The exhibit is entitled “We Are Still Here” and it will be the first time that the City of Las Vegas Museum has featured Native American history and culture.We want people to learn about the multicultural history of our region and the important cultural contributions of Native Americans, but how? We are in a small space with a small budget, a small staff and a BIG story to tell. Fortunately we have a longstanding partnership with the NMHU Department of Media Arts & Technology.

Last summer, Lauren Addario was planning a media arts seminar class for the fall, and she was looking for a project for her students to work on, so we decided to collaborate. With Native American Heritage Month happening in November, it seemed like perfect timing. We needed some expertise, and fortunately Professor Eric Romero agreed to be an advisor.

Given that our museum is so small, any exhibition on such a big topic can only scratch the surface. We were lucky that the Media Arts Dept. was able to get a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council as part of funding from the American Rescue Plan, so that we can include some public programs and hands-on activities.

The students chose the overall theme of “We Are Still Here” because many times museum visitors, especially from out of town, believe that Native Americans no longer exist and have no idea that these are living cultures. So the students wanted to make that point.

Given the limited space, budget and time they had, the students decided to use their design skills to create a series of posters representing various aspects of contemporary Native American cultures and their connections to history and traditions.

The exhibit was created by four NMHU Media Arts students enrolled in a Media Arts seminar class, two of whom are Navajo.