The ethnographic collection focuses on southwestern American Indian material culture.

DUMA houses a considerable Pueblo pottery collection, including pieces from renowned artists such as Nampeyo, Lucy Lewis, and Maria Martinez.

DUMA also houses Kate Peck Kent's African textile collection. Kent, a well known scholar on southwestern American Indian textiles, traveled to West Africa in 1966-1969. Traveling throughout Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria, Kent collected numerous textiles and textile production tools.

Other highlights include American Indian basketry, pre-Columbian pottery, Mexican jewelry and ceramics, Navajo and Hopi weavings, and Alaskan ivory and stone tools.