblo and Petroglyphs ruins.
At night, the orange and purple shades of the sunsets are something to admire. An evening excursion to the Majestic Monument Valley will be something to enhance your experience further.
Totem Bight (Alaska)
It will be another experience to remember if you walk through the totem poles at Totem Bight, Ketchikan, Alaska. It is one of the largest collections of totem poles to be found.
These totem poles are a part of the Haida and Tlingit culture. Their magnificence is down to the fact that they are so intricately carved and that they are further beautified by the backdrop of the cedar and spruce of the Totem Bight Historical Park. They have carved in their wooden structures, creatures such as wolves, bears, eagles, and ravens.
These carvings exist to depict the original 19th-century versions of the abandoned villages and tell the stories of former clan members, their lineages, their treaties, and all the history associated with the tribes.
There is also a collection of totem poles at Saxman Native Village. It is considered a more theatrical site and the target of cruise passengers. Here, apart from the poles, there is native dancing and even a lumberjack show to see.
Discover a different palette to that used in art back at home. Gain some inspiration for your home interiors from what you see.
For an indoor view of totem poles, there is the Totem Heritage Centre Museum.
National Museum of the American Indian (Washington D.C.)
For another indoor experience of Native American history, there is the museum in Washington D.C. On display here, are over 8,000 items. So, it is recommended that to explore them properly you are best joining one of the regularly scheduled tours that will educate you on the history and origins of the objects as well as show you around the museum.
Temporary exhibitions are also in operation. So, even if you have already been once, there will be something that you have not already seen. Particularly as there are 8,000 items to have taken notice of that are part of the permanent exhibition.
The whole experience is a good way to understand another culture different from our own. Holidays are all about cultural experiences.
So, three ways to follow in the footsteps of the Native Americans, their history, and their culture, that many of us will be less than familiar with. Holidays are about experiencing something new and educating ourselves in things that we simply do not see back at home. We can then have something interesting and inspirational to talk about with our children, and our friends and family back at home.
