Because of the proximity of the Museum to the Greater Southwest, it has some unique and representative ceramic and textile specimens from the area.  The Southwestern Ceramic Collection includes historic and contemporary Southwestern pottery from the Rio Grande and Western Pueblos, the Navajos, and the Papagos, dating from the 19th century to the present.  Navajo, Hopi, Santa Clara, and San Ildefonso pottery traditions are well represented in the collection with pieces made by many well-known potters of this century. 

Similarly, the Southwestern Textiles Collection includes Navajo weavings as well as articles of clothing from the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni.  Although small, the collection has many Navajo textiles dating to the early part of the 20th century when regional styles took root. Several early Saltillo and Rio Grande weavings in the Museum further augment the research value of the collection. 

Through purchases and individual donations the Museum has built a strong Southern Plains Indian Costume Collection.  Derived mainly from eastern New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, the materials range in age from ca. 1850 to 1950s with a focus on the turn-of-the-century.  The collection consists of articles of dress and accessories representing the Apaches, Comanche, and Kiowa traditional attires.  The Museum also has a sizable collection of Central and Northern Plains Indian materials, mainly articles of clothing and accessories.  These garments represent traditional ethnic clothing of cultures undergoing intense acculturation during the reservation period when these traditional cultures were endangered by Anglo contact and federal policy.  Also in the Plains Indian Collection are ceremonial items, weapons, and many household items related to their hunting way of life. 

The research significance of the Ethnology Collection lies in its regionalization, time perspective, and focus on cultures undergoing the pressures of acculturation.  It also reflects the Museum's mission of collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating natural and cultural materials that illustrate human relationship with the environment within a semi-arid environmental framework.  The collections are rich resources for students interested in the adaptative changes of many non-Western societies in the modern world.

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