The Higher Learning Commission has approved the Institute of American Indian Arts’ (IAIA’s) application to launch AFA and BFA programs in performing arts. The change is effective immediately, and students may begin to apply for the degree programs beginning in the spring 2019 semester.

Performing arts has been a part of IAIA for more than 50 years. Theater, music, and dance courses were first taught at IAIA in 1964, just two years after its founding as a high school. Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee), a founder and an early director of the institute, composed his “Credo for an American Indian Theatre” in 1969, which made the case that American Indian theater was a distinct form of American theater.

Once IAIA became an institution of higher education in 1975, courses continued, but performing arts was never a degree program. Unfortunately, in 1996, after Congress cut IAIA’s budget by one-third, the program was discontinued. Serious interest in the program re-emerged when a performing arts building was included in the Campus Master Plan of 2010. Faculty, staff, alumni, and the board of trustees all participated in public meetings and focus groups to develop the plan. A full-time faculty member was hired in the fall of 2014 to help with planning. He taught several classes and developed a minor in performing arts. A new faculty member, Dr. Sheila Rocha (Tarasco/Pure’pecha), was hired for the fall 2017 semester when the first individual left the institution; and a second faculty member, Dr. Jonah Winn-Lenetsky, came on board in the spring of 2018. The new Performing Arts and Fitness Center opened in November 2017. Classes and productions have been held in the building since the spring of 2018.

The performing arts program will be offered in the recently completed Performing Arts and Fitness Center. The building provides state-of-the-art technical equipment, as well as a performance lab/learning space to adequately support a strong BFA program. It will also be attractive to visiting artists and performance ensembles who will want to come to campus and contribute to IAIA’s program.

IAIA’s performing arts program will be the only degree-granting theater program at any tribal college in the country, and the only theater program with an Indigenous perspective. “Santa Fe has a diverse performing arts scene, and the Black Box Theatre and performing arts degree program at IAIA will further expand what Santa Fe has to offer,” says Dr. Lara M. Evans (Cherokee), associate academic dean at IAIA. “Even more important, the effects will ripple outward to other communities. There has long been a need for support for performing artists from Native communities, and the wider world is recognizing the need for greater diversity in film, stage, dance, and music.”

IAIA president, Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee), added that “a strong demand exists for the program and we believe IAIA is in the strongest position to address that need. We have built state-of-the-art facilities, recruited well-qualified and committed faculty, and have documented student and Native community interest. The result is the first accredited, performing arts BFA program in the country taught from a uniquely Native perspective.”