Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park

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If you're in the neighborhood of Saddleback Butte, the Antelope Valley Indian Museum is only a few miles down the road and worth a look. This unique structure was built by movie set designer Howard Arden Edwards, and is only open to the public on weekends mid-September through mid-June, and is closed in summer. Volunteer docent Lahoma took me through the chalet styled building which contains a fine collection of Indian artifacts that represent a number of Native American groups of the west. What makes these rooms unique is that they were constructed, on and around, the natural rock formations of a desert butte. On the top floor, visitors will find the California Hall. This room serves as a home for an outstanding collection of artifacts from Southern California, coastal and Channel Islands' tribes. Some of these items date back 8,000 years. On the main floors, exhibits of art and artifacts of Southwest tribes can be found. Looking up, visitors will find beautiful ceilings that Edwards and his students researched and painted. In other rooms are exhibits which represent the culture of the local Indians from the areas surrounding the museum itself. A gift shop operated by the “Friends of Antelope Valley Indian Museum” can also be found inside. It contains authentic American Indian crafts that have been created by local artisans. Outside, a self-guided half mile trail takes visitors to different aspects of this State Park property, and identifies many of the natural features of the desert environment. Lahoma talked about how she discovered the Indian Museum: I've spoken to many people about it and most discovered it the same way I did. Maybe the same way you did. You're driving along and all of sudden you see the sign that says "Antelope Valley Indian Museum." Then you say, "Well, I didn't know that this was out here." And you come out here and I think that's why Edwards did it, because of the location in the desert. He loved Indians and he loved nature and that's why I like it. You can walk through here and you know that he didn't see them as characters. The museum has tried recently to be more sympathetic to American Indian culture, and made the American Indian people very happy. And that's what the museum is. And that's what the Indian museum is to me.