This winter, IARC collections staff and interns, journeyed to Oklahoma to share with community members one of the most storied textiles in the IARC collection – the Chief White Antelope Blanket (CWAB). The Annual Gathering of the Sand Creek Descendants, held in Apache, Oklahoma, brought out between 200 and 300 people for dancing, food, and to pay tribute to the blanket. For some attendees, it was their first time to see this historic blanket. Learn more about this important piece and the continued collaborative collections-care approach taken by the IARC staff for this textile.
“We were honored to bring the blanket back to be a part of this important gathering,” says IARC collections manager, Lisa Barerra. “Since the mid-1990s,” she adds, “the IARC at SAR has worked closely with the Sand Creek Massacre Descendants Trust (SCMDT) regarding care and access to the blanket, including an agreement to bring the blanket for the gathering every two years. However, the last time the CWAB went back was actually in December 2014. While the CWAB is currently not on display (at the request of the SCMDT), an approved photograph of the blanket is available for viewing at IARC.” The photograph can be viewed during an IARC collections tour and requests to view the actual blanket require written permission from the SCMDT to do so. Reflecting on the trip and the collaborative efforts happening at the IARC, Harerra notes, “We look forward to continuing to work together with the SCMDT in the future!”
In 1977 Doug Schwartz, who was then the president of SAR, hired Art Wolf to be the curator of collections. Wolf’s task was to oversee the building of the facility that would become the IARC, which now stewards a collection of nearly 12,000 artworks.
For Felicia Garcia, SAR’s new curator of education at the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC), one of the most exciting reasons to be at SAR is a proven dedication to community that drives much of the work at the IARC. We spoke with Felicia about what makes the IARC unique, the importance of land acknowledgement practices, and how the education department fits within the organization. Listen to the full interview and explore highlighted excerpts.
Parts of the IARC’s extensive collection of Southwestern Native art are now accessible through SAR’s eMuseum, which Day was instrumental in creating. As we talked, she told me about the collections review process that contributed to the development of eMuseum.
Abou Farman (Anthropology, The New School) was recently at SAR as a participant in the advanced seminar “Death Culture in the 21st Century,” co-chaired by Shannon Lee Dawdy (University of Chicago) and Tamara E. Kneese (U. San Francisco). Knowing about my interest in Amazonia, Abou passed along information on a recent tragedy in Amazonian Peru that took place not far from the major city of Pucallpa.
On a recent Sunday afternoon at the Indian Arts Research Center, Pueblo weavers Aric Chopito (Zuni Pueblo) and Louie Garcia (Prio Manso Tiwa tribe of Guadalupe Pueblo) and embroiderer Isabel Gonzales (Jemez Pueblo) came together with director Brian Vallo for a guided tour of the collections. The tour followed a panel discussion with the participants for SAR members and the public about the history and revitalization of the Pueblo weaving tradition, as well as the physical, financial, and cultural struggles that these artists continue to face.
Continuing Santa Fe’s Colorful Legacy lecture series, local author and architectural historian Christine Mather will present on Pueblo Revival architecture on Sunday, July 1, 2018 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm at the St. Francis Auditorium, 107 West Palace Avenue at...
