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| D'Arcy McNickle Center | |
|---|---|
| Name | D'Arcy McNickle Center |
| Established | 1970s |
| Location | University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Type | Research center, archives, cultural studies |
D'Arcy McNickle Center is a research and cultural heritage center based at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The center supports scholarship on Native American history, Indigenous rights, and American Indian policy, hosting archives, seminars, and exhibitions that intersect with tribal governance, legal history, and cultural preservation. It serves scholars, tribal leaders, students, and public audiences through research fellowships, public programs, and collaborative projects with regional and national institutions.
Founded amid growing interest in Indigenous studies, the center emerged from collaborations among scholars and activists such as D'Arcy McNickle, Vine Deloria Jr., Wilma Mankiller, Helen Tanner, and faculty from the University of New Mexico and Smithsonian Institution. Early funding and support involved organizations including the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and tribal governments like the Santa Clara Pueblo, Navajo Nation, and Pueblo of Laguna. The center's archival acquisitions grew during periods linked to legislation such as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, reflecting shifts in policy debated in forums alongside participants from Bureau of Indian Affairs and courts like the United States Supreme Court. Over decades the center hosted conferences featuring figures such as Thomas King, Gerald Vizenor, Joy Harjo, and scholars associated with the American Indian Movement and the School for Advanced Research.
The center's mission emphasizes documentation, education, and advocacy, aligning with institutions like the National Congress of American Indians and academic programs in Native American Studies at universities including Haskell Indian Nations University and Brown University. Core programs include fellowships supported by entities such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, summer institutes modeled after initiatives at the Library of Congress, and curricula partnerships with departments like the University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute. Programmatic priorities have intersected with policy debates involving the Indian Health Service, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and treaty topics exemplified by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and numerous tribal-state compacts.
Collections encompass manuscript holdings, oral histories, and policy papers connected to leaders such as Ada Deer, Leonard Peltier, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, and activists tied to Alcatraz occupation and regional movements. Archival strengths include correspondence from tribal governments like Tohono O'odham Nation, Pueblo of Acoma, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, records from NGOs such as the National Indian Youth Council, and materials related to legal cases argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. The center curates oral-history projects featuring narrators connected with cultural figures like Maria Martinez, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Patricia Gubash, and preserves photographic collections comparable to holdings at the Autry Museum of the American West and the Newberry Library.
Exhibition programming has showcased work by artists and authors including N. Scott Momaday, T.C. Cannon, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, R.C. Gorman, and poets such as Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz. Public events have featured panels with legal scholars from Harvard Law School, historians from Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and cultural presentations involving ensembles like the Zuni Pueblo drum groups and dance troupes from Taos Pueblo. The center has hosted symposiums tied to themes addressed at the Native American Rights Fund and literary festivals where writers like Leslie Marmon Silko and Stephen Graham Jones read and discussed works.
The center collaborates with universities including University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley; museums such as the Denver Art Museum and the New Mexico Museum of Art; and organizations like the Native American Rights Fund, First Nations Development Institute, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. International partnerships have linked to programs at University of British Columbia and exchanges involving scholars from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and institutions engaged with United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues deliberations. Collaborative grants have involved funders such as the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Situated on the main campus of the University of New Mexico near academic units including the College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Southwest Research, the center's facilities include climate-controlled archives, seminar rooms, and gallery spaces comparable to those at the Center for Documentary Expression and Art and the School for Advanced Research campus in Santa Fe. Proximity to regional cultural centers such as the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, and tribal headquarters for the Pueblo of Isleta facilitates fieldwork and community partnerships. The center's location in Albuquerque positions it within networks involving the New Mexico State Government and federal offices in the Southwest.
Leaders, directors, and affiliated scholars have included historians, legal scholars, and cultural figures like D'Arcy McNickle (namesake), faculty from University of New Mexico and visiting fellows from institutions such as Yale University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. Notable affiliated researchers and public intellectuals include Vine Deloria Jr., Ada Deer, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Leslie Marmon Silko, and legal scholars who have worked on cases with the Native American Rights Fund and testified before congressional committees including the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The center continues to attract fellows and collaborators from national and international institutions, sustaining networks that include tribal leaders, museum curators, and legal advocates.
Category:Research institutes in New Mexico Category:University of New Mexico