Dr. Robert Martin Day Proclamation

On November 8, 2024, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber will visit the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) campus to present IAIA President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation) with a certificate stating the day will officially be named as “Dr. Robert Martin Day” in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“Whereas President of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation) has been at the forefront of changing the face of higher education for Indigenous students since the early 1980s; and whereas in his role as President of IAIA since 2007, Dr. Martin has strengthened the university’s mission to promote creativity and leadership through Indigenous arts and cultures, encouraging lifelong learning and cultivating community engagement, adding a vital lifeline of creativity and diversity to the city of Santa Fe and its citizens….,” reads the official proclamation.

The proclamation continues, “Whereas Dr. Martin has led IAIA to a leadership position amongst the 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities whose missions focus on the cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and arts of Indigenous communities; and whereas Dr. Martin continues to bring innovation and expansion to IAIA and its role within the arts and cultural community of Santa Fe, both at the campus and at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). Now, therefore I, Alan Webber, Mayor of the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico do hereby proclaim November 8, 2024, as Dr. Robert Martin Day.”

Dr. Robert Martin was recently honored by President Joseph R. Biden at the White House in October 2024 as a 2022 recipient of the National Humanities Medal.

“I thank Mayor Alan Webber and the city of Santa Fe for this important honor,” said Dr. Martin. “I gratefully accept it on behalf of the IAIA community that has supported making IAIA’s mission an integral component of the creative life of Santa Fe.

Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation)