These are uncertain and tumultuous times. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the current political climate. Like many others, I’ve felt compelled to become more involved in supporting the ideas and causes that matter to me. And so, I’ve begun volunteering at the Catherine McElvain Library at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe. SAR is a center for anthropological, social science, and humanities studies. It supports the work of Native American scholars and artists. As a member of the Oneida Nation and as an artist, SAR’s mission is important to me. I’m putting my skills as a bookbinder to use by building clamshell boxes that will help preserve some of the older, more delicate books and documents in the library’s collection (like the book pictured above). I hope my work will help preserve the knowledge contained in these pages for generations to come. This is a small way in which I’m able to support education, the arts, and indigenous cultures. All things that feel threatened under this administration.
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