In the sky it would be hard for one small star to know all of the other stars. This is the way it is at the Institute of American Indian Arts. One of my friends was Charlotte Tenorio. My own wife passed away from cancer, so my heart wept because I found out that Charlotte was ill. Both my wife and I were friends of Charlotte's after we found her working part time at "American Furniture" fifteen years ago.

In our lives at IAIA it is difficult to go a thousand yards without saying "Hi" to a friend. I saw Charlotte just a month [before she passed away] in the Facilities Office and she was so delighted with a new doctor and even more happy to be back at work.

In the early 1970s I met Gary Roybal, from Santa Clara, as my student. He told me that Charlotte Tenorio was his aunt. Ever since that time, I have respected and admired what she has quietly done for the Institute. Charlotte was involved with moving the Student Archives three different times. Laborers
moved the boxes, but Charlotte touched the files. The moves were from the old Santa Fe Indian School to the College of Santa Fe, then from the College of Santa Fe to our Registrar’s office now. I felt so proud when the moves were made. They were quiet, they were efficient, and the Registrar's office continued smoothly.

Several times I visited Charlotte when the days were quiet and Santa Fe was asleep. I remembered legends, such as Mr Oppenheimer at Los Alamos who filed all of the government papers against walls. He kept the records in six-foot piles separated by "tortillas." Charlotte never used "tortillas" to separate files, but occasionally the stacks of information were so frightening that I didn't know how she very simply found the information I asked for.

In my thirty-two years at IAIA, Charlotte was always friendly to me. I have made so many mistakes and we were always able to find my problem, stop, then figure out how to solve it. And she always helped me without ever being angry or unfriendly. I suppose that all of the stars don’t know each other. I am very honored to have had the opportunity to watch another "star" who loves the IAIA.

Copyright © IAIA CHRONICLE 2004