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U of M student receives American Indian College Fund Mellon Fellowship
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 10/18/2007 ) -- Matthew Martinez, a doctoral student in the University of Minnesota American studies department, is one of four students in the country selected by the American Indian College Fund to its prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship Program for 2007-08. Martinez, a member of the Ohkay Owingeh tribe (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo) in northern New Mexico, will receive a $32,000 fellowship geared to assist tribal college faculty members who are in the final stages of completing a doctoral degree. Launched in 2004, it is designed to provide each fellow with financial assistance to complete the dissertation writing process free of financial and professional demands. The fellowship program's major goal is to increase the number of faculty at the nation's more than 30 tribal colleges and universities. Martinez currently teaches in the Indigenous Liberal Studies Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. "Being awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellowship is a great honor and opportunity," Martinez said. "I've been blessed in working with strong faculty mentors in American studies and American Indian studies departments at the University of Minnesota. Funding from the Mellon Foundation allows me valuable time to focus on my writing by not having to carry a full teaching load. I love working with students and I'm anxious to get back in the classroom full time." Martinez's dissertation examines the fields of photography, tourism and Pueblo historiography. His research details how tourism helps construct indigenous identities and representations. "Growing up in Ohkay Owingeh, the home of the largest of the Tewa speaking Pueblos, the logical research project to study for me was the impact of tourism and travel on indigenous identities and representations," Martinez said. "This research draws upon a content analysis of postcards, travel brochures, guidebooks and interviews with laborers who work within the tourism industry, to present a picture of how Pueblo people are departing from conventionalized forms of tourism. I explore how tourism has changed since the 1980s as Pueblo tribes exerted greater participation and control in the industry, producing and circulating photographic images that better represent themselves and their communities." About the American Indian College Fund: With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the Denver-based American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing more than 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education at the nation's more than 30 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund or to make a donation, visit www.collegefund.org. ----------
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