In 1967, I was serving as a member of the state’s Cultural Properties Review Committee. That body traditionally has been composed of historians, anthropologists and architects. They are appointed by New Mexico’s governor to examine and approve (or disapprove) nominations to the national and state registers of cultural properties, mainly historic sites.

At one of our monthly meetings late that year, a new member just named by Gov. David Cargo was introduced. He was Edward P. Dozier, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.

As I learned shortly, he had been born and raised at Santa Clara Pueblo and was touted as the first American Indian to rise to high academic rank in his field at a major university.

At this time, Dozier was on sabbatical leave from his university and was back in Northern New Mexico writing a book that would be published in 1970, The Pueblo Indians of North America.

What impressed me most about him then was his demeanor — modest, soft-spoken, self-effacing. That contrasted starkly with the rest of us on the committee, all non-Indians with strong opinions and assertive egos.

My recollection is that Dozier resigned from the committee after less than a year. The next thing I heard of him was that he had died of a sudden heart attack at his Tucson home on May 2, 1971.

Dozier was 55 years old and at the peak of his powers as a scholar and teacher. He was given a traditional wake and funeral four days later at Santa Clara.

Now, 36 years later, the first full-length biography of this rather extraordinary individual has just been published, Marilyn Norcini’s Edward P. Dozier, The Paradox of the American Indian Anthropologist (University of Arizona Press, clothbound $45). In reading it, I learned not only a great deal about the man, but also gained new insights into Pueblo Indian thinking and behavior.

Living in Santa Clara as a child, Dozier first spoke the Tewa language, but upon entering the local government day school, he began slowly to master English. Later, he attended the Christian Brothers high school, St. Michael’s, in Santa Fe. From there, he went on to receive both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of New Mexico.

Following four years in the Army Air Corps during World War II and service in the Pacific theater, Dozier returned to academic life at the University of California, Los Angeles, beginning work toward his doctorate in anthropology.

Moving forward, he elected to do his dissertation research on Tewa Village (formerly called Hano), which sits atop First Mesa among the Arizona Hopis.

Those people to this day speak Tewa, not the Hopi language. Their ancestors were originally residents of the Galisteo Basin below Santa Fe. During the turmoil of the Spanish reconquest period in 1696, they were invited by the Hopis to move west and settle on First Mesa.

The Tewa did and, after 300 years, still retain their separate identity and language. They also continue to regard the six Tewa pueblos north of Santa Fe as homes of their distant kin.

These circumstances enabled Dozier to gain access to Tewa Village for his fieldwork needed to complete the UCLA dissertation. Biographer Norcini’s description of his experience there is one of the more absorbing sections of her book.

In 1960, Dozier joined the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. Soon a movement began to create American Indian Studies programs at schools across the country and at his own institution. Professor Dozier took the lead in developing one and attracting Southwestern Indian students to it. His activism in that regard engaged him up to the moment of his death.

Over the years, Dozier had returned for prolonged visits to his native Santa Clara. On such occasions, he took the opportunity to encourage a young potential scholar, Alfonso Ortiz, from neighboring San Juan Pueblo (now Okhay Owinge).

Ortiz went on to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago, then teach for six years at Princeton University before returning to take a professorship at UNM. He was also named a MacArthur Fellow, sometimes referred to as “the genius award,” carrying a huge monetary prize.

I knew Al well, and more than once, he told me how much Ed Dozier’s mentorship and example had contributed to his own success. Tragically, he too died prematurely at 57.

Marilyn Norcini’s book makes fascinating reading. It also can help non-Indians to understand the Pueblo world and mind.

Historian Marc Simmons is author of numerous books on New Mexico and the Southwest. His column appears Saturdays.