Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage month, and this month the library is highlighting our resources and collections about our nation’s original Indigenous peoples.
Native American Literature and Art Display
The library will be honoring the arts, literature, and culture of Native North American People with a collection of books and eResources that celebrate their many contributions to our collective North American heritage. Find a new author, a new favorite read, or learn something new about Native arts and music by visiting our display on Farber 1 near the café area or in our Brandeis Distinctive Collection on OneSearch.
Special Collections Spotlight: Native American Watercolors
Among the treasures housed in University Archives & Special Collections are 38 original watercolor paintings by several prominent Native American artists from the San Ildefonso Pueblo just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Brandeis acquired the paintings in June 1971 from the Riverside Museum of New York City, whose collections focused on ethnographic and contemporary art. Many of the paintings depict festivals, scenes of everyday life, and ceremonial dances, reflecting efforts to document and preserve Pueblo culture in the early decades of the 20th century. Artists represented in the collection include Oqwa Pi (1899-1971), also known as Abel Sanchez; Awa Tsireh (1898-1955), also known as Alfonso Roybal; and Ma Pe Wi (1902-1973), also known as Velino Shije Herrera.
Digital images of the watercolors are featured in the Library’s current display honoring Native American arts, literature, and culture, located on Farber 1 near the café area. Learn more about the watercolors in this Special Collections Spotlight essay and finding aid for the collection.