Diana Molina captures the contemporary life of the Rarámuri, an indigenous community of people who live in harmony with the steep mountain terrain where they live in the Sierra Madre. Famous for their abilities as long-distance runners, the Rarámuri traverse the high canyon walls and plateaus of their community, which until recently, was only accessible by foot or hoof. For more than a decade Molina has documented the Sierra Madre and its people and during that time she has spent extended periods living among the Rarámuri. Her photographs, accompanied by interpretive descriptions, provide a uniquely captivating and insightful view of their community and how it is changing due to intrusion from the outside world.

"The Rarámuri have welcomed me into their community, and by doing so have given me an opportunity for which I am forever grateful," Molina said. "I have tried to use this opportunity to show the world how they live, as well as the challenges they face because of how we live."

Approximately 60,000 Rarámuri, or Tarahumara, live 350 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border, among seven major canyon systems that weave through massive plateaus sliced sharply by rivers. Molina's documentation includes portrayals of their child rearing, sports (such as Rarajipari, a traditional running and kickball game), home life, subsistence practices, skills (such as weaving), family relationships, community social life, ceremonies (such as Semana Santa), and indigenous as well as Christian beliefs.

This exhibit includes 25 ilfochrome color prints and 25 Rarámuri hand-crafted artifacts. Photograph sizes range from 18 x 25 inches to 28 x 40 inches.

The work of Diana Molina, a native El Pasoan, has been featured by major institutions internationally. The World Museum of Art in Rotterdam, the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History and The Houston Museum of Natural Science are among the many museums that have shown her exhibitions. Her photo essays were distributed by GAMMA Photo Agency in Paris and, in addition to producing photography collections for the Netherlands Bureau of Tourism, Greenpeace, and others, her book Amsterdam, Small Town Big City was published by Scriptum Press.

Molina has also published feature articles in international and regional magazines such as Elle, Esquire, GEO, GQ, Marie Claire, National Geographic Traveler, Vogue, Texas Highways and New Mexico Magazine. A series of her photo collections are held at the Special Collections Library at University of Texas, El Paso and at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin.

Diana creates sociological portrayals that illustrate geographic as well as ideological borderlands. With a focus on the face of humanity and their environmental surroundings, her work offers a window to the road less traveled.

Sunday, December 6, 2009, 2:00 pm
Adventures in the Sierra Madre, by Diana Molina, reception and refreshments follow, Free Admission

Saturday, January 30, 2010, 2:00 pm
Zip Tour of the exhibit by Diana Molina, Free Admission

The human remains known as Kennewick Man were discovered along the banks of the Columbia River over one decade ago, yet the controversy still rages on. Who was Kennewick Man? What can we learn from his remains? Who should control his remains? The exhibit Kennewick Man on Trial approaches these controversial questions from multiple perspectives, with insight from Native Americans, scientists, and anthropologists.

This exhibit was organized by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle where the real Kennewick Man remains are stored. Through illustrations, text, and quotes, and a life-size, free-standing Kennewick Man silhouette this exhibit presents a variety of points-of-view on issues under debate, including federal law regarding Native American human remains, how people first came to the Americas, and changing ideas about race.

No human remains and no representations of human remains or casts of Kennewick Man are displayed in this exhibit.

Public interest, debate, and controversy began when an independent archaeologist, working on contract to the Kennewick coroner, decided the bones were ancient but might not be Native American. He described them as “Caucasoid” and sent a piece of bone to a laboratory to be dated. The final date indicated an age of 9,000 years, making Kennewick Man one of the oldest and most complete skeletons found in the Americas. If it is true that these human remains are thousands of years old, and are not Native American, then who was Kennewick Man? What can his remains tell us about modern concepts of “race” and the story of the peopling of the Americas? How does the question of “race” affect the claims by Native Americans for repatriation and reburial of the remains? Kennewick Man on Trial presents the background and viewpoints; you need to draw your own conclusions.

Kennewick Man was about 5 feet 9 inches tall, and had a robust, muscular build. At the time of his death, he was between 30 and 50 years of age and had survived a projectile point wound in his right hip that probably made walking difficult. The area of Eastern Washington where he was found was cooler and wetter 9,000 years ago than today, with grasslands and scattered pine forests covering the land. Ancient large bison, elk, deer, fish, freshwater shellfish, and plants were important sources of food.

The exhibit Kennewick Man on Trial was developed by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

This exhibit introduces some of the cultures of west Mexico, ancient and contemporary. Less well known than the Aztec and Maya civilizations, the people who built shaft tombs were located in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima.

Based on an exhibit of original artifacts at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, this panorama of Western Mexico and its peoples from ancient to modern times features a three-dimensional model of a shaft tomb, traditional Huichol crafts, ink and wash drawings, and illustrations in acrylic paint, plus eighty-seven color photographs of ancient artifacts and views of modern Huichol Indians.

The exhibit is provided by Humanities Texas which offers accompanying educational materials on their website: http://www.humanitiestexas.org/exhibits/list/unknownmexico/unknownmexico.php

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology features a section of our permanent exhibits in the north gallery on the ancient cultures of West Mexico.