Creating a Cultural Legacy
Recording, preserving and honoring the history of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society and Winds of Change magazine
BY BRENDA MARTIN

For 30 years, the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) has created its own legacy, both in a physical manner through objects and artifacts, as well as intangible values, traditions, customs and beliefs.
Founded in 1977 as a nonprofit organization by a small group of concerned American Indian professionals, AISES has supported three generations of Native students and professionals throughout North America in their pursuit of education and careers in science, engineering, math and technology.
For 20 of those years, Winds of Change magazine, born out of AISES, has further contributed to the AISES legacy. Steeped in oral tradition, Winds of Change has told the stories of the history of the AISES organization, the people and communities that have been a part of it, the events and ceremonies that have evolved over its lifetime, and the values and beliefs its members and partners embrace and by which they live.

Art Covers Science The Art Covers Science exhibit was conceptualized and developed by Brenda Martin, with the initial exhibit funded by the Fort Collins Museum and City of Fort Collins’ (Colorado) Fort Fun. The exhibit, premiered at the Fort Collins Museum in the fall of 2005.

Expanding the Vision
During their August 2006 meeting, members of AISES Publishing, Inc. (API) board of directors adopted a strategic plan that includes expanding the AISES organization’s flagship magazine Winds of Change, and developing new products and other projects intended to serve the goals and membership of AISES. “This is a big step for API to set a vision to pursue opportunities in order to expand its number of products and increase its profitability,” said Dr. Robert Whitman, Navajo, a senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering at the University of Denver and president of the API board of directors. “A vision has been developed, it is progressive and sets this organization on a path to growth and success,” offered Andrew Conseen Duff, Eastern Band of Cherokee, a network engineer for USDA Forest Service and chair of the AISES board.

Art Covers Science
In honor of Winds of Change’s 20th anniversary, and in conjunction with the API board’s commitment to new products and projects, an exhibit entitled Art Covers Science: Winds of Change, the Magazine of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society was developed and is available for travel to cultural and educational institutions, corporate and other galleries, schools and libraries, and additional sites. The exhibit represents the first of a multiphase project to record, preserve and honor the unique stories and history of the AISES organization and the Winds of Change publication. Goals of the Art Covers Science exhibit and the anticipated related projects are:

• Record, preserve and honor the unique stories and history of AISES and the people behind the organization
• Highlight the use of graphic design as a means of increasing the artistic representation of Native artists
• Share the material culture of AISES with a larger audience
• Provide culturally relevant and sensitive products that increase awareness among Native and non-Native audiences about AISES, Winds of Change, and American Indian artists, scientists, engineers, educators, students and professionals

Visual arts have long played a critical role as carriers of Native culture. They are eloquent and forceful articulations of peoples’ stories, identities, and how one fits into the natural world. Native American art encompasses the sacred and secular, the political and the domestic, the ceremonial and commercial. Enveloping and enhancing the stories found within the pages of each issue of Winds of Change is the cover art and artwork throughout the magazine. That artwork is imbued with social, political and environmental commentary, and contributes strongly to the overall AISES legacy. The works of Sam English, Anishinabe; Al Qöyawayma, Hopi; Virginia Stroud, Cherokee; Thomas Claire, Mi’kmaq; and many other well-established artists, along with rising stars, have graced the covers over the years.
Twenty-five panels depict the first 20 years of Winds of Change cover art, including informational text, and the exhibit’s design offers accessibility to a wide variety of venues with minimal security and environmental requirements.

Sequoyah Fellows Sequoyah Fellows are lifetime members of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) who contribute $1,000 or more to support opportunities for AISES students and professionals through a variety of programs and services. For more information, visit www.aises.org or contact the AISES headquarters office at (505) 765-1052.

Next Phases
Phase II of the project includes the addition of material objects that have been commissioned or given as gifts to AISES over its lifetime. Among the items in the collection are the Navajo rug depicting a computer microchip, commissioned by the Intel Corporation for the 1994 AISES Conference held in San Jose, California; quilts gifted to AISES and enhanced with mathematical designs; a Sequoyah medal and photos of Sequoyah Fellows; and an eagle feather gifted to astronaut Ellison Onizuka who carried the feather with him on a mission into space in 1985, and who later gifted the feather back to AISES just prior to his 1986 illfated journey aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Phase II will also include the development of a gallery guide, educational materials for grades K-12, and a video featuring the history, the people, and the programs of AISES and Winds of Change.
Phase III focuses on the collection of individual oral histories; a series of publications based on these stories; AISES’ history; thematic Winds of Change articles; and the development of curricula materials.
As Winds of Change journeys forward into its third decade, its history as preserved through the Art Covers Science exhibit will have significant bearing on its next steps. While an increased electronic presence will undoubtedly dominate the next stage in the magazine’s development, Winds of Change will look to the successes of its past to inform those of its future.

Funding is currently being sought to create travel crates and informational materials for Phase I, with additional funding for Phases II and III in the works. For more information, please contact Barbra Wakshul at woc@indra.com

Brenda Martin, Ph.D., Potawatomie, oversees Martin and Associates, a consulting firm that works with museums and organizations in the areas of Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance and cultural resource management.