Chavez Curates Exhibit in New Smithsonian

Cynthia Chavez ’92 first combined her long-time interests in the arts and Native American culture at Colorado College. “One of the things I really appreciated about CC is that I was able to tailor my courses to my interests,” she says. Chavez has since melded those interests into a career; she now works as lead curator of the “Our Lives” exhibition at the newly opened Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

For four years, Chavez worked collaboratively with eight native communities from the Arctic Circle to the Caribbean to create the exhibition, which focuses on multiple layers of native identity and the often-difficult choices that indigenous people make in order to survive and preserve their cultural integrity.

Coming from a San Felipe Pueblo, Hopi, Tewa, and Navajo background, she sees the special significance of collaboration between researchers and Native Americans. “Our exhibition is about presenting the voices of the native peoples,” says Chavez.

Now that the initial excitement of the opening of the exhibit has calmed, Chavez is working to improve the collaborative process for future projects, as well as engaging native peoples in a dialogue critiquing both the process and its final product. “And, of course, there is always another exhibition around the corner!” says Chavez.

After graduating from CC with a degree in studio art, Chavez earned her M.A. in American Indian studies at the University of California-Los Angeles and her Ph.D. in American studies from the University of New Mexico. In 1994, she interned at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Her hope to return to the Smithsonian was fulfilled when she got the “Our Lives” lead curator position and embarked on the long journey of compiling an exhibition on native identity that now resonates with visitors of all kinds.