New Mexico in Focus; Maria Varela, UNM Athletics, and Bringing Home Sacred Tribal Objects

KNME-TV (Television station : Albuquerque, N.M.) · May 26, 2017

This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Antonia Gonzales leads a discussion on efforts to return sacred objects to tribes in New Mexico and across the United States. There’s an ongoing debate among tribal leaders, artists, art dealers and federal officials about how to handle the return of items that were removed from tribal lands without permission. We look at how that conversation has changed in recent years. And correspondent Russell Contreras sits down with photographer Maria Varela to talk about her experience photographing voting rights demonstrations in Alabama and efforts to create Head Start programs in poor, rural areas of the American South during the Civil Rights movement. Varela has an exhibit up now in the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. Host Gene Grant and the Line opinion panelists discuss the latest news on the special session, a recent announcement that APD officers will issue more citations and make fewer arrests for some crimes, and new questions about financial management inside the UNM Athletics department. Host: Gene Grant. Correspondent: Russell Contreras and Antonia Gonzales. Studio Guests: Aaron Sims (Acoma Pueblo), Attorney; Robert Gallegos, https://www.atada.org/ATADA; Dallin Maybee (Northern Arapaho/Seneca), COO Southwestern Association for Indian Arts; Maria Varela, photographer moved to next week. Line Panelists: Merritt Allen, Vox Optima LLC; Diane Denish, former lieutenant governor; Dan Foley, former New Mexico House minority whip; Sophie Martin, attorney and editor of DukeCityFix.com.