Alfonso Alex Ortiz (April 30, 1939

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico Ohkay Owingeh (, ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan Pueblo from 1598 to 2005, is a pueblo in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined that community as a census-designated pla ...

– January 26, 1997) was a

Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo people, Pueblo Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of San ...

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The term s ...

and activist. Ortiz's research focused on

cultural practices, rituals, myths, and knowledge. He is best known for his book on

cosmologies, ''The Tewa World: Space, Time, Being and Becoming in a Pueblo Society'', published in 1969. While this sharing of sacred practices with outsiders generated some controversy within his community, Ortiz was an early proponent of

autoethnography Autoethnography is a form of ethnographic research in which a researcher connects personal experiences to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings. It is considered a form of qualitative and arts-based research. Autoeth ...

and encouraged other Native peoples to produce scholarship on their own cultures, instead of being the object of study of outside researchers.

Early life and education

Alfonso Ortiz was born in

Ohkay Owingeh Ohkay Owingeh (, ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan Pueblo from 1598 to 2005, is a pueblo in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined that community as a census-designated p ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

on April 30, 1939. His father, Sam Ortiz, was

, and mother, Guadalupe (Naranjo) Ortiz, Hispanic. Ortiz was primarily raised by his paternal,

grandparents in

. He went to high school in Española, won a National Merit Scholarship, and went on to attend the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. Ortiz graduated from the

in 1961 with an A.B in Sociology. He began his graduate work in sociology at Arizona State University, but transferred to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

where he switched his focus to anthropology after encountering the work of Edward Dozier. Ortiz graduated from the

with an M.A. (1963) and a Ph.D. (1967) in Anthropology.

Career

Ortiz taught cultural anthropology at the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was founded in 1963 as a women's college in the Claremont Colleges consortium and became coeducational in 1970. Pitzer enrolls approximately 1000 students. Pitzer off ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and the

. He is best known for his works ''The Tewa World: Space, Time, Being and Becoming in a Pueblo Society'' (1969); ''American Indian Myths and Legends'' (1984), co-edited with

Richard Erdoes Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt, to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Rich� ...

; the edited volume, ''New Perspectives on the Pueblos'' (1972); and his contributions to the ''

Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...

'' (1978), published by the Smithsonian. In addition to his teaching and research, Ortiz was an activist for Native American rights. He was a member of the National Advisory Council of the

National Indian Youth Council The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) is the second oldest American Indian organization in the United States with a membership of more than 15,000.National Indian Youth Council, Inc."NIYC History" Retrieved on 2009-09-30. It was the second ...

from 1972-1990, chair of the National Advisory Council to the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...

's D’Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian, and president of the Association on American Indian Affairs from 1973-1988. Ortiz also assisted in mediating the return of

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos language, Taos-speaking (Tiwa languages, Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan peoples, Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. T ...

land, including Blue Lake, to the

Tiwa Tiwa and Tigua may refer to: * Tiwa Puebloans, an ethnic group of New Mexico, US * Tiwa (Lalung), an ethnic group of north-eastern India * Tiwa language (India), a Sino-Tibetan language of India * Tiwa languages, a group of Tanoan languages of the ...

in 1970 and the

Wounded Knee Occupation The Wounded Knee Occupation, also known as Second Wounded Knee, began on February 27, 1973, when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota (sometimes referred to as Oglala Sioux) and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized and occupied the ...

in 1973. His San Juan Pueblo, Oral History tapes and papers are held at Princeton.

Legacy

In 1999, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

issued a grant for the University of New Mexico to establish the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies.

Awards

* 1975

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

* 1982

MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

* 1982 Achievement Award from the Indian Council Fire (ICF) of Chicago

Works

* *
New Perspectives on the Pueblos
', University of New Mexico Press, 1972 * ''

'' (volumes 9 and 10, Smithsonian Institution, 1979 and 1983 * ''To Carry Forth the Vine: an Anthology of Traditional Native North American Poetry.'' * ''American Indian myths and legends''

, Alfonso Ortiz (eds) Pantheon Books, 1984, * *
Alfonso Ortiz Papers 1926-1993 (mostly 1960s-1980s)
at

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

Alfonso Ortiz Collection of Native American Oral Literature 1959-1965
at Princeton University Library

References

External links

"A Tribute to Alfonso Ortiz (1939-97)"
Ted Jojola, ''Wíčazo Ša Review'', Vol. 12, No. 2 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 9–11
"A Conversation with Alfonso Ortiz"
Dewitt, Susan, ''La Confluencia'', 1, 2, 32-9, Dec 76 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Alfonso 1939 births 1998 deaths Tewa people University of New Mexico alumni University of Chicago alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Colorado College faculty Pitzer College faculty Princeton University faculty University of New Mexico faculty MacArthur Fellows People from Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico 20th-century American anthropologists Native American social scientists Ohkay Owingeh people