IAIA Newsletter—December 2023

December 13, 2023, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Welcome to the December Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) newsletter. This edition includes recent news and past, current, and upcoming happenings at IAIA. For questions, comments, or feedback, please contact IAIA Director of Communications Jason S. Ordaz at jason.ordaz@iaia.edu. Forward this newsletter to a friend.

IAIA Leadership Travels to the Nation’s Capital

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Board of Trustees, IAIA President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation), and three IAIA President’s Cabinet members traveled to the US capital in Washington, DC, for the November 2023 Board of Trustees Meeting, held two blocks from the National Mall at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Their visit involved swearing in new board members, conducting board business, recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day as an IAIA holiday through a resolution, meeting with the New Mexico Congressional Delegation supportive of IAIA, and viewing Native art in national museums.

On Tuesday, November 7, the five new Biden-appointed IAIA Trustees, Johnpaul Jones (Choctaw and Cherokee descent), Madeline Fielding Sayet (Mohegan), Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) ’07 and ’18, Jane Semple Umsted (Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma), and Manuelito Wheeler (Diné), were sworn in at NEH by Judge Florence Y. Pan, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The NEH Chair, Shelly Lowe (Diné), gave a welcome speech and asserted her commitment to funding diverse and previously overlooked minority-serving institutions and programs.
 
The new trustees shared their reasons for joining the IAIA Board of Trustees, many beginning their introductions in their Native languages. Accomplished architect and artist Johnpaul Jones began by acknowledging his grandmother, her sisters, and his mother, who are of Choctaw and Cherokee descent, as the foundation for his involvement. Jones previously assisted with the master plan of the IAIA campus, designed the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian—only a few blocks away from NEH—and created welcoming and culturally attuned spaces for Native people on campuses. Director, playwright, performer, and professor Madeline Fielding Sayet affirmed the value of Indigenous-centered education at IAIA: “…I believe incredibly deeply that our stories are an expression of our sovereignty and that there should be arts training programs that center Indigenous values and Indigenous thinking, and I continue to hear stories of harm from so many Native artists who go into the other programs, and they want a space in which their values are empowered—such as IAIA—and yet, so many places don’t offer that.” Mixed-media artist Rose B. Simpson, who carries deep personal ties to IAIA with a BFA in Studio Arts and an MFA in Creative Writing, expressed her view that contemporary Native art functions “as a voice and a little prayer for transformation,” recognized the role that IAIA can play in developing language for artists to traverse boundaries, and envisioned growing the institution further. Painter and sculptor Jane Semple Umsted, who comes from a family of artists, shared about experiencing a lack of support during her education when she pursued Native-themed art, making her trustee appointment particularly meaningful to her. Museum professional Manuelito Wheeler, having grown up in the Navajo Nation, expressed a desire to use his leadership role to advocate for Native people who come to IAIA from reservation communities.

Afterward, IAIA board business was conducted. Following on the heels of President Biden’s proclamation of Indigenous People’s Day in 2021, as well as New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recognition of the day as an official state holiday in 2019, the IAIA Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a college holiday. Originally proposed by the IAIA Associated Student Government (ASG), the resolution enables students, staff, and faculty to celebrate the day with the greater Indigenous community in Santa Fe and beyond.
 
That evening at the Native-owned Crown and Crow—recommended by IAIA Trustee Charles W. Galbraith (Navajo)—the New Mexico Congressional delegation, comprised of Senator Ben Ray Luján and Representatives Teresa Leger Fernandez, Melanie Stansbury, and Gabe Vasquez, asserted their support of IAIA, the arts, Indigenous peoples, and Native issues. “But the responsibilities that we have as a delegation for this incredible institution, and the incredible artists and the creativity, and the creativity that is associated with solving major problems—not just around our country, but around the world—is why I’m so proud to support IAIA,” said Luján.

The next day, on Wednesday, November 8, the IAIA delegation and their guests visited the DC offices of Representatives Teresa Leger Fernandez and Melanie Stansbury, Senators Martin Heinrich (who was represented by a staff member) and Ben Ray Luján. They also met with Anna Rathman and Mary Ford at the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which partnered with IAIA to increase programming for IAIA’s Land-Grant programs and the JGI’s Roots & Shoots youth program in Indigenous communities.
 
Afterward, attendees visited the Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023, featuring Indigenous artists on a national platform at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, where guest curator and former IAIA staff and faculty Dr. Lara Evans (Cherokee Nation) gave a private tour. IAIA funded the filming of short videos on the featured artists, Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes and ​Okanagan), Lily Hope (Tlingit) ’10 A-i-R ’22, Ursala Hudson (Tlingit) A-i-R ’22, Erica Lord (Athabaskan and ​Iñupiat) A-i-R ’17, Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy), and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) A-i-R ’18, who created the 55 artworks on display.

IAIA leadership also visited the National Museum of Art to see The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans, which featured work by IAIA Trustee Rose B. Simpson, former IAIA Student and Faculty Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi and Choctaw) ’65, Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Cannupa Hanska Luger (Manda, Hidatsa, and Arikara) ’11, Teri Greeves (Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma), and Keri Ataumbi (Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma) ’96, and many more esteemed Native artists, many who have ties to IAIA.
 
The IAIA Trustees and company later attended a private dinner at the Cosmos Club, where they had been invited by club member and former IAIA Trustee Barbara Davis Blum.
 
IAIA leadership then traveled back to Santa Fe and their homes elsewhere to continue to build upon the work of the past 61 years, while looking toward future successes of the Institute of American Indian Arts.
 
Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.

MFA in Creative Writing Evening Reading Series, Jan. 8–12

Join the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) from Monday, January 8 through Friday, January 12, 2024, as the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFACW) program presents an Evening Reading Series featuring program mentors and special guests. Each evening will engage its audience with poetry, memoir, or fiction from some of today’s most vibrant and vital writers. Check the schedule and presenter bios for additional details.
 

Evening Reading Series Events

• Monday, January 8, 6:30 pm: Readings by Carribean Fragoza, Brian Evenson, and Janet Sarbanes from CalArts—CLE Commons, IAIA Campus
• Tuesday, January 9, 6:30 pm: Readings by dg okpik (Iñupiaq-Inuit), Kelli Jo Ford (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Jennifer Foerster (Muscogee [Creek] Nation of Oklahoma)—CLE Commons, IAIA Campus
• Wednesday, January 10, 6:30 pm: Readings by Pam Houston, Raquel Gutierrez, Bojan Louis (Diné)—CLE Commons, IAIA Campus
• Thursday, January 11, 6:30 pm: Readings by Leslie Jamison, Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota), Mona Susan Power (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)—CLE Commons, IAIA Campus
• Friday, January 12, 4:30–6 pm: Reading and Q&A with Kim Blaeser (White Earth Nation) and Deborah Taffa (Quechan [Yuma] Nation and Laguna Pueblo)—IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). Hors d’oeuvres served 4–4:30 pm.

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is designed as a two-year program with two intensive week-long residencies per year (summer and winter) at IAIA. Students and faculty mentors gather for a week of workshops, lectures, and readings. At the end of the residency week, each student is matched with a faculty mentor, who then works one-on-one with the student for the semester. IAIA’s program is unique in that we emphasize the importance of Indigenous writers speaking to the Indigenous experience. The literature we read carries a distinct Native American and First Nations emphasis. The MAFCW offers four areas of emphasis: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting.

The deadline to apply for the 2024 academic year is February 1, by 5 pm (MST).
 

Breaking Ground on Mixed-Use Housing Facility

On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) affirmed its commitment to our students and connections to the community at large at the groundbreaking ceremony for IAIA’s new Mixed-Use Housing Facility on the IAIA campus, which will include flexible student housing spaces, two integrated studios, common areas, and an office space.

The Los Alamos Daily Post picked up IAIA’s press release for their paper, and The Santa Fe New Mexican interviewed IAIA President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation) and Vice President of Operations Larry Mirabal for the article “IAIA starts construction on new student housing” in advance of the event. The groundbreaking was also covered by radio station KSFR and TV stations KOAT and KRQE—the latter station interviewed IAIA Vice President of Operations Larry Mirabal prior to the event.

Image Credit: Nicole Lawe (Karuk) ’16

Henry Luce Foundation Awards Grant to the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

We are thrilled to announce that the Henry Luce Foundation has awarded the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) a grant for the upcoming exhibition and catalog titled Reclaiming/Transforming Spaces. This exhibition will be the first major investigation of contemporary Indigenous art from Canada and the United States that transforms and reclaims spaces through light, sound, installation, and 2-D art.

The Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Program supports innovative museum projects nationwide that advance the role of visual arts of the United States in an open and equitable society and the potential of museums to serve as forums for art-centered conversations that celebrate creativity, explore difference, and seek common ground. The Foundation empowers museums to reconsider accepted histories, foreground the voices and experiences of underrepresented artists and cultures, and welcome diverse communities into dialogue.

Many thanks to the Henry Luce Foundation for their support, and we are looking forward to sharing more about the exhibition in the future.
 

Time Well Spent at the Holiday Art Markets

On December 9, over 120 artists sold their work at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Holiday Art Market, including IAIA students, alums, staff, and Indigenous community members from across the Southwest, who set up in the gym and dance studio of the Performing Arts and Fitness Center on the IAIA campus. Thank you to our collaborating partner, the Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), for their contributions in making our respective Holiday Art Markets an enormous success.
 
Artists with heritage from and membership in approximately 50 Tribal Nations and Indigenous groups were present, including Acoma Pueblo, Anishinaabe, Apsaalooke, Arapaho, Assiniboine, Aymara, Cheyenne, Chicana, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Comanche, Diné, Fort Peck Tribes, Hopi, Hopi-Tewa, Inupiaq, Ioway, Isleta Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache, Kanaka Maoli, Kiowa, Laguna Pueblo, Lipan Apache, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Mescalero Apache, Mexican-American, Mohawk, Oglala Lakota, Oneida, Otoe-Missouria, Picuris Pueblo, Piikani, Ponca, Prairie Band Potawatomi, Pueblo of Zia, Pueblo of Zuni, Quechua, San Felipe Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Seminole Tribe of Florida, Shoshone, Southern Cheyenne, Spokane, Taos Pueblo, Tesuque Pueblo, Umonhon Tribe of Nebraska, Ute, and Yavapai-Apache Nation.
 
Work sold included beadwork, pottery, glasswork, bronzes, wood carvings, jewelry, prints, paintings, textiles, ribbon shirts and skirts, quilts, stickers, and more. In addition to the artwork being sold during the market, Delight Talawepi (Hopi), Assistant to the Academic Dean, ran a concession stand with breakfast, lunch, and various snacks, and Ohori’s Coffee generously donated six gallons of freshly made coffee.

 
A steady flow of visitors and customers totaling over 2,000 attendees was captured on a livestreaming camera set up in the gym. IAIA’s Sponsored Programs also offered a Vaccination Clinic for COVID-19 (Moderna), Influenza, and Tdap vaccinations.
 
Save the date for next year’s Holiday Art Market on Saturday, December 14, 2024!

Readings with Emerson, Reed, and Taffa at MoCNA, Dec. 14

Discover Edgar Award-nominated author Ramona Emerson (Diné) as she reads from her debut paranormal thriller, Shutter, celebrated as “a perfect blend of thriller, horror, and coming-of-age story” by the Boston Globe, at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) on Thursday, December 14, from 3–5 pm. In 2022, Emerson was longlisted for the National Book Award and was interviewed by NPR about her book. Ramona Emerson is a Diné writer and filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She has a Bachelor in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFACW) from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). As a police department photographer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she spent 16 years documenting crime scenes before becoming a novelist. She is an Emmy nominee, a Sundance Native Lab Fellow, a Time-Warner Storyteller Fellow, a Tribeca All-Access Grantee, and a WGBH Producer Fellow.

Emerson will be joined by current MFACW student Brianna Reed (Diné), who will read poetry, as well as MFACW Director Deborah Taffa (Quechan Nation, Laguna Pueblo, and Chicana), who will share an excerpt from her forthcoming title, Whiskey Tender, named a most anticipated book of 2024 by Zibby Media.

Emerson will be engaged in an interview and audience Q&A after the reading.

For more information about the event, contact Wayne Nez Gaussoin (Picuris Pueblo and Diné), Museum Educator, at wgaussoin@iaia.edu or (505) 428-5907. 
 

NBCU Academy Scholarship—Now Accepting Applications

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) was selected by NBC Universal News Group to be a part of the initial cohort of institutions to participate in the launch of NBCU Academy, a new, innovative, multi-platform journalism training and development program for four-year university and college students that offers education, on-campus training, and online programming. The initiative includes a curated onsite curriculum for a hands-on learning experience with world-class NBCU News Group journalists, funding for accredited journalism programs, and scholarships.
 
Inaugural NBCU Academy scholarships were awarded to Shantel V. Chee (Diné), Jordan M. Martin (Blackfeet Tribe), Preston C. Johnson (Navajo Nation), and Tyrell Etsitty (Diné). 
 
Shantel V. Chee is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, an Associates in Studio Arts, and a certificate in Broadcast Journalism at IAIA. When she saw the opportunity for the NBCU Academy Scholarship, she “jumped on it, because who doesn't want to get paid to write stories?” Chee became interested in journalism through her creative writing studies, and learning about the NBCU Academy Scholarship led her to further pursue this interest and apply. “And I’m really happy that I did, because it made me pursue another degree plan that I didn't think I was going to go into, but it happened, and once I got the scholarship I was like, ‘You know what? I'm going to finish journalism,’” she shared.

Your Year-end Gift to IAIA will Impact Lives—Give Today!

On Giving Tuesday, the IAIA community came together to raise $5,582 in a single day. This surpassed our goal of raising $5,200, enough funds to cover the cost of a year of undergraduate tuition for one IAIA student.

We are thrilled by the outpouring of support. There is so much more we can accomplish in these final weeks of 2023—IAIA depends on the generosity of donors like you to advance its mission while providing students with state-of-the-art facilities and a high-quality education.

If you haven’t made a year-end gift, there is still time. Please consider making a generous tax-deductible gift today. Your support will empower the next generation of Indigenous artists, scholars, and leaders.

2023–2024 IAIA College Catalog—Learn More and Apply Today

The 2023–2024 IAIA College Catalog can be viewed and downloaded on our website. The Institute of American Indian Arts is a fine arts college chartered by the United States Congress to “empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning, and community engagement.” 
 
IAIA’s commitment to offering high-quality programs is validated by our accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a national accreditor. We offer associate and bachelor’s degrees in Cinematic Arts and Technology, Creative Writing, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, Performing Arts, and Studio Arts. We also offer certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Broadcast Journalism, Museum Studies, and Native Art History, and low residencies in Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, and Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Administration.

Image Credit: Tony Abeyta (Diné) ’86 and “Ofuskie” George Alexander (Muscogee Creek) ’15, detail of First Day, 2022, acrylic and oil on linen, 24 x 30 inches. Gift of Marshall E. and Lee Ann Hunt, 2022. IAIA Public Art Collection: 2022-7. © Tony Abeyta and George Alexander. Photograph by Addison Doty.

Join the IAIA Community—View Open Positions

IAIA is looking to hire driven individuals who believe in and support IAIA’s mission “to empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning, and community engagement.” As of this newsletter deployment, the following positions are open:
 

• Academic Dean and Chief Academic Officer
• Advancement Alumni and Constituent Relations Manager
• Advancement Associate
• Samuel R. Peterson Native American Art History Chair (Grant Funded)
• Student Services Student Life Area Coordinator

IAIA offers competitive salaries and an outstanding benefits package for regular full-time positions, which includes medical, dental, vision, term life, long-term disability, short-term disability, a 403B investment plan, and an Employee Assistance Program.

To see available positions, view the Employment page.
 

IAIA Alums Carry Connections Forward

The Institute of American Indian Arts is the birthplace of leaders in contemporary Indigenous arts and cultures. That statement may sound lofty, but we can back it up. We have a lot to be proud of, but what fills us with awe are our intelligent, creative, and resilient students and alums. Over the past 61 years, many of our students have become contemporary art superstars, critically acclaimed poets and authors, pioneering scholars, civil rights activists, museum professionals, forward-thinking educators, and cultural leaders, shaping future generations.

Read our Alumni Spotlights to learn more about how our alums are carrying connections forward, and check back in the future as we add more profiles of the movers, shakers, and changemakers who have called IAIA their educational home.

If you would like to be considered for a future Alumni Spotlight, contact communications@iaia.edu.
 

Community News and Happenings

The following contains information about recent happenings and news within the IAIA community. If you would like to be included in the community news, please submit a form to Communications. 
 

• IAIA Alum Tommy Orange (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma) ’16 featured on PBS’ “Chicago Tonight”
• IAIA’s groundbreaking ceremony shared in multiple local news sources, including the Santa Fe New Mexican, KSFR, KRQE, KOAT, and the Los Alamos Daily. 
• IAIA community members RYAN! Elizabeth Feddersen (Okanogan/Arrow Lakes) and Ursala Hudson (Tlingit) named among NDN Collective’s 2023–2025 Radical Imagination cohort
• IAIA Alums Charine Pilar Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo) ’21 and Sabrina Saleha (Diné) ’23 named among the Native American Media Alliance’s (NAMA) fifth annual Native American Animation Lab Fellows
• IAIA Performing Arts Students Montana Miller (Navajo) and Isaiah St Cyr (Ho-Chunk) present at the Society for American Theatre Research in Providence, RI
• IAIA Alum Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation) ’68 has her poem, I Am a Prayer, featured in The New Yorker
• IAIA Alum Nathaniel Fuentes (Santa Clara Pueblo) ’20 featured in Taos News for his film, NEW: ART is Culture, CULTURE is Art, which will premiered at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, on Thursday, December 7, with a special Q&A
• IAIA Alum Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) ’07 and ’18 featured in Artsy’s “Rose B. Simpson Harnesses the Power of Community in Life-Sized Clay Sculptures”
• IAIA Alum and current MFACW Student Charine Pilar Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo) ’21 received the Achievement in Short Filmmaking Award, presented by the Native American Media Alliance at the LA Skins Fest Award Gala for her film, River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh)
• IAIA MFASA Mentor Raven Chacon (Diné) featured in Hyperallergic’s “The Many Voices of Raven Chacon’s While Hissing”
• IAIA Alum Monica Silva Lovato (San Felipe and Santo Domingo Pueblo) ’23 a featured artist in Experimental Clay: Exploring 3D Printed Ceramics, an exhibition at UNM’s School of Architecture and Planning Gallery showcasing work that was created during a series of artist residencies hosted at the Hand and Machine Lab

View a listing of happenings at the Institute of American Indian Arts and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Current and upcoming exhibitions at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts:
 

• The Stories We Carry, Friday, September 30, 2022–Monday, September 30, 2024
• The Art of Jean LaMarr, August 18, 2023–January 7, 2024
• Inuk Silis Høegh: Arctic Vertigo, February 2, 2024–July 14, 2024
• Womb of the Earth: Cosmovision of the Rainforest, February 2, 2024–July 19, 2024

You can view the IAIA Community Calendar, which includes community-only happenings, as well as important dates from the Academic Calendar. (IAIA Community: If you would like to subscribe to the IAIA Community Calendar, please send a request to communications@iaia.edu.)