On Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 2:00 pm, Joe Sabatini, volunteer at the Library/Archives of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, will discuss the origins of the Albuquerque Indian school and changing federal Indian education policies over the century the school was active. He will describe the many interactions between the school and the Albuquerque community, including cultural, athletic, religious and economic relationships. He will also discuss, from a political and neighborhood perspective, the history of the AIS property following the school’s closing in 1981. This part includes the deterioration of the campus, the creation of the Indian Pueblos Federal Development Corporation (IPFDC), the reaction of the neighborhood, and development agreements with the City of Albuquerque. He will conclude with the effort to save and repurpose the last remaining building on the historic campus.
The program will be held at the Albuquerque Museum in Old Town. Parking is free in the lot south of the Museum. Admission to the Museum and the AHS program is free.
Speaker Joe Sabatini was born in the Bronx, but doesn’t admit to it because his family moved to Los Angeles following World War II. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Library Science from U.C.L.A in 1965. He came to New Mexico as a VISTA Volunteer working in Sandoval County. Following 5 years at the U.N.M. School of Law Library, he joined the Albuquerque Public Library in 1973 as Head of Reference. He served as Main Library Manager from 1980 to July of 2000, when he became the library manager at Special Collections, the regional history and genealogy branch. Following his retirement in December 2008, he volunteers in the Archives/Library of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and is active in the Near North Valley Neighborhood Association.
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