Hi everyone. The Navajo Culture Arts Program will be hosting the first annual Navajo Cultural Arts Week at Diné College. There will be tons of events to attend and beautiful work to admire.
Below is a schedule of events that will be featured from April 18-21, 2016. You can also download a copy here
In case you don't know where the NHC Museum is located, here is a map to help you find your way!
A posting by Sharon Begay, BUSI Intern
At NCAP, all of our students, faculty and staff are fantastic – and I’d be willing to have words with anyone who suggested otherwise! However, this
past week one of the BUSI, Malcolm Bob was our stand out Superstar. Malcolm maintains all of our social media outlets – Weebly site, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. So it was no surprise when he entered the Webpage Design Competition at the 2016 American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Student Conference.
Like the all-stars we all are, he brought home 1st AND 2nd place! Even more exciting - his 2nd place finish was with the webpage design that he created and coded for the Navajo Cultural Arts Program.
In case you’ve never of heard of AIHEC - It is an organization comprised of 37 Tribal Colleges throughout the United States. The 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are a unique community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The student conference held every spring offers students the opportunity to engage in competitions designed to foster strong academic achievements in STEM, history, literature, and the arts. This event brings together future leaders of Indian Country and serves as a national gathering and training ground for native youth.
Malcolm is one our very own future leaders!!! Considering the competition included teams from tribal colleges across the nation, to place 1st and 2nd place was quite the accomplishment – the talk of the bus you could say as we continued to celebrate his success all the way home. We see how hard he works – patient, confident, and diligent. These are the makings of a Web Design Wiz Kid.
We’ve been absent for two weeks because of Spring Break and AIHEC. Apparently, we were missed since Christine made a shout out to us in her Spring (No) Break blog. No worries Christine! BUSI are excited to be back and are ready to get back to NCAP work.
Personally, I can’t wait to see the progress on the Silversmithing Building. It’s going to look fantastic and provide the students a clean and professional environment to work in. There is much going on, so keep checking in to see what else we’ve got up our sleeves.
Oh yeah – the award winning website can be previewed by clicking here.
A posting by Christine M. Ami, NCAP Grant Manager
Even during my wild undergraduate days – I was never a “spring breaker”. No trips to Cancun or South Beach for this young lady. Midterms were all about producing and excelling on exams. (I know – kinda nerdy but it paid off – hence my swanky grant manager title in the byline). And with all that cramming - who had the energy to party or go on crazy Spring Break trips? Not me! Did I miss out ? I never thought so. My parents would pick me up from school so I could hang out with my dog, Taylor, eat all the home made gravy and meatballs my little heart could handle, and annoy my little sister, Ann-Marie, as much as possible.
Things changed slightly during graduate school. Spring break meant lugging a suitcase filled with books through the airport as I made my way from California to visit with family. However, all intentions to get ahead on my seminar readings were quickly thwarted as soon as my nephew invited me to play Angry Birds or to learn the inner workings of Mine Craft. (Thank goodness I am not seeking a Ph.D. in either of those topics. According to Tristan, I “need improvement”). Despite never opening my luggage filled with books, for some reason, its weight always doubled as I made my way back to school. Who knew....graduate school guilt with a touch of graduate student penance adds more pounds than my mom's gravy.
I guess you could say that spring break has usually been down time for me but not this year! This year’s spring break has been filled with also sorts of firsts for me – primarily in the level of NCAP productivity.
NCAP Spring (No) Break To Do Checklist
✓Location and date for Inauguration of Lecture Series
April 20, 2016
NHC 2nd Floor
Dr. Wilson Aronilth Jr will speak on the significance of Navajo cultural arts
✓Weaving Display
Ms. Leona’s NIS108 Weaving Class will display in progress weaving pieces during April 20th lecture
✓NCAP Logo
Graphic Designer, Corey Begay is finalizing our logo in time for its debut at the April 20th lecture
✓Navajo Community College Archive Photos
Ruth and Both Roessel Archivist, Vina Begay, assisted me with the selection of 8 NCC cultural arts photos from the 70s to be touched up, framed, and displayed in the silversmithing building
✓Frames
Hobby Lobby gave us a great deal on frames and mattes for the archive photos, which will be making their debut during Navajo Cultural Arts Week - April 18-22
✓Silversmithing Building
Diné College Maintenance Department is renovating the Silversmithing Buidling with me. So far we have fresh paint, a purchased front
desk, inventory of supplies and materials, and plans for a new ventilation system.
I won't bore you with anymore details but as you can see our next major event is going to take place during Navajo Cultural Arts Week - April 18-22 so I have spent my spring break preparing for that. I’m not going to lie; working on spring break has been exhausting but I am ridiculously excited for the remainder of the Spring Semester. No guilt here for an unopened suitcase of books! So when my boss lady asks me on Monday “How was your spring break?”, I can honestly respond in Ryan Gosling Spring Break Meme fashion, --->
We will be posting announcements this week about the inauguration of the NCAP Lecture Series - so stay tuned in!
PS: BUSI, when are you guys coming back? I miss you!
A posting by Falencia Brown, BUSI Intern
“I simply have no idea of what this new program is about,” I said to myself when I was told that I’ve been assigned to a cultural arts course with the college. My search for a place to intern came to a sudden halt as I met with Christine Ami, the grants manager for the Navajo Cultural Arts Program that began this spring semester. Coming aboard as the newest intern she made me feel welcomed and caught me up to speed on the tasks that were crucial at hand.
Other BUSI interns, Sharon Begay and Malcolm Bob had already begun their internship weeks prior to my addition, so the foundation of the program was on its way. I took on the assignment of creating and implementing a new inventory system as Christine continued to shop for the necessities for the NCAC classes and stocking of the supply and resource room.
During the business plan/budget workshops, I met with three of the NCAC students, also known as the Emerging Artisan and an in instant I felt
comfortable to be around assisting them. The artisans work hard, putting much time and effort in developing a detailed business plan for their start up business. Sharing a common goal of promoting their line of work and establishing an organization for themselves is what the BUSI interns assist with.
It’s exciting to know that there are so many plans for this cohort and for the Emerging
Artisans. To be a part of this larger project that supports these talented Navajo individuals makes it more worthwhile. Being around the right group of people gives you a sense of motivation - a nagging feeling of wanting to do more - like everything is possible. That is the impression that I get from our early weekly meetings with Christine, our interactions with the artisan, and our individual research.
I am grateful for this new learning opportunity and also for the college in creating such a cohort that invests in the student’s work in exposing and building their business as they make way in achieving a certificate with the Navajo Cultural Arts Program.