Every year since 2002, the Downtown Redevelopment Citizens Committee of Carson City has issued a Christmas ornament featuring a historic building in the city. The ornaments are designed to highlight the city’s historic and unique buildings.
The 2018 ornament featured the Wungnema House and the 2019 ornament featured the Stewart Cultural Center and Museum at the Stewart Indian School. While the ornaments are designed to honor historic buildings in Carson City, these two ornaments also honor the Native American men and women who built these marvelous stone structures.
Carson City, and the surrounding area, are rich in Native American history. Both of these buildings represent the contributions made by the Native Americans stonemasons to Nevada’s economy and history. Think about it – without their efforts, their talents, their hard work, the face of Carson City would be far different than the one we know today.
Both of these buildings were constructed by Native American stonemasons. The Wungnema House was built just after WWII by Burton Wungnema. The house was Burton’s wedding present to his bride Pearl Talas. The Wungnema and Talas clans both participated in the construction of the house.
The Wungnema House is now owned by the City of Carson. It is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, because the house is owned by the city, it is protected and maintained by the city. Which probably makes placement on the Register a moot point
The 2019 ornament is unique in that it is colored – as far as we can tell, this is the only year that color was added to the ornament. We think that the coloring is perfect as it reflects the many colored stones used in the buildings on the Stewart Campus.
The Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum is located in the former administrative offices of the Stewart Indian School. The buildings on the Stewart Campus, including the Museum, were constructed by the Native American masonry instructors and students, including the Wungnemas, the Talases and the Crawfords. The Stewart Indian School is owned by the State of Nevada and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Cultural Center is open M-F, 10a to 5p. Please take the time to visit it – there’s so much to learn about the history and future of the Stewart Indian School and its alumni. Note: During the 2022 Holiday Season, the Museum will be closed from December 19, 2022 through January 3, 2023.
These ornaments are quite collectible. If you do not have these Christmas ornaments in your collection, try contacting the Purple Avocado (https://www.thepurpleavocado.com/) as past ornaments can be purchased there. We’re not sure what past ornaments might be available. It might also be possible to obtain the past years’ ornaments online.