Fall 2024 El Palacio magazine explores Indigenous power and connection to ancestral homelands

The fall edition of El Palacio magazine explores connection, ancestral knowledge and reclamation of land for New Mexico’s Indigenous communities. Many of the articles, written by Indigenous authors, talk about experiences with displacement and assimilation, as well as the meaning of connection to ancestral homelands. The fall issue hits mailboxes September 1. An author panel will read from this issue on Sun., September 8, 2:00 p.m. at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Meem Auditorium.

One of the featured articles written by former New Mexico Arts artist-in-residence recipient, DezBaa’ (Diné), "Returning Home: Two Tribes Reclaim Land Following US Government Extraction, Removal, and Displacement," focuses on a recent land exchange between the Santa Ana Pueblo and Fort Sill-Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache with the New Mexico State Land Office. These are the first two tribes in New Mexico to work with the state to expand access to their ancestral land.

DezBaa’ writes in her article, “For those of us who have grown up outside of our ancestral lands, there’s a joyful remembrance in our souls and a mournful ache in our hearts.”

The article "Feet, Sandals, and the Power of Political Agency in the Ancient Southwest," written by Jim O’Donnell, takes a historical look at Ancestral Puebloan migration to the Rio Grande Valley in the 1200s. O’Donnell’s article shares history on authoritarian rule in the Four Corners area by Chacoan elites and discusses migration patterns and how egalitarian societies emerged to escape this political system.

The fall issue also features an essay excerpted from Deborah Jackson Taffa’s memoir, Whiskey Tender, about growing up as a mixed-tribe kid in Farmington, NM. The excerpt weaves personal history with larger histories of displacement and assimilation of tribes in the US. Taffa is the director of the creative writing MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Additional articles highlight topics ranging from an organization using dance to speak to the displacement and ongoing health issues of people living in the Pajarito Plateau during the creation of the Los Alamos National Labs to the aftermath of the deadly 1980 New Mexico prison riot to a story about New Mexico’s culinary traditions. To subscribe, visit www.elpalacio.org/subscribe.

About El Palacio

El Palacio, the official publication of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, was first published in 1913, one year after New Mexico reached statehood. The name of the magazine, “the palace,” refers to the Palace of the Governors, the first museum in what historically is referred to as the Museum of New Mexico, established in 1909, and eventually reorganized under the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. El Palacio covers art, culture, and history of the Southwest, with emphasis on the exhibitions, research, and programs of the state museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions of New Mexico. Read the online edition or subscribe to the print edition at www.elpalacio.org. Follow El Palacio magazine on Facebook and Instagram.