MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well. The deadline for the second and final round of applications for 2025 has passed. Our board will meet on June 9, 2025, to review applications and decide on awards. I will announce the recipients in next month’s newsletter.
The foundation has been engaged in several important initiatives. As mentioned, we are currently planning a “Pueblo Symposium”, this is scheduled for the fall of 2026. This event aims to engage Pueblo leadership, both past and present awardees, as well as former and current board members, and Pueblo community members to discuss the impact of the Chamiza Foundation since its inception. This event will be taking place at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on October 22nd and 23rd of 2026. I will keep you all updated on our planning progress.
In a previous newsletter, I also announced that we are in the process of creating the first-ever “Chamiza Foundation Legacy Film”. We chose to work with “No Reservations Productions”, headed by Mr. Jonathan Sims of Acoma Pueblo. The film will debut at the Pueblo Symposium in Fall of 2026. We are very excited about this endeavor and cannot wait to share it with all of you.
Additionally, we are still working on developing a strategic plan that will serve as a roadmap, outlining the foundation’s long-term direction. We are looking for input from our Pueblo community members on this strategic plan. If you are interested in providing input, please let me know.
Below you will find an announcement from one of the organizations that we supported last year.
In June of 2024, the Chamiza Foundation awarded Ghost Ranch for their project titled, “Eight Northern Tribes Estudio Corazón Residency”. They have successfully completed their project, and we are thrilled to announce the opening of their exhibit at Ghost Ranch. The exhibit is located at Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology. The show will be up for a year! We hope you will take the time to check it out.
Furthermore, located below is a job announcement from the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps Program, please share!
And lastly, it’s great to see so many graduation announcements on social media. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2025! Wishing you all the best 😊
Sincerely,
Dr. Amanda J. Montoya
Eight Northern Tribes Estudio Corazón Residency at Ghost Ranch
In June of 2024, the Chamiza Foundation provided a grant to the Ghost Ranch for artist residency program. Ghost Ranch staff were able to realize their vision of a two-week residency for eight Indigenous artists in September 2024. Chamiza funding made it possible for them to offer the residency free of charge to Pueblo artists, each of whom represented one of the Eight Northern Pueblos, respectively. Participants included Martha Romero (Potter, Nambé), Savannah Junes (Writer, Ohkay Owingeh), Tol-pi-yiné Simbola (Jeweler, Picuris), Jo Povi Romero (Ceramicist and Photographer, Pojoaque), Monica Gutierrez (Multimedia Artist, Santa Clara), Derek Gonzalez (Graphic Artist, San Ildefonso), Brian Taaffe (Painter, Taos) and Kelly Frye (Painter, Tesuque). Each participant was given a casita which included a personal studio as well as living space, and access to Ghost Ranch professional studios (ceramics, welding, silversmithing, etc.). This immersive experience allowed the artists to focus entirely on their creative work while also engaging in cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration. The residency was a major success, offering these artists an opportunity to create in a landscape that holds deep historical and cultural significance.
