In brief, 01/12/2006

Santa Clara artist dies at 87

Pablita Velarde, a leading American Indian woman artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, has died at the age of 87. A granddaughter says she died at her Albuquerque home Wednesday from pneumonia , KOB-TV reported.

Velarde is best known for her paintings depicting Pueblo life, including Old Father Story Teller.

A young Velarde was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration’s arts project to create scenes of traditional Pueblo culture for the museum at Bandelier National Monument, according to the National Parks Service. From 1937 to 1943, she produced over 70 paintings to help visitors understand the ancestral Pueblo sites at Bandelier . Velarde has said that these are some of her most meaningful works.

At 5, Pablita Velarde attended St. Catherine’s Indian Boarding School in Santa Fe and later transferred to the Santa Fe Indian School.

Velarde is preceded in death by her daughter, famed artist Helen Hardin. Funeral services are private, and a public memorial will be held at a later date.

School head’s status in limbo

The Santa Fe school board will decide next week whether Leslie Carpenter will remain the district’s superintendent or if it will use a national search to find her replacement.

The board met in executive session Wednesday to discuss the upcoming decision and evaluate the job Carpenter has done while superintendent.

Carpenter was hired earlier this year after former superintendent Gloria Rendón retired. Rendón had more than 25 years in the district.

Carpenter’s contract required that the board make a decision about the position before the end of January, board member Marcy Litzenberg said.

The board’s regular board meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sweeney Elementary School.

Council flounders over city founder

The City Council’s decision Wednesday to postpone until Jan. 25 consideration of a resolution on the celebration of Santa Fe’s 400th anniversary should give city staff time to correct the name of the city’s founder.

The proposed resolution credits Juan de Oñate for founding Santa Fe in 1610 when, in fact, the city was founded by Pedro de Peralta.

Oñate founded New Mexico’s first Spanish colony near the Tewa village of Ohkay Owingeh, formerly known as San Juan Pueblo, in 1598.

Councilor Matthew Ortiz, the sole sponsor of the resolution , Wednesday said he was unaware of the error. The resolution already notes “some historical debate” over whether the city was founded in 1610. Documents in the Museum of New Mexico indicate a conquistador reported in 1607 that he “had founded a plaza” at Santa Fe.

Mayor Larry Delgado said he is looking for people willing to serve on a committee planning events to celebrate the city’s anniversary.