Sante Fe trip: Day 4

Thursday 8-05-04 San Felipe Pueblo and Acoma
After days of anticipation, we finally arrived at our first tribal library. It was exhilarating to see a library that is still very much in its infancy and feel the atmosphere of possibilities. The library was small and a little disorganized. They have very little space to store things. But it still felt like a wonderful environment. They put a great deal of time into planning cultural activities for children. Nathan, the acting Library Director and his assistant seem to have a great love for what they’re doing and have tremendous energy and insight into what can be done to improve their situation. Interestingly, Nathan is not a Native American. He’s actually a photojournalist from Texas. He said he had to basically beg the tribal council to allow him to have the job. Many tribes would rather offer positions to their members before offering them to outsiders.
In comparison, Acoma was a more recognizable library and had more room to display their collection. Both places seemed to be frustrated with the politics and the time it takes to get things approved by the tribal council. Funding still seems to be a problem, however, they indicate that things have gotten better and the biggest difficulty is getting things organized and established.
We ended the day by visiting sky city. We were toured around by a guide. It was beautiful. The view was breathtaking.