Gila River Arts and Crafts Center

The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) founded the Gila River Arts and Crafts Center in 1970 as a nonprofit organization intended to provide local employment and to distribute traditional Native American craftwork. This center was envisioned as a means of informing the general public about the Pima and Maricopa tribes, as well as other southwest tribes. The museum and recreated villages not only depicted the local life Native Americans of the region, but also covered local topics such as the Mormon Trail and the nearby Japanese American detention center at Gila River. Unfortunately, the Arts and Crafts Center closed in the early 2000s.

For More Information

The Gila River Arts and Craft Center Website: http://www.americantowns.com/az/sacaton/organization/the_gila_river_arts_and_crafts .

Hansen, Arthur A. "Cultural Politics in the Gila River Relocation Center, 1942-1943." Arizona and the West 27 (Winter 1985): 327-62.

Spencer, Robert F. "Gila in Retrospect." In Ichioka, Yuji, ed. Views from Within: The Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study . Los Angeles: Asian American Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles, 1989. 157-75.

Last updated Oct. 16, 2020, 5:25 p.m..