I’ve done a lot of traveling over the past handful of years, and I’m creeping ever closer to “I’ve seen it all” territory, at least in the United States. To be clear, I’m not actually close to having seen it all, but I have reached a point where a lot of tourist hotspots feel redundant because I have most likely already visited a variant of it in a different location.

Because of this, when I travel now, I go out of my way to make sure to explore spots that are unique to that location. For example, if I’m going to an area with particularly beautiful scenery, I will make sure to go on as many hikes as possible, as opposed to going to a national history museum that doesn’t have a local twist to it.

I’ve been following this approach for my trip in Phoenix, Arizona by seeking out tourist attractions related to Native tribes, which are heavily concentrated in the Arizona and New Mexico area. I checked out the S’eḏav Va’aki Museum, formerly known as the Pueblo Grande Museum, over in eastern Phoenix by Sky Harbor International Airport. I haven’t had many opportunities to explore a museum like this, so this was a unique experience for me.

The S’eḏav Va’aki Museum had three components to it: the main exhibits, the seasonal/rotating exhibits, and an outdoor exhibit. One of the rotating exhibits during my visit was a section about the old Pueblo Grande name and how the museum collaborated with the O’odham to come up with a new name that was more fitting for the relics, artifacts, stories, and teachings contained in the museum. I particularly liked the outdoor trails, which wound around some replica structures that visually demonstrated what life was like for the Natives.

Below are some photographs I took around the Museum: