When I pulled up in front of the Inn of the Mountain Gods, centerpiece of the sprawling Mescalero Indian Reservation in southern New Mexico, I was disappointed-and pleasantly surprised.
The idea of vacationing for a few days on an Indian reservation appealed to me. I wanted to write and relax away from it all, somewhere different. In the back of my mind were distant thoughts of hogans, tepees and lazy curls of smoke rising from smoldering campfires.
There was, of course, none of that. A pleasant young man in jeans and a white shirt said, ”Good morning, sir,” as he unloaded my bags and then drove my car to an adjacent parking lot. I could have been in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills.
But once inside, I knew I had come to the right place. The canyon-sized lobby was dominated by a three-story, copper-sheathed fireplace. Glass-paneled walls beyond looked out onto Mescalero Lake where a young woman on water skis skimmed past several small fishing boats, jarring them with her wake. Beyond the lake, the slender tips of ponderosa pine speared a bank of low-hanging clouds, all framed by a wall of jagged mountains.
Indian paintings, artifacts and wall hangings are tastefully displayed throughout the lobby, and even before signing in I found myself pricing turquoise jewelry at a lobby display case. Several birthdays were coming up.
Midway between Alamogordo and Roswell in historic Lincoln County, the Mescalero Indian Reservation is home to more than 2,500 Mescalero Apaches who work primarily as lumbermen and fishermen. The Inn of the Mountain Gods is Apache owned and operated. The popular resort features fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, boating, trap shooting and an 18-hole golf course.
Three miles northeast is the town of Ruidoso, home of the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack. Its All-American Quarter Horse Futurity on Labor Day offers as much as $3 million in prize money and is billed as the nation`s richest purse. The town of Ruidoso is small, one of those places where people still give directions by the number of bumps in the road. Downtown has a number of interesting shops, antiques stores and saloons.
Ruidoso is bordered on the north, east and west by the Lincoln National Forest where in 1950, after a devastating forest fire was brought under control, firefighters found a small, badly burned bear cub clinging to a tree. Nurtured back to health, the bear was later flown to the Washington, D.C., zoo. It became known as Smokey the Bear, the nation`s symbol of forest fire prevention.
Also close to the Inn of the Mountain Gods is the town of Lincoln, site of the infamous Lincoln County War and once the hangout of Billy the Kid. The town underwent extensive restoration in recent years and is now one of the state`s major tourist attractions.
Rates at the Inn of the Mountain Gods range from $100 to $120 a double May through October, dropping to $80 to $95 for the rest of the year.
The Mescalero Reservation also includes a general store, museum, trading post, campsites and picnic areas. Ritual dances are occasionally performed for the public, the most colorful taking place during the annual 4th of July ceremonials.
Other Indian Land vacations
Of the more than 1 million Native Americans who live in North America, nearly half reside on reservations.
Many, such as the Apaches, have turned to tourism in a big way. All offer unique vacation experiences, camping, fishing or backpacking in remote, unspoiled reservation wilderness or lounging beside a swimming pool in a modern resort hotel where Native American art, culture and heritage are richly evident.
Hundreds of Indian tribes are scattered throughout North America. Several Indian communities where vacation opportunities are particularly well developed are described here. Visitors should remember that Indian law prevails on all reservation land and posted regulations must be followed. Ritual dances often have serious religious significance and should be respected as such, no photographs, no applause.
For queries, information and help with hotel reservations, contact the Native American Tourist Center, Scottsdale, Ariz.; 602-945-0771.
– The Ft. Apache Reservation. A million and a half acres of mountains, trees, rivers and lakes, the Ft. Apache Reservation is in the White Mountain region of northern Arizona, about 150 miles east of Phoenix. The tribe cooperatively owns a string of hotels, motels, resorts, gasoline stations, stores and restaurants.
”Welcome,” says a sign at the reservation entrance. ”Your visits have helped make the Ft. Apache Indian Reservation the most complete recreation resort area in Arizona. We hope you will enjoy the quiet serenity and natural beauty of our reservation with its blue lakes, wooded cienegas, clear trout streams and beautiful camping areas.”
Ft. Apache, once known as Camp Ord, was established in 1870 to control the Apache Indians in the area. It has a long history of turmoil, corruption by Indian agents and conflict between Indians and military authorities. An old cemetery on the post contains the grave of Gen. George Crook, who helped quell the Apache uprisings.
In a program begun nearly 30 years ago, the first major resort to open was Hon Dah (Apache for ”welcome”). It has since expanded into a large complex of restaurants, hotel, apartments and meeting hall.
Hawley Lake Resort includes cabins, apartments, a trailer park and campsites around the 300-acre lake.
On the eastern end of the reservation is the Sunrise Lodge, with more than 100 rooms built around a massive two-story lobby. It operates as a kind of dude ranch in the summer and a ski lodge in winter. Prices range from $47.50 for a double at Hon Dah to $50 and up at Sunrise. For additional information, write to White Mountain Recreation Enterprises, P.O. Box 218, Whitewater, Ariz. 85841.
– San Carlos Reservation. Bordering the Ft. Apache Reservation, this two- million-acre expanse is home to 4,790 Apaches. Rambling and remote, lush and rustic, the land is a natural habitat for numerous wild animals (javelina, elk, bear, dove, waterfowl, grouse, quail, rabbits and squirrels) and a variety of fish.
The San Carlos wilderness slopes gently down into an area of arid, grassy plains-cattle country. Operating one of the largest cattle enterprises in the country, the Apaches are cattlemen without peer.
With the help of government funding, it was the industrious San Carlos Apaches who began the cultivation and commercial harvesting of the jojoba plant whose seed produces a waxy oil that`s used for everything from hair-care products to industrial lubrication.
Camping, hunting and fishing are permitted, with licenses, which can be obtained by writing to San Carlos Tribal Enterprises, Box H, San Carlos, Ariz. 85550. There are no hotels on the reservation, but accommodations are plentiful in nearby Globe, including Best Western`s Copper Hills ($55 a double, with refrigerator).
– Navajo Reservation. The largest Indian reservation in North America, Navajoland is primarily in northern Arizona, beginning some 30 miles north of Flagstaff, and extends to northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah. The 25,000-square-mile expanse is larger than many Eastern states.
The Navajo, 180,000 strong, have occupied this mostly barren, infertile land for more than 400 years (it was officially made a reservation in 1868), land as beautiful as it is remote and inhospitable. Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, Mesa Verde and Glen Canyon all play important roles in the Navajo legends of creation.
The land borders one of the most spectacular sights of all, the Grand Canyon.
The Navajo`s tribal headquarters are in Window Rock, Ariz., where a natural stone bridge frames the town like a window. Picnic and camping facilities are close to the town. A visitors` center, arts and craft guild and tribal museum are open daily.
Accommodations include the Navajo Nation Inn at Window Rock ($55 a double), the Best Western Chieftain in Chambers ($41-$46) or the new Tuba City Motel, next to the ancient Tuba City Trading Post in Tuba City ($80).
Rodeos and ceremonial powwows take place regular in Navajoland, particularly on 4th of July and Labor Day weekends.
Write to Parks and Recreation, Navajo Tribe, Box 308, Window Rock, Ariz. 86515.
– Hopi Reservation. Almost in the center of the Navajo Reservation, the Hopi homeland consists primarily of three mesas extending like fingers from a larger plateau. The Hopi have lived on the same site without interruption for nearly 1,000 years, retaining more of their ancient traditions than almost any other Indian group. Many of the 6,500 Hopis, especially the elders, don`t speak English.
Recognized as the finest Indian craftsmen, the Hopis create items that are utilitarian as well as aesthetic-textiles, rugs, pottery, beadwork and exquisite kachina dolls traditionally carved from the roots of cottonwood trees.
Among the top jewelry and craft shops are Dawa`s Hopi Arts and Crafts;
Hopi Arts and Crafts (a silver cooperative); and Secakuku Enterprises. All are in the village of Shungopovi on Second Mesa. (Serious collectors will do well to visit the gift and craft shop at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.)
Shungopovi also offers the best places to stay. The Center Motel ($55 a double) is at the Cultural Center, with a cafe, museum, food market and launderette nearby.
A number of ritual dances are open to the public, but because of their religious significance advance notice is rarely made. Write to Hopi Cultural Center, Box 67, Second Mesa, Ariz. 86043; 602-734-2401.
– Zuni Reservation. The Zuni Indians of New Mexico belong to the Pueblo group of American Indians that includes the Isleta, Tigua, Taos and all the Pueblo tribes along the Rio Grande.
Home of outstanding silver and turquoise jewelers, the Zuni Pueblo is 41 miles south of Gallup, via New Mexico Highway 32. Entrance to the pueblo is free, but $2 camera permits are required for each camera; $4 for movie cameras.
The pueblo is made up mostly of one-story adobe dwellings, a style of architecture that goes back to North America`s earliest civilizations. Each sculptured compartment of the pueblo flows into the next, with the symmetry of a child`s building blocks. All are earthen in color, blending into the landscape and difficult to see from afar, providing a form of protection from warring bands of Indians and later from Spanish explorers.
The mission church at the Zuni pueblo has been restored. Jewelry, pottery, beadwork, fetishes and paintings are sold at the Zuni Crafts Cooperative. Camping and fishing are permitted on reservation lands.
Overnight accommodations are plentiful in nearby Gallup. For further information, write to Zuni Pueblo, P.O. Box 339, Zuni Pueblo, N.M. 87237.
