Albuquerque Indian School

In recent years there are have been calls to memorialize the Albuquerque Indian School (AIS) cemetery that is located on what is currently the 4-H park. It was this need that determined the topic of the Spring 2024 UNM Community Placemaking Studio Class.

The Community Placemaking Studio is one of the final courses a student enrolled in the Environmental Planning and Design program must take. This course is for students to engage with communities and develop a detailed knowledge of its social, cultural, political, economical, and historical context. Students utilize skills that have been taught throughout their prior courses, collaborate with one another and work independently to create professional-level final products and deliverables for the community.

The Spring 2024 Studio students: Madelyn Allen, Anna Marklin, Alyssa Ortiz, and Hannah Rodriguez, collaborated with Dr. Ted Jojola of the UNM Indigenous Design and Planning Institute to research the AIS and the traces of the school that remain today. Our goal throughout this studio was to centralize the scattered information surrounding AIS in hopes that it will open up a larger discussion about the history of Indian Boarding Schools, AIS as a unique experience, and its pivotal ole in the development of Albuquerque. It is our hope that this website along with tribal input, will influence the creation of a proper memorial of AIS.

This website was created in 16 weeks by students of the University of New Mexico's Community Placemaking Studio. It is intended to be a conversation starter rather than a comprehensive history AIS and it's cemeteries. We welcome any new information, photographs, and stories.