A group of librarians from the U.S. Acquisitions program at the Library of Congress, led by Giselle Avilés, recently toured the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which is located within the main Department of the Interior building on C Street. They included me in their group, and I was able to take a few photos. We met with the key staff and curators at the agency, and talked about how our collections work includes their publications and has some overlap of focus with their work. We viewed their collections with great enthusiasm and admired their curatorial work, storage options, and display cases. After the professional curatorial discussions, our BIA colleagues displayed some of the bureau’s impressive collection of art and cultural artifacts for us.
The building itself is a work of art; built in 1936 during the Works Progress Administration era, then-Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes requested $110,000 to be allocated for artwork in the building. Paintings by famed artists feature throughout the building, such as works by sculptor and painter Allan Houser, and R.C. Gorman. The department hired painter and Zia man Velino Herrera to paint a series of murals on the top floor of the building, and in the cafeteria. He chose to represent Pueblo life, and included here are a few of his many murals in the building. The department offers tours to the public that show the artwork as well.
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