• 2018–Present: Green Fire Times (greenfiretimes.com) – In support of our mission to provide resources for multicultural education and community development, SWLC acquired Green Fire Times, a respected monthly print and online magazine that is a platform for regional journalists and writers. GFT focuses on communities, organizations, educational institutions and business enterprises, and provides useful information for residents, businesspeople, students and visitors – anyone interested in the history and entrepreneurial spirit of New Mexico and the Southwest. GFT documents community projects supporting sustainability – culture and language, traditional economy and ecological traditions, and is a valuable archive that helps nurture the cultures, livelihoods and lives of people – including those in rural communities. Benefits include continuance of a knowledge pool for living in our high-desert environment.

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• 2016-17: History and Culture of the Southwest through Music – This was an educational program exploring the history and culture of the Southwest through music, voice and story, with AnnaMaria Cardinalli, a world-famous classical Spanish and flamenco guitar player and opera singer who is an 18th-generation Santa Fean. This program was made possible by support from ArtWorks and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

• 1997-2015: SWLC’s Center for Indigenous Arts & Cultures (CIAC) – operated as a research center that provided educational resources for people and organizations working in support of cultural preservation. CIAC Press published eight volumes of the American Indian Art Series of reference books containing artists’ biographical profiles.

 

• 1985-2015: SWLC’s Xochimoki (pronounced So-Chee-Mo-Kee) project – using ancient instruments, brought presentations and performances of native musical traditions to museums, universities, schools and cultural sites.

 

• 2009-2011: SWLC’s Center for Indigenous Community – offered developmental support for traditional communities by providing marketing plans and strategic training to people from a variety of tribes.

 

• 2005-2008: SWLC helped facilitate a high school weaving class for 50 boys and girls – taught by a Gallup Ceremonial prizewinner on the Navajo Reservation.

 

• 1995-2008: SWLC presented the Native Roots & Rhythms Festival – in conjunction with the Santa Fe Indian Market. The event featured traditional and contemporary Native American and international indigenous musicians, dancers and storytellers, along with educational workshops for students. From 1989-1992, SWLC presented a World Music & Arts Festival that featured native performers from the Southwest along with internationally known performers from lands as diverse as Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Kenya, Japan and Tibet.

 

• 1987-2001: SWLC’s Adopt-a-Grandparent Program – coordinated people, resources and organizations in sending food, fuel and clothing deliveries to Native American elders and their families in need. The program was eventually transferred to another non-profit organization.

 

• 1998-2000: under the direction of Francis Harwood, Ph.D., SWLC developed the Rio Grande Bioregional Center – which, in 2001, spun-off to become the Ecoversity. Through experiential and classroom learning, sustainability practitioners were able to further their education in the interrelated realms of community, culture, the environment and the regional economy.

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• 1994: in association with the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, SWLC produced a native performing arts event – to benefit the Pueblo/Japan Cultural Experience. This led to a successful cultural exchange between Pueblo students and Japanese students.

 

• 1992: SWLC helped organize Our Visions: The Next 500 Years – a gathering of 100 native writers, artists and wisdom-keepers who came together in Taos, New Mexico to develop a “Vision Statement” for the future of native peoples.

 

• 1991: SWLC helped organize the Unity of Tribes Gathering III – at Nambe Pueblo, which brought together Native people from across the continent.

 

• 1990-1992: SWLC sponsored the Seeds of Change Conference on Biodiversity and Bioremediation – It was named one of the “Top Environmental Stories for 1990” by the Environmental News Service.

 

• 1974-1999: upon invitation, SWLC worked closely with Hopi Indians – on educational programs, community development and cultural preservation. Through the Hopi Land & Life Project SWLC provided grant writing, archival research, communication assistance and transportation for Hopi spokespeople. SWLC also published information on Hopi history and philosophy, and in 1986, assisted Hopi elders in creating a videotaped presentation for United Nations officials.

 

• 1985: SWLC’s Talavaya Center received an award – from the United Nations Environment Programme for a project that conserved genetic diversity and the farming lore of ancestral cultures. The project established food crop grow-out trials at a number of locations and developed a seed bank of more than 600 heirloom varieties. This work continued under SWLC from 1987 to 1991 as the Sustainable Native Agriculture Center.

 

• 1972: Founding of Southwest Learning Centers, Inc. – SWLC was founded in Taos, New Mexico. It was originally named Taos Learning Centers, Inc. In 1985, the organization, now based in Santa Fe, changed its name to Southwest Learning Centers and continued to offer programs to students of all ages.

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With Special Thanks to 

ArtWorks and the National Endowment for the Arts

for their generous support of the "History and Culture of the Southwest through Music and Story" program

with AnnaMaria Cardinalli in collaboration with Musica Mundial and Community Learning Network

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