History of the Portal Program

The unique marketplace under the portal of the Palace of the Governors has grown out of centuries of commerce, as members of various communities from the Southwest traveled to and gathered around the Santa Fe Plaza to sell and trade goods. Prior to the organization of formal markets in the 20th century, the portal had a tradition as a market for agricultural products, game, livestock and utilitarian wares, such as pottery and basketry.

In 1936, Maria Chabot, Executive Secretary for the New Mexico Association of Indian Affairs, organized weekly markets under the Palace portal. They were partially inspired by the very first annual Santa Fe “Indian Market” in 1922, officially known as the Southwest Indian Art Fair and Industrial Arts and Crafts Exposition, held by the Museum of New Mexico. This Art Fair coincided with the annual Santa Fe Fiesta and drew upon prior territorial and world’s fairs, ceremonial gatherings, secular festivals, and trade events. The weekend markets of the 1930s evolved into today’s annual “Indian Market” organized by the Southwest Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA) as well as into the Native American Artisans Portal Program at the New Mexico History Museum.

The popularity of the Portal Program among buyers and sellers increased throughout the 1970s. In 1972, the Museum of New Mexico Board of Regents established a policy designating the portal area for sales by Native American artists only. Despite museum policy, non-Native Americans continued to sell goods under the portal for some time.

In 1974 a committee of Native American portal participants, recognizing the need for program regulation, developed a series of program rules that would eventually be adopted by the museum. In 1979 the court upheld the museum’s freedom to decide the content and participation in its program. Portal vendors and committee members continue to have an active role in the creation and enforcement of program rules.

The presence of Native American artists under the portal is an integral part of the history of the Museum of New Mexico, which reserves the portal for the display and sale of arts by members of federally recognized tribes, pueblos, or nations. In doing so, the Museum continually contributes to the perpetuation of indigenous culture while providing learning opportunities to the visiting public through direct interactions with Native artists. As part of the Portal Program, members of Pueblo, Navajo and Apache communities display their art for nearly two million tourists each year.