It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston,[2] and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man.

It had to offer the public an opportunity to sense the beauty, dignity, and profound logic of Navajo religion.

A traditional Navajo house blessing was conducted by the singer Big Man in November 1937, and many of Klah's relatives attended.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Navajo Nation exerted its independence through a number of sweeping changes, including the establishment of its own community college system.

It also presents changing exhibitions on traditional and contemporary Navajo and other Native American arts.