Is it Kitsch? Camp? or Fine Art?
Glimpses of Indian Life
Making it Local
Authenticating the Inauthentic
Secularizing the Sacred
Mixing High and Low
Yearning for the Past
Mudhead Decanter

Secularizing the Sacred
The process of appropriating religious images and transforming them into popular tourist culture can create cultural conflict.

Native groups may take serious offense when their religious icons are sold as cheap souvenirs to tourists. While it may seem clever to design whiskey decanters in the form of Pueblo kachinas, travelers might feel differently if they encountered liquor bottles depicting their religious icons.

 
About Tourist Icons Museum of Indian Arts & Culture | Museum of New Mexico Museum of New Mexico Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
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