Arizona Highways: Prescott Museum Using New Name To Distance Itself From Past

Published: Friday, February 14, 2020 - 1:35pm
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A Northern Arizona museum is looking for a reboot of sorts, by changing its name and distancing itself from its past.

The Smoki Museum, now known as the Museum of Indigenous People, had been named for the Smoki People — a group of Prescott-area residents, including some prominent ones, which formed in the 1920s and essentially mimicked Hopi dances. The performances continued until 1990.

The group’s history and the museum’s future are the subject of a piece in the February issue of Arizona Highways Magazine.

Kathy Montgomery is a contributor to the magazine and wrote the piece. She joined The Show to explain the origin of the made-up Native American tribe.

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