New Name. Better Alignment. The Utah Department of Heritage & Arts officially became the Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement (CCE) on May 5, 2021. This name change better reflects who we are as a department, and it brings common goals to the forefront as it aligns us as a family of divisions. Just as the name Cultural and …
Amplifying the Voices of Utah’s Mariachis
Gritos — emotion-filled yells – punctuated the lively music echoing off the marble walls of the Utah Capitol Rotunda. More than 400 people attended Sones de Mariachi en Utah on Aug 30, the state’s first-ever competition and exhibition showcasing the popular Mexican folk music. Attendees filled seats and gathered on the Capitol stairs and balconies, the turnout representing the vibrancy …
Diné Author Invites Students to Share Their Own Stories
By Reneé Leta In 2018, some 87 percent of Utah students graduated from high school. However, among Native American and Hispanic learners, only one in five met that mark. Research shows that students who are more literate will lead more successful lives and develop the skills needed to transition to adulthood. This fall, the Utah State Library Division will bring …
Native American Boarding Schools in the Am. West & in Utah (ca. 1870s-1980s) with Dr. Farina King (Diné): Part 1 – an Introduction
Date: August 29, 2022 (Season 5, Episode 1: 53 minutes & 56 seconds long). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The above photo is of a circa 1970s high school graduate group at Brigham City’s Intermountain Indian School (1950-1984). Photo courtesy of …
American Boarding School Policies with Native American College Adviser Franci Lynne Taylor (Choctaw) – Part 2
Date: September 26, 2022 (Season 5, Episode 4: 54 minutes and 19 seconds long). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The above photo is of the Carlisle Indian Boarding School student body, circa 1885. The Carlisle Indian Boarding School, located in Carlisle, …
“Making Lamanites: Mormons, Native Americans and the… Placement Program”: A Conversation with Historian Matthew Garrett – Part 3
Date: October 3, 2022 (Season 5, Episode 5: 53 minutes 56 seconds). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The above photo is of Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, seated with four Navajo …
Diné Elders, Rose Jakub and Gayle Dawes, Describe their Multi-generational Boarding School Experiences – Part 4
Date: October 24, 2022 (Season 5, Episode 6: 80 minutes long). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The above photo is of a Diné mother and daughters, circa mid-1950s, beside a hogan at Oljato-Monument Valley (Navajo: Ooljééʼtó). Photo courtesy of the Utah …
James Toledo on Multi-Generational Impacts from Boarding Schools and on the Need for Healing: Part 5 – Series Conclusion
Date: August 29, 2022 (Season 5, Episode 11: 38 minutes and 41 seconds long). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The above cropped photo shows a group of swimmers at the Intermountain Indian School (1950-1984), one of the country’s largest Native American …
SLC’s Pioneer Museum and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers: A Conversation with Megan Weiss
Date: May 30, 2023 (Season 5, Episode 13: 54 minutes and 21 seconds long). Click here for the BuzzSprout version of this Speak Your Piece episode. Are you interested in other episodes of Speak Your Piece? Click here. The episode was co-produced by Brad Westwood and Chelsey Zamir with help (sound engineering and post-production editing) from Jason Powers, from the …
Honoring Women of the Westside
By Renée Leta The Rose Park Community Garden is now home to a new mural of eight of Rose Park’s influential women. The mural honors Bobby Florez, Cristina Caputo, Maria Cardenas, Nettie Gregory, Cencira Te’o, Karina Lufo-Villalba, and Sylvia Abalos. “With this mural, we’re focusing on highlighting women from communities who are not usually in the history books, because we …
Happy Birthday, America — with Utah Style
Gov. Spencer J. Cox says he has been anticipating celebrating America’s 250th Birthday as long as he’s been alive. After all, his wife was a bicentennial baby, whose parents gave her “a good bicentennial name: Abigail.” At the launch of Utah’s America250 Commission on June 6, the governor applauded the regional projects that were built across Utah in 1976. Then …
Utah’s Candy Bomber Showcased in National History Day Research
By Renée Leta This spring. Cooper Maughan and Jared Killpack put their history research and performance skills to the test as part of Utah’s National History Day contests. Then in June, the pair of 7th-graders from Logan performed their research at the national competition. Their performance focused on United States Air Force Colonel Gail “Candy Bomber” Halvorsen. A Utah native who …
Telling the Stories Preserved in Utah’s Archives
Tim Glenn, former executive director of Green River’s John Wesley Powell River History Museum, was hired in January 2023 to direct the Museum of Utah. The state history museum, to be housed in a new building being constructed to the north of the Utah State Capitol, is scheduled for opening in 2026. As construction moves forward, Glenn is working with …