The Worlds Above Us
An exhibit on Indigenous understandings of the sky in New Mexico
In the Tewa language, makowa means ‘sky’ or ‘heavens’. Tewa is an Indigenous language spoken by around 1600 people of the Ohkay Owingeh, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambé and Pojoaque Pueblo communities in what is now New Mexico. Makowa: The Worlds Above Us is the name of an exhibition on now at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, exploring and sharing Indigenous (mainly Puebloan) understandings of our connection to the stars, planets, cosmos, sky and air above us. While I was back in the U.S. in April, I had a chance to visit the museum. I always try to go, because the MIAC is an Indigenous-operated, curated and led museum that tells stories through Indigenous art and knowledge-holders. It is an incredibly important museum.
Wall text at the entrance to Makowa says the exhibit invites you to “find your own ways to make sense of the worlds above us and hear stories of stargazers in NASA and Chaco Canyon’s Pueblo Bonito, learn about constellations and view artwork inspired by sky beings. What does the sky say to you in your own life?”
As you move through the exhibit, there are mixed media displays that introduce concepts of light and darkness, farming, the movement of the Sun, stars and planets, clouds and weather, eclipses, comets, spirit beings from the sky and rock art – particularly the spiral petroglyphs representing the Sun at Chaco Canyon in northern New Mexico. Paintings, pottery, weavings, jewellery and modern photographs all portray different aspects and Indigenous worldviews about the sky.
In a press release, co-curator Marlon Magdalena (Jemez Pueblo) said, “This exhibition is about observation and connection. It’s a chance to see the sky through Indigenous eyes and recognise how our stories and sciences speak to one another.”
One immersive room is dedicated to Chaco Canyon (also a certified International Dark Sky Park since 2013). The documentary Looking To The Skies (Kaela Waldstein / Mountain Mover Media) loops interviews with Indigenous folks discussing their personal and cultural relationships to the sky, and an interactive display lets you explore the Rock of the Sun at Chaco at different times of day over a year to see how sunlight hits the spiral petroglyphs.
A display on farmer scientists includes a rain sash made in the 1940s. A rain sash is a knotted cotton scarf that dancers wear around the waist during sacred kachina dances and ceremonies. Kachinas are divine, ancestral spirit beings who represent the cosmos and natural world, acting as intermediaries between the physical and supernatural realms and often bringing rain and healing. The display explains Indigenous weather science, including understanding sky patterns and predictable annual cycles, as well as how lightning, storms and chemistry can affect soil health and crop cycles.
A particularly memorable display is a woven rug/wall hanging depicting the Moon landings by Diné (Navajo) artist Melissa Benaly, who made it for her children’s high school graduations in 2001.
Throughout the exhibit, I was reminded that the supposed tension between science and spirituality is a uniquely European/coloniser mindset, and for many Indigenous and Global Majority peoples around the world, these two concepts are interrelated and interdependent.
Science, spirit, belief, faith, myth, weather, nature and the divine are all inextricably bound up together as part of our existence in this realm and whatever is beyond it.
Practical information
Makowa: The Worlds Above Us
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
Museum Hill, Santa Fe, New Mexico
indianartsandculture.org
Until 17 August 2026
Travel with me to see dark skies in Namibia in 2027
Quick reminder that I’m co-leading the world’s first dark sky conservation trip to Namibia with TerraFauna Journeys. The trip will take place in February-March 2027 and includes stays in rooftop star beds, learning about the flora and wildlife of the Namib Desert, nighttime game drives to spot nocturnal wildlife, a visit to a big cat centre and classic safari experiences in Etosha National Park.
Booking: Namibia Safari Reimagined: Desert, Wildlife & Night Skies
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gorgeous. thank u