The crisis in state and local goverment that is resounding through the United States has claimed Arizona’s Southwest Indian Art Fair for next year, Indian Country Today reports.

As a result of this year’s first round of cuts to its annual state budget allotment, Arizona State Museum has canceled its annual Southwest Indian Art Fair for 2010. The event was scheduled for Feb. 20 and 21 and would have been the museum’s 17th annual.

“As much as we have tried in the last two years to save as many jobs as we could, this new round of cuts forces us to eliminate staff positions,” Director Beth Grindell said. “There’s simply nothing left to trim.” Some of those positions oversee the museum’s larger public programs such as the fair, which attracts about 6,000 guests each year.

Southwest Indian Art Fair Cancelled (Indian Country Today)