Kalle Benallie
ICT
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center celebrated its 50th anniversary on August 28.
“This is a huge milestone for our Pueblo communities in that the cultural center for 50 years has been coming together to celebrate, uplift, and be a gathering place for our Pueblo communities. It’s also an important milestone this year because we are shaping the next 50 years,” Monique Fragua, president and CEO of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center said.
They are collecting a public community survey to “generate ideas, thoughts, about what the next 50 years should look like.”
The cultural center’s museum is currently displaying their “50 for 50 Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Museum” exhibit. There are 50 pieces of art from their collection like sketches of the murals in their courtyard, pottery, art, photographs, commemorative coins and more.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is located on the former lands of the Albuquerque Indian School, which operated from 1881 to 1982. The 19 federally recognized Pueblo nations in New Mexico came together to petition the federal government for the lands when the school shut down.
Today they have nearly 80 acres of land and have commercial enterprises like hotels, storage spaces, a Starbucks that is managed by Indian Pueblos Marketing Inc.
At the end of September, the U.S. Senate passed the Albuquerque Indian School Act of 2026, which would transfer a portion of the former Albuquerque Indian School campus to the 19 New Mexico Pueblos for the expansion of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center declined to comment to ICT on the legislation. The bill has not yet been voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives, as it is in a pre-election recess and will reconvene after the midterm elections.
In 2006, they opened the Native American Community Academy, which was a main goal for the founders of the cultural center.
“We have education, we have a gathering place for our public community. We have a place for our artists to be celebrated and uplifted, and we have a place that we can tell our own story, celebrate our heroes of Pueblo culture, right here on these lands,” Fragua said.
During the month of August they had people sign a birthday card, events, and a partnership with the minor league baseball team, the Albuquerque Isotopes, where they raised nearly $25,000 for Indigenous People’s Night. The money will go to the Bob Chavez Scholarship for the Arts.
They also worked to have baseball jerseys and a hat with Pueblo designs.
“Throughout the month of August, we also had our gala; our gala is our annual fundraiser, and we were able to bring out sponsors and community members and artists to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” she said
The significance of the center for Fragua is that it gives a voice to who the Pueblo people are through their food, exhibits and artistry.
“It gives us an opportunity to celebrate and uplift the stories of our own heroes, like Miguel Trujillo, Esther Martinez and modern day heroes that are truly making things happen for our Pueblo communities,” she said.” It’s important that we have a place in Albuquerque for our leadership, for our people to gather, to feel like home.”
It’s especially important for children to see themselves in the exhibits and on campus.
“So they know that when they pick their career of choice or when they go into a certain industry, that they have a place here at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center where they can shape their own future,” Fragua said.
She hopes that in the next 50 years they will take advantage of tribal tourism in New Mexico.
“I hope when I leave my time here, my tenure, whatever that may be, that I’m leaving it in a better place for that next generation that’s gonna be smarter, wiser, have new ideas and to take it to the whole next level,” Fragua said.
Curator of Collections Amy Johnson, Pueblo of Isleta, said that it means a lot that she’s part of the center’s history. She’s interacted with visitors, artists, guest speakers, Pueblo elders and children over the 24 years she’s been working there.
“It signifies a really great journey, not just for myself, but for all the people who’ve woven in and out of my life, and I’ve woven in and out of their lives…” Johnson said.
Johnson was a panelist for the “Native Arts Speaker Series: Celebrating 50 Years of Service and Inspiration” along with Fragua, former CEOs Mike Canfield and Ron Solimon. They talked about how the center has evolved, its history and the ways it supports Pueblo values and traditions.
“It’s fun to remember some of the history and celebrate what we’ve done, where we’ve been, to where we are currently, and then just building now for the future,” she said.
Johnson began working at the center as a greeter at the front desk then after a year went to work in the nonprofit with the museum.
“I had no idea I would want to be a museum person, and now there’s a lot of Indigenous people in the world currently pursuing museum studies degrees, and it just sort of fell in my lap, and I’m really grateful for that because it really suited me,” she said.
She added how community members are becoming more involved rather than solely the curator.
“[They] provide their voice and their view, their knowledge, their history, their family stories, and it enriches everything that we’re doing here. I think that’s a really great step for the museum field,” Johnson said.
