Occupying the entire north side of the historic plaza, the Palace of the Governors has been a center of activity since Santa Fe's founding as New Mexico's second capital by Governor Pedro de Peralta in 1610. Since its establishment, the MNM has worked to protect, preserve and promote traditional Southwest Native American arts and crafts. Museum policy reserves the portal, or front porch, of the Palace of the Governors for the use of authorized participants in the Native American Vendors Program to display and sell wares they have made.
Some vendors sell foodstuffs such as oven bread, pies and tamales.
A regularly-scheduled, outdoor public market, dedicated exclusively to regional Native American arts and crafts and located under the Palace portal, was the brainchild of Maria Chabot. These weekly markets were intended to encourage the production of traditional arts and crafts and to educate the public about Southwest Native American cultures. The first fair was held on July 11, 1936. Judges were non-Indians because the Indian people were reluctant to assess the quality of one another's work. They mark the beginning of what eventually became the daily, MNM-sponsored Native American Vendors Program.