Creating the exhibition “American Indian Students at the University of Arizona” was a wonderful experience for my colleague Shawna Thompson and me. It was amazing working with different departments both within and outside of the University of Arizona Library to discover the hidden history of American Indian Students and to realize how much of an impact American Indian Students have had on the campus. 

When creating this exhibit we knew we wanted to create a timeline exhibition starting with the first American Indian Student to attend the University and ending with the 2013 to 2014 graduating statistics. The American Indian student programs evolved from just one student into five different programs. I think one of the most memorable events when working on this exhibit was finding out who was the first American Indian Student. Her name was Christine Garcia and she attended the University of Arizona in the 1930s.  After we located her name, we wanted to at least find an image of her in Special Collections. We found her in the 1930s Desert Yearbook as she was a member of the girls’ baseball team. Finding Christine Garcia’s picture was a memorable moment, but that was one of many. We also enjoyed talking to all of the American Indian Student Organizations as well.

Another exciting element in creating the exhibit included going around to the different organizations and finding artifacts that we could use for the exhibit, as each piece told its own story.  Meeting with department heads and heads of organizations, such as Karen Francis Begay and Steven Martin, and learning from their wealth of knowledge helped us in the vision of the exhibit.  To be honest it is difficult to describe the feeling. We really appreciated all of the artifacts that the departments lent to us. 

When the day finally came to open the exhibit both Shawna and I were extremely excited at the turn out at the exhibit opening. It was great to see all of our colleagues and our collaborators there to view the final product.  More importantly it was crucial for everyone to see firsthand the historical impact that American Indian Students have had on the University in the last eighty-four years. It shows how the American Indian Students have incorporated their culture to the culture of the University of Arizona.  This project has been truly an amazing experience for Shawna and I, and I hope we can continue to help to show the impact American Indians have on this campus and campuses around the world.

-Jere Johnson

Jere Johnson is a member of the Access and Information Services department. She recently co-curated the exhibition “American Indian Students at the University of Arizona” with Shawna Thompson that is now on display in the Main Library until December 2014.