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Eric Davis, Marketing and Communications Director
         505.424.2351 or [email protected]
 
Institute of American Indian Arts' (IAIA)  
Academic Dean Charlene Teters
Honored During New Mexico Legislative Session
   
SANTA FE, NM:  March 19, 2019.

IAIA Academic Dean Charlene Teters (Spokane) was honored by the New Mexico Senate during the New Mexico Fifty-Fourth Legislature as part of  "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" Awareness Day. Teters displayed her painting "Lady in Red Shawl" during  American Indian Day on February 1, 2019 in the State Capitol Rotunda.

NM Senators  John Pinto  and  Benny Shendo, Jr.  recognized NM Congresswoman  Debra Haaland  (Laguna Pueblo) on the Senate floor at the State Capitol as the guest speaker for 2019  American Indian Day.  Congresswoman Haaland is an advocate for  Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women  (MMIW) and is bringing the issue to national attention.

Dean Charlene Teters with U.S. Congresswoman Debra Haaland and
"Lady in Red Shawl".


Charlene Teters is the Academic Dean of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). She is a citizen of the Spokane Nation and well known for her work as an artist, writer, educator, and activist.

Teters earned an AFA from IAIA, a BFA from the College of Santa Fe, and an MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Mitchell College in New London, CT.

After establishing the Racial Justice Office at the National Congress of American Indians, Dean Teters returned to IAIA in 1992 as Director of Alumni Relations and Student Retention. In 2013, she was promoted to Associate Professor in the Studio Arts Department. She has also served as a Visiting Lecturer in the Art Department at the Ohio State University and received a two-year appointment as the Hugh O. LaBounty Endowed Chair at the California Polytechnic State University in Pomona, CA.

In 2000, Teters was appointed as the Interim Dean of the Academic Division during IAIA's transition and move from the College of Santa Fe campus to their new campus in Rancho Viejo, and named the Academic Dean in 2015.

Teters has exhibited internationally and maintains an active presence lecturing and delivering keynote speeches and commencement addresses across the United States.  She first gained national prominence as a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she led protests against the degrading depictions of American Indian caricatures used as sport teams' mascots. She was the subject of the award-winning documentary In Whose Honor by Jay Rosenstein. In 2002, she received a New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Her paintings and  art installations have been featured in over 21 major exhibitions, commissions, and collections. Additionally, Teters was the first Artist-in-Residence at the  American Museum of Natural History  in  New York City, New York .
 
Dean Teters had this to say about the experience: " It was such an honor to meet Congresswoman Debra Haaland. Her historic election to congress gives us all hope for the future. Her presence in Congress gives Native peoples visibility and highlights our struggles."

To arrange an interview with Dean Teters, please contact Eric Davis at 505.424.2351, or [email protected].

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Offering undergraduate degrees in Studio Arts, Creative Writing, Cinematic Arts and Technology, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, and Performing Arts -- an MFA in Creative Writing -- along with certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History -- IAIA is the only college in the nation dedicated to the study of contemporary Native arts. The school serves 495 full time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe.  IAIA is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission -- and is the only college in New Mexico accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. 


About IAIA  -- For over 50 years, the Institute of American Indian Arts has played a key role in the direction and shape of Native expression. With an internationally acclaimed college, museum, and tribal support resource through our Land Grant Programs, IAIA is dedicated to the study and advancement of Native arts and cultures -- and committed to student achievement and the preservation and progress of their communities.  Learn more about IAIA and our mission at   www.iaia.edu.

 
The Institute of American Indian Arts Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.  To make a donation on-line, please click here, or call toll free to (800) 804-6423.