Donors support Luther Bean Museum and the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center The Luther Bean Museum and Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center hosted a fundraiser on July 15, attended by 63 people. The event included a welcome by ASU President Beverlee J. McClure and comments by Secretary Ken Salazar, who urged participants to support the university and museum. Master Santero Geronimo Olivas ’92 gave a presentation on the creation of retablos and santos.
The Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center was established by a generous donation from the Emma and Henry Salazar family in 2016. The gift provides scholarships, funds for museum improvement through the virtual Salazar Center, and a student museum internship. The fundraiser will become an annual event to aid further development of both the museum and the Salazar Center. The evening included opportunities for patrons to “adopt” an artifact, bid on silent auction items, and purchase museum memberships. Silent auction items included a San Isidro Labrador Santo made and donated by Geronimo Olivas; a watercolor painted and donated by Stephen Quiller; a ceramic pot created and donated by Cloyde Snook; and two ceramic vessels cre-
“This internship has been a blessed experience for me.” - Lucie Olivas ‘18, Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center Intern Major: Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography The center’s first intern, Lucie Olivas accomplished the following over the last year: • Pottery research: San Juan Pueblo (including pottery revival potters Tomasita Montoya and Reycita A. Trujillo), Santa Clara Pueblos, micaceous pots • Designed three display cases focusing on the San Juan/Ohkay Owingeh pottery, the 1930 pottery revival signature pots, and the Zia Pueblo • Researched Retablos, Apache headdresses • Photographed Native American pottery • Completed inventory sheets on vessels for displays • Created and maintains Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center website (blogs.adams.edu/salazar-center) • Assisted with cataloguing objects into the collection • Visited museums to meet with curators and learn new techniques and museum processes: Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, Durango; Southern Ute Museum, Ignacio; Museum of Indian Arts & Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe; Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque • Consulted with Native American pottery experts: Patrick Cruz, a graduate student in archaeology at the University of Colorado; and Matthew Barbour, regional manager of Historic Sites New Mexico
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ated by Sister Mary Lavey and donated by Suzy Husmann. According to Tammy Lopez, executive director of the Adams State Foundation, the fundraiser generated $1,000 in “Adopt an Artifact” pledges and $2,695 from the silent auction and garnered four new Luther Bean Museum memberships. Housed in the Luther Bean Museum, the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center is dedicated to the preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the upper Rio Grande region. The Luther Bean Museum collection reflects the rich history and archaeology of the area. This ranges from the ancient history of Native Americans in the Rio Grande gorge to Spanish exploration from Santa Fe into the San Luis Valley that began in the 1700s, and the first settlements in Colorado, begun immediately after the Mexican-American War in 1848. For more information, visit: adams.edu/lutherbean. Photos, clockwise from bottom right: Alumnus Geronimo Olivas ‘92 with one of his retablos; Intern Lucie Olivas ‘18 (Geronimo’s spouse) being recognized at the fundraiser for her work; former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reflects on the importance of the center.