Alfonso Alex Ortiz (April 30, 1939

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico Ohkay Owingeh ( Tewa: Ohkwee Ówîngeh ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan de los Caballeros from 1589 to 2005, is a pueblo and census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Ohkay Owingeh is also a federally recognized tribe ...

– January 26, 1997) was a Native American

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portman ...

Life

Ortiz graduated from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

in 1961, and from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

with a master's degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology. He taught at

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

, Pitzer College and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, and at the

. He was president of the Association on American Indian Affairs. His San Juan Pueblo, Oral History tapes and papers are held at Princeton.

Legacy

In 1999, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

issued a grant for the University of New Mexico to establish the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies.

Awards

* 1975 Guggenheim Fellowship * 1982 MacArthur Fellows Program

Works

* * ''New Perspectives on the Pueblos'', University of New Mexico Press, 1972 * ''Handbook of North American Indians'' (volumes 9 and 10, Smithsonian Institution, 1979 and 1983 * ''To Carry Forth the Vine: an Anthology of Traditional Native North American Poetry.'' * ''American Indian myths and legends''

Richard Erdoes Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt, to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Rich� ...

, Alfonso Ortiz (eds) Pantheon Books, 1984, * *
Alfonso Ortiz Papers 1926-1993 (mostly 1960s-1980s)
at

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

Alfonso Ortiz Collection of Native American Oral Literature 1959-1965
at Princeton University Library

References

External links

"A Tribute to Alfonso Ortiz (1939-97)"
Ted Jojola, ''Wíčazo Ša Review'', Vol. 12, No. 2 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 9–11
"A Conversation with Alfonso Ortiz"
Dewitt, Susan, ''La Confluencia'', 1, 2, 32-9, Dec 76 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Alfonso 1939 births 1998 deaths Tewa University of New Mexico alumni University of Chicago alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Colorado College faculty Pitzer College faculty Princeton University faculty University of New Mexico faculty MacArthur Fellows People from Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico 20th-century American anthropologists