News from MIAC/Lab

MIAC Celebrates Exhibitions and Awards

MAY 15, 2019

(Santa Fe, New Mexico) – The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) will say goodbye to two exhibitions, Hweeldi: The Woven Tribute and Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans while celebrating its newest accolade from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on June 2, 2019. The celebration will offer light refreshments as well as hands-on activities for children. Guest speakers Oliver Enjady (Mescalero Apache), Vernon Petago (Jicarilla Apache), and Vida Vigil-Garcia (Jicarilla Apache) will discuss the Southern Athabaskan language at 2:00 p.m. with closing comments from Joyce Begay-Foss (Diné), and Dinéhtah dancers will perform at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Hweeldi: The Woven Tribute, measuring an impressive 9 feet by 15 feet, commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Bosque Redondo on June 1, 1968. The weaving’s design comes from a Navajo oral history which may include first-hand accounts from those that endured the Long Walk. The Long Walk, executed by the United States Military, forced more than 8,000 Diné from their homes to the Bosque Redondo more than 300 miles away. The Treaty of Bosque Redondo mandated that the people could return to their Diné Bikéyah (Navajo sacred lands); MIAC’s celebration marks the treaty’s 150th anniversary.

MIAC is pleased to announce that Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans, curated by Joyce Begay-Foss, has received the 2019 Award of Excellence in National History Leadership from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). The exhibition explores the lives of regional Apache tribes bound by the Athabaskan language and received the AASLH’s most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. The committee selected Lifeways for its singular approach representing the Jicarilla Apache, Mescalero Apache, Fort Sill Apache (Chiricahua), San Carlos Apache, and White Mountain Apache.

“The Leadership in History Award recognizes excellence in the interpretation of state and local history at organizations of all sizes and types,” said Andy Albertson, who represents New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas on the national awards committee. “This year’s award winners demonstrate the power of relevancy, collaboration, experimentation, and a more inclusive history to challenge communities to think critically about the past and present. Lifeways certainly fit the bill when it came to inclusivity and is also an aesthetically pleasing feast for the eyes.”

The Leadership in History Awards Program was initiated in 1945 to build standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout America. Each nomination is peer-reviewed by AASLH’s state captains. Final awards are decided by the Awards Committee, comprised of AASLH’s fourteen regional representatives and the National Awards Chair.

Presentation of the awards will be made at a special banquet during the 2019 AASLH Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, on Friday, August 30. The banquet is supported by HISTORY™.

 

MIAC’s Celebration of Hweeldi: The Woven Tribute and Lifeways of the Southern Athabaskans

Location: Milner Plaza and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Date: Sunday, June 2, 2019

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Dinéhtah dancers perform at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.; Lecture on Southern Athabaskan language at 2:00 p.m.

This event is free and family friendly

 

For more information, please call Joyce Begay-Foss, Director of Education/Curator at (505) 476-1272 or joyce.begay-foss@state.nm.us