As part of the national "Let's Talk About It" program, the Los Lunas Museum will be hosting an open discussion on various topics that will be based on multiple readings. These readings will be available on a loan status for the duration of the programming.
Dwight T. Pitcaithley, Professor of History at New Mexico State University, will be leading this statewide reading and discussion program. All participants will need to pre-register in order to go over the reading material prior to the sessions. Each discussion will be held on a Saturday, from February 25 - April 28.
Lecture: Pakistan - Four Futures for a Troubled Relationship
22 Feb 2012
Dr. Timothy Hoyt, U.S. Naval War College
Sunday, February 26, 3-5 p.m. UNM Continuing Education Conference Center 1634 University Blvd. NE
Pakistan is a critical American ally in our efforts to combat global terrorism. It has a large army, a significant nuclear arsenal, and a long - if troubled - history of alliance with the United States. Nevertheless, America's relations with Pakistan are difficult, a fact brought home by the killing of Osama Bin Laden in a compound only thirty miles from Pakistan's capital. As the U.S. re-examines its policies in South Asia, including a possible withdrawal from Afghanistan and a growing friendship with India, the U.S. also needs to consider its relationship with Pakistan and Pakistan's future. Professor Timothy Hoyt of the U.S. Naval War College will lay out four different possible futures for Pakistan and lead a discussion of how the U.S. can best contribute to Pakistani stability and development in the coming decades.
"Oh My Gouache," a calligraphy workshop by Dianne Von Arx, will be held Saturday, February 25 at the New Mexico History Museum Classroom. Von Arx served as special treatment artist for the Saint John's Bible.
Cost: $100
Limited enrollment; call (505) 476-5096 to register.
"Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby" Exhibition Opening
10 Feb 2012
Friday, February 17th from 5-7pm
Roswell Museum and Art Center
Craig Varjabedian's photographic explorations of Ghost Ranch have spanned a twenty-year period. It is through this intimate experience that Varjabedian has captured the sublime spirit of the land and community that Georgia O'Keeffe called home. He states, "The one thing that never changes is that moment of recognition when I feel the play of light, shadow, and texture resolve itself into something wonderful."
Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby features sixty-two silver gelatin photographs of the 22,000 acre ranch and environs that are a part of the dramatic Piedra Lumbre Valley in northern New Mexico. First inhabited by ancestral Puebloan peoples, the area was named "Rancho de los Brujos"--the ranch of spirits and ghosts--by the Pedro Martin Seranno family who lived there in the 1700s. When O'Keeffe discovered New Mexico's high desert she called it the "Faraway Nearby." Through his compelling images Varjabedian captures a moment in time by exploring and revealing the "power of place."
Join the KiMO for "Billy the Kid" (1930) on Wednesday February 15.
John Mack Brown, Wallice Berry
This is the first film adaptation of the Billy the Kid Legend. Director King Vidor filmed in and around some of William Bonney's old New Mexico haunts in Las Vegas.
"New Mexico: 100 Years of Art" Centennial Exhibition at the Las Cruces Museum of Art
31 Jan 2012
The Las Cruces Museum of Art proudly presents "New Mexico: 100 Years of Art", an exhibition commemorating one hundred years of statehood as seen through artistic expression. The exhibit opens on Friday, February 3, 2012 with a reception to be held during the Downtown Ramble from 5:00 ? 7:00 p.m.
"New Mexico: 100 Years of Art" tells the on-going story of New Mexico artists and showcases their work. In this exhibition, the Museum of Art can present but a few of the hundreds of thousands of works of New Mexico art that have been produced over the past one hundred years. It includes works of art by Peter Hurd, Luis Jimenez, Agnes Martin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Fremont Ellis, Henriette Wyeth, and many other fascinating New Mexico artists. As 2012 progresses, the exhibit will travel to the Carlsbad Museum & Art Center and to the Farmington Museum.
The exhibition was organized by the Las Cruces Museum of Art in partnership with the New Mexico Museum of Art, with assistance from other museums, collectors, and artists from around the State. This project is made possible in part by the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities; New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and the City of Las Cruces.
The Las Cruces Museum of Art is located at 491 N. Main Street, next to Branigan Cultural Center. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. ? 4:30 p.m. The Museum is closed Sundays and Mondays. For more information, call (575) 541-2137 or visit the website www.las-cruces.org/museums
Frontera NorteSur adds Centennial to Website
18 Jan 2012
In commemoration of the New Mexico Centennial of Statehood, Frontera NorteSur is pleased to officially announce a new section on its website dedicated to different issues of importance in the southern New Mexico borderland from 1912 to 2012. Readers will find articles published during the last three years that explore agricultural history, Mexican immigrant labor, economic development, the North American Free Trade Agreement, African Americans in Dona Ana County, and much more. Community histories of the rural towns of San Miguel and Vado-Del Cerro are among the many topics covered in Frontera NorteSur?s Centennial section:
http://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/category/centennial/
In addition to print stories, the public can listen to a pair of radio documentaries, one in Spanish and one in English, which were earlier aired on KUNM-Albuquerque and KGLP-Gallup. The English-language program, "Behind the Truck Stop," takes listeners on a journey to the small town of Vado-Del Cerro near the Mexican border. The Spanish-language documentary, "La Trailita," examines the displacement of farmworkers in southern New Mexico from mechanization and free trade.
Although the website might be of special interest to university and high school instructors specializing in New Mexico and borderlands history, it contains many broad themes of interest. Universal issues of migration, community formation and identity, foodways and more are all examined in the series.
Contributing scholars include Guillermina Nunez-Mchiri, University of Texas at El Paso; Connie Falk, New Mexico State University; Dionicio Valdes, Michigan State University; Clarence Fielder, New Mexico State emeritus; Jim Peach, New Mexico State; and Lois Stanford, New Mexico State.
The series was made possible in part by grants from the New Mexico Humanities Council, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the McCune Charitable Foundation. Watch for new print stories and audio pieces in 2012.
Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper), a reference to Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid, go on an motorcycle adventure from Los Angeles to New Orleans. While passing through New Mexico the two get invited to a hippie community in Taos, and get arrested is Las Vegas for parading without a license. Don't miss the showing of this iconic classic.
Wednesday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m.
Free Admission
KiMo Theatre Centennial Series
11 Jan 2012
You are invited to celebrate New Mexico's Centennial with the Speaker & Living History Series at the KiMo. NMHC is a partner in the series, with several members of the Chautauqua scheduled throughout the year.
Admission is free.
Wednesday, January 11, at 7 p.m., Rich Friedman - Archeologist and Historian will present Mysteries of Chaco Canyon. This media enhanced presentation will highlight several "mysteries" of Chaco Canyon, and the people who inhabited the Four Corners Region from approximately 450 to 1350 A.D. It will begin with a 20 min. viewing of a portion of the groundbreaking "The Mystery of Chaco Canyon" documentary, directed by Anna Sofaer. The balance of the presentation will be a media rich experience that will cover several of the enigmatic archaeological features found in and around Chaco Canyon. Included in the discussion will be 3D reconstructions and animations of the Great Houses, a review of the so called Chetro Ketl Field, the "amphitheater" of Chaco Canyon, and a brief discussion on the source of construction timber and corn for Chaco Canyon.
The presentation will conclude with a discussion on Chacoan "Roads". Included will dramatic new 3D images of the Great North Road created using data acquired with a grant to the Solstice Project from National Trust for Historic Preservation. The mysterious Great North Road is a 30 ft. wide linear feature (in some areas multiple linear features) that extends 40+ miles to the north of Chaco Canyon. Examples of other Chacoan ?roads? will also be shown, including the fascinating circular "hoop" roads.
Journey Stories in Ft. Sumner
4 Jan 2012
Presentations:
January 11, 1 - 2 pm: Clint Chambers, "Freighter Trails" January 18, TBD: Robert Kurtz, "History of NM Roadways" Lecture January 25, TBD: Randy Dunson, "History of the Railroad"
For more information, or for groups of 10 or more, please contact Fort Sumner State Monument at (575) 355-2573. Open Wednesday - Sunday, 8:30 am - 5 pm.
Reading, Workshop, Q & A
16 Nov 2011
Join co-editors Lynn C. Miller and Lisa Lenard-Cook for a presentation on Earning an Editor's Eye: The Fabulous First Lines That Reeled Us In this Sunday at Alamosa books.
Please come help celebrate the publication by UNM Press of The Latest Word from 1540, an exciting collection of essays written by 15 authors who have been doing the most significant new research about the Coronado expedition. As we wrote in the introduction to the volume, "The related concepts of critical mass, the hundredth monkey, and the tipping point have become staples of modern thought. They all involve the idea of a slow, incremental process crossing a quantum threshold to sudden, prodigious advance. A similar phenomenon has occurred in the last decade in the study of the Coronado expedition." The Latest Word from 1540 details much of that explosion of knowledge.
Join us if you can at any one of these three events in November:
Saturday, Nov. 5, 3:00 PM Allá Books and Music 102 West San Francisco St., Suite 20, Santa Fe
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2:00 PM Manzano Mountain Art Council Arts Center 122 E. Broadway, Mountainair (for Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument) FREE LECTURE
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2:30 PM City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center 6500 Coors Blvd. NW, Albuquerque FREE LECTURE
Journey Stories in Raton
28 Sep 2011
This Smithsonian Institution travelling exhibition has made its way to its third stop, Raton. It will remain there through November 11th - please visit our facebook page for exhibition events announcements. (Just click on the "f" icon on the righthand side of our homepage).
For more information: (575) 445-8979 info@ratonmuseum.org www.ratonmuseum.org
NMAM Conference Registration is Underway!
4 Sep 2011
The New Mexico Association of Museums' 2011 Annual Conference, with a theme of "Celebrating Heritage," will take place in Farmington, November 2-5. Filled with informative sessions and wonderful events and activities, this year's conference is sure to be spectacular.
Preliminary conference programs are in the mail to current NMAM members and a copy of the program is available online: Click here. Please note, the early bird deadline for registration is September 30. You may register online and pay by credit through Paypal, or mail your completed registration form with check payment to:
NMAM Registration
c/o Roswell Museum and Art Center
100 West 11th Street
Roswell, NM 88201
If you have any registration questions or would like to request a program be mailed to you, please contact Stacie Petersen at petersen@roswellmuseum.org or 575-624-6744 x13. Scholarships are available and the application deadline is September 19. To apply, send a cover letter to Selena Connealy at selena.connealy@comcast.net.
NM Centennial Essay Contest
3 Sep 2011
What does it mean to be a New Mexican? What does agriculture mean to New Mexico? High school seniors across the state have an opportunity to write an essay on either subject for the chance to win a $2,500 scholarship. Two scholarships will be awarded, one for the winning essay on each topic. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 1, 2011.
The New Mexico State University history department is coordinating the essay contest as part of the university?s celebration of the 100 years of New Mexico statehood. The university will kick off its statehood celebrations in October with the NMSU's homecoming events.
"As we celebrate the centenary of New Mexico Statehood, we want to invite all high school seniors in the state to write an essay about one or both of these two questions," said Jon Hunner, NMSU history professor and department head. "Knowing about New Mexico?s past helps New Mexicans understand where we came from, who we are and where we are going."
The Agriculture scholarship is donated by the Mesa Farmers Cooperative and may be used at an institution of higher learning selected by the winner. The Heritage scholarship will be awarded by the NMSU Foundation and may be used at New Mexico State University.
For the Agricultural scholarship, the theme is "What does agriculture mean to New Mexico?" For the Heritage scholarship, the theme is "What does it mean to be a New Mexican?"
"New Mexico?s past tells us about some of the most interesting and important stories of any state in the United States." Hunner said. "From the stargazers at Chaco Canyon to the star chasers at the Space Port, from the Spanish explorers and colonists to the ranchers, farmers, and business people of the territorial and statehood periods, New Mexicans have a deep history and a rich heritage. We hope this essay contest will help our high school seniors share what they know and how they feel about our state."
The essays should be between 750 and 1,000 words. Each submission must include contact information for the student and a phone number for a school advisor or counselor to verify the student is a senior attending a New Mexico high school. Hard copies of the essay should be mailed to Dr. Jon Hunner, Department of History, MSC 3H, P.O. Box 30001, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003.
The winners will be announced at the New Mexico Statehood Centennial breakfast in Las Cruces on Jan. 6, 2012. For more information, contact Hunner at jhunner@nmsu.edu or 575-646-2490.
New Mexico National History Day Students Brings Home Special Award from National Competition
3 Aug 2011
A delegation of 60 students from New Mexico high schools and middle schools travelled to the University of Maryland in mid-June to compete in the National History Day Competition. Students from every state and several other countries took part in the contest.
A pair of students from Los Alamos took home the "History of Agriculture and Rural Life" Special Award for their project, The Pueblo Revolt; Debating Spain's First Colonization of New Mexico-A Story of Oppression and Redemption. The theme for this year was Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures and Consequences. Last year New Mexico students won a first and a second place at the national level.
Each year, students compete in National History Day by creating projects based on a single theme. They have a great deal of latitude in interpreting the theme. Formats can include papers, exhibits, performances, websites, and documentaries. Students may work individually or in groups.
"History Day is an exciting and effective way for students to study and learn about historical issues, ideas, people, and events," Carter said. History Day also promotes continuing education for secondary school teachers, and provides history teachers with an innovative teaching tool. "It is an important tool for addressing widespread concerns about student achievement and the quality of public education."
This is clearly demonstrated by a recent evaluation conducted by the National History Day organization which showed students who participated scored higher in Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (66 percent compared with 19 percent got passing grades); received better rates in English I (61 percent to 52 percent) and had higher writing scores overall. They also showed higher scores in a number of college and career related skills, such as evaluating online information, organizing a report, communicating and more.
New Mexico National History Day was sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council and the NM Department of Cultural Affairs this year, with additional contributions from several individuals and organizations.
NMHC Funding Crisis
15 Apr 2011
Because of the financial constraints outlined in this article, the NMHC newsletter that is ready to go out will not be printed. Copies will be available on the Website and by email. If you are not already on the email list, send a mail to nmhc@nmhum.org to be added. Email is sent sparingly, only a few times a year, and your address is never shared.
Funding cutbacks at the state and federal levels have placed the New Mexico Humanities Council in a financial crisis. Already the following actions have been taken:
Sixty Chautauqua programs scheduled around the state have been canceled and no new program applications are being taken until further notice.
Printing of the Council?s newsletter has been canceled. The newsletter will sent by email and will also available on this Website. If you would like a copy, be sure to send your request to nmhc@nmhum.org
National History Day in New Mexico is in serious jeopardy and so is the grants program that funds projects in communities around the state.
"The NMHC is funded through contracts with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)," explained Executive Director Craig Newbill. "The appropriation from the state for the year starting July 1, has been line-item vetoed by the Governor, a loss of $75,000. In addition, the Council?s original contract from the NEH has been cut by nearly $49,000 for the current federal fiscal year (that started November 1) and NEH funding for next year is very uncertain."
The Council is struggling to fund current expenses, Newbill said. The Board of Directors will meet in July and, with staff, will form a strategy for dealing with the situation for the near future. "The Council has come through some very difficult times before and has survived to provide valued programming to the communities of New Mexico. We are confident that we will survive this crisis as well. But there is no denying that the current situation is difficult and challenging."
The Council has for many years provided grants for projects in local communities and 300 Chautauqua programs a year to schools, libraries and other government and non-profit organizations. The Council also sponsors National History Day in New Mexico to foster history education for high school and middle school students, and sends Smithsonian Institution exhibitions to communities around the state.
"These programs have fostered learning, engagement and discussion among tens of thousands of citizens every year," said Newbill. "Organizations such as the Council are an easy target for lawmakers who need to cut spending. But the value of the Council's work to our state goes far behind its modest spending."
He urged friends of the Council to contact legislators, the governor's office, and the office of Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Victoria Gonzales and ask for continued funding for NMHC More information, including boilerplate letters, will be available very soon. Check this Website or add your name to the NMHC email list.
New Chautauqua programs available
29 Oct 2010
Several new programs have been added to the NMHC Chautauqua, following auditions held in September. Following is a brief list. These will be posted as soon as possible on this site; on the front page, click on 'programs' then 'Chautauqua' (Other programs, awaiting decisions as this went to press, are not yet listed.) The programs are now available for booking.
Escape in Vietnam (Pilot With a Magic Hat) by Bill Martin
William Becknell, Founder of the Santa Fe Trail, by Allan J. Wheeler
Experimental Cinema and the Politics of Cultural Representation, by Bryan Konefsky
Rachel Carson and Margaret Sanger, two programs from Ann Beyke
Greats of the Guitar, by Daniel Weston
A Brief History of Christmas Music, by Andrew Mason
An Amazing and Rewarding Life, by Susan Hershberger
Lady Blue's Dreams and El Primer Encuentro (The First Encounter in the Southwest): Cabeza de Vaca & Esevancio, two puppet plays by Ronald Dans and Laia Obregon-Dans
Chester Nez, World War II Navajo Code Talker, by Judith Avila
Diamond Bessie, Soiled Dove, by Susi Wolf
Alice Corbin Henderson: Poet and Adopted Daughter of New Mexico, by Patricia Jonietz
Traditional Musical Instruments, by ?Dulcimer? Dan Arterburn
Dale Evans (Rogers) by Kay Sebring-Roberts Kuhlmann
New Online Grant Application Launched!
2 Sep 2010
NMHC is proud to present the new online grant application. Applicants can now enter, save and view all their applications in one place online. The application may be accessed from the Grants portion of our website, or by clicking the link below.
An eight-CD set featuring excerpted interviews "that convey individual and cultural perspectives ... of the larger homeland" from all over New Mexico is now available from NMHC. The set, "Lore of the Land" consists of recordings of the radio series by Jack Loeffler. This series focuses on the relationship of indigenous cultures of the Southwest to their respective habitats. It also addresses the arrival of the Anglo culture and "its preoccupation with economics and commerce."
Order the set for $24.95 from NMHC: 505/277-3705; nmhc@nmhum.org, or write to NMHC, MSC06 3570, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001.
Jack Loeffler is a writer, radio producer and sound collage artist who has hunted and gathered sound throughout the American West. He is an "aural" historian, who records the sounds, as well as the words, of his subjects. He has written a number of books, including "La Musica de los Viejitos: The Hispanic Folk Music of the Rio Grande del Norte" and "Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Ed Abbey." He is proprietor of the Peregrine Arts Sound Archive in Santa Fe, and his extensive collection of recordings is being digitally duplicated, to be donated to the Museum of New Mexico.
Historical Society Offers Free Program, "Sons of Indian Traders"
The Albuquerque Historical Society (AHS) invites the public to a program, "Sons of Indian Traders."
The program will be held on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m. at the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, 19TH & Mountain Rd. NW, Old Town.
Come hear the fascinating story of being raised in the world of the Navajo. Our speakers are three men whose fathers operated Trading Posts on or near the Navajo Reservation during the time period of the 1930?s through 1950.
Panelists will include:
· Roger Zimmerman, Mariano Lake Trading Post-1936 ? 1944, Introduction
· Jay Christensen, Pinedale Trading Post-1938 ? 1949, Contribution of Traders to the Navajo
· Bronson Springstead, Springstead?s Trading Post - 1936 ? 1950, Unique Aspects of Trading with the Navajo.
All Albuquerque Historical Society (AHS) programs are free and open to the public
Founded in 1947, the Albuquerque Historical Society (AHS) welcomes all who are interested in the history of our city to its monthly programs. All programs are free.This program also supported by TACA, the Tricentennial Committee & the NM Statehood Centennial. Call Janet Saiers at 299-5019 or email, jsaiers@msn.com for more information.
January 12, 2012
New Mexico History Special
In commemoration of the New Mexico Centennial of Statehood, Frontera NorteSur is pleased to officially announce a new section on its website dedicated to different issues of importance in the southern New Mexico borderland from 1912 to 2012. Readers will find articles published during the last three years that explore agricultural history, Mexican immigrant labor, economic development, the North American Free Trade Agreement, African Americans in Dona Ana County, and much more. Community histories of the rural towns of San Miguel and Vado-Del Cerro are among the many topics covered in Frontera NorteSur?s Centennial section:
http://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/category/centennial/
In addition to print stories, the public can listen to a pair of radio documentaries, one in Spanish and one in English, which were earlier aired on KUNM-Albuquerque and KGLP-Gallup. The English-language program, "Behind the Truck Stop," takes listeners on a journey to the small town of Vado-Del Cerro near the Mexican border. The Spanish-language documentary, "La Trailita," examines the displacement of farmworkers in southern New Mexico from mechanization and free trade.
Although the website might be of special interest to university and high school instructors specializing in New Mexico and borderlands history, it contains many broad themes of interest. Universal issues of migration, community formation and identity, foodways and more are all examined in the series.
Contributing scholars include Guillermina Nunez-Mchiri, University of Texas at El Paso; Connie Falk, New Mexico State University; Dionicio Valdes, Michigan State University; Clarence Fielder, New Mexico State emeritus; Jim Peach, New Mexico State; and Lois Stanford, New Mexico State.
The series was made possible in part by grants from the New Mexico Humanities Council, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the McCune Charitable Foundation. Watch for new print stories and audio pieces in 2012.
