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- By Levi Rickert
A collection of papers donated by Dr. Nancy Marie Mithlo (Fort Sill Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache Tribe) ’85—Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) alum, former IAIA Professor, and former IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) acting director—have been processed recently and are now available as the Nancy Marie Mithlo Papers (IAIAMS032) at the IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts (RCCNA), which opened its archives to researchers this past summer.
With decades of experience as an academic, published author, and curator, Dr. Mithlo is a formidable intellectual force in the Native art world and beyond. Dr. Mithlo is currently a professor in the department of gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and formerly taught at the California Institute of the Arts, Occidental College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Smith College, Santa Fe Community College, the University of New Mexico, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her extensive writings include articles for academic journals and art magazines, art reviews, books, conference presentations, exhibition catalog essays, and more.
“The students, staff, and faculty at IAIA are a unique creative force,” Dr. Mithlo said. “Their production, documentation, and dissemination of Indigenous aesthetic cultural works over the past six decades represent the very heartbeat of Native North America. It has been an honor to have called IAIA my academic home since my student days in 1985. My friendships at IAIA and MoCNA continue to inform my research and writing, providing inspiration and direction for my work.”
The Nancy Marie Mithlo Papers are housed in 83 manuscript cases at the IAIA Archives, encompassing the early part of Dr. Mithlo’s career from her time at IAIA as an undergraduate in 1985-1986 until 2009. Subjects include her coursework and theses, various IAIA/MoCNA projects and exhibitions, articles, speeches, publications, and other miscellaneous records.
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