Hohogam-Ki Museum

Monday we decided to visit the HoHoGam Ki (or Hoo HooGam Ki, or HuHuGam Ki, depending on the transliteration) Museum a little way south of The Talking Stick Resort and Casino.

Saguaro cactus standing guard outside the museum

It turned out to be one of our better decisions since the museum was a low-key affair with no fancy technology or even docents. We were on our own to meander through the exhibits, taking our time to read the signs and absorb the significance of the displays.

View into the past of the HuHuGam Ki People and their crafts

Just to the right of the above display there was a replica of the ladders these people crafted from local wood and buckskin thongs.

A ladder with steps let into the uprights and secured with buckskin lashings

One section of the museum had rosters of tribal members who served in wars from The Indian Wars (where they assisted the US Army as scouts) through the two World Wars, Korea Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan with even one name from Grenada.

In that same section was a model of a scout as outfitted during The Indian Wars.

As we left the museum I noticed one of the corner posts of the entry awning. It was the remains of a saguaro cactus with two bird nests in the cavities. I couldn't tell if the nests were currently occupied or if they were left over from when the saguaro skeleton was in the wild. 

The ribs of the saguaro are quite strong as seen here and as noted above where the scouts used them as walking sticks.