Gallup native Shelly C. Lowe named National Endowment for the Humanities chair

Jun. 2—Take a look at Shelly C. Lowe and one immediately sees the pride in her culture.

Decked out in moccasins and turquoise and silver jewelry, the Navajo woman is making a statement.

The Gallup native was confirmed by Congress in February as the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

She's had a prestigious journey to her current position — one that is filled with hard work.

From 2015 to 2021, she served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-member advisory body to NEH, an appointment she received from President Barack Obama.

Lowe's career in higher education has included roles as executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program, assistant dean in the Yale College dean's office, and director of the Native American Cultural Center at Yale University.

"It is no wonder that Shelly Lowe has been tapped to serve the public as Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities," said Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow. "She is an individual of extraordinary experience, insight and wisdom, and she cares deeply about the humanities and the central role they play in all of our lives. Though we will miss her at Harvard, we know that her care and skill will be put to their best use as she works to enlarge and enhance the role of art, culture, and history in this country and elsewhere."

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States.

Humanities include the study of ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, history, archaeology, anthropology, human geography, law, religion and art. Grants awarded by the NEH after independent review typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio stations and to individual scholars.

Yet it's with her words where Lowe has the biggest impact.

"We are a very small agency," she said. "We have a massive amount of impact that we don't always share with the public. I think when we look at the work that we do, we have a really strong case to show the impact we're making. It's my job to make sure that people are aware of the agency and the work we do."

Lowe made her first official visit as NEH chair to New Mexico and Arizona in mid-May.

It's part of her grassroots plan for the agency.

"The biggest challenge is people understanding who we are and what we do right," she continued. "Part of it, you know, our branding, and people getting over that hurdle of 'What's the humanities?' And then if you can understand that a little bit. Then you can start getting into what we do."

During her visit to Isleta Pueblo on May 15, Lowe met with Gov. Vernon Abeita and 1st Lt. Gov. Virgil Lucero.

Lowe heard from representatives of the Yonan An Cultural Center about two Isleta projects that have received NEH support:

—Archivist Cassandra Smith presented on work done at the Yonan An Cultural Center through an NEH American Rescue Plan grant to create an accessible digital archive to preserve tribal records and historical materials.

—Lowe toured an NEH-supported traveling exhibition of photography and artworks documenting Pueblo of Isleta history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

During her trip, Lowe spent time at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Littleglobe in Santa Fe, as well as the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and gallupARTS. She then went to Window Rock and Ganado, Arizona.

"It's important to make sure that these stories are archived and preserved," Lowe said. "That's the biggest challenge for me and the agency."

The NEH oversees "Educating for American Democracy."

The program is a civics education program that is available in school systems.

"It's a partnership that we have in funding to the Department of Education," Lowe said. "It was funding to an organization called iCivics. And what they have done is they've built a road map for civics education for schools and educators to use at multiple levels in the kind of K-12 arena. You can pull from that and then you can design it to fit your community and to fit kind of the civics conversations that are very particular to your region or your state or your very specific county."

Lowe knows there's an uphill battle in getting the general public to understand the NEH.

She wants Americans to know how important humanities are and what humanities can do for every single one of us.

"The diversity of our country, the history of our country, and how diverse and different stories and how they intermingle and intertwine is important," she said.

"Growing up on the Navajo reservation, I was lucky enough to learn Navajo history and government in the high school. But I still meet adults, students and youth today who don't even know that Native Americans still exist, because they have never had that kind of teaching. I'm really hoping we start to tell many more of the historical stories."