by Samantha Scott
Daily Lobo
Books that record cultural histories of American Indians are essential in preserving native cultures, a UNM Press publicist said.
"UNM Press has a long and distinguished list of books on Native America," Amanda Sutton said. "Often, books like the late UNM linguist Robert Young's dictionary of the Diné language are expensive to produce and go out of print, so fundraising would help offset costs of books like those. Books are a valuable resource to the tribes, to scholars and to the general public."
The Friends of the Press Endowment Campaign is auctioning more than 200 contemporary Navajo rugs to raise money for
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM Press.
The auction will raise funds to support American Indian publishing efforts.
"Publishing books is a very costly endeavor," UNM Press Advertising and Exhibits Manager Christina Frain said. "When you add requirements such as four-color printing, translations, commissioned illustrations or possibly permissions fees, a book can become exponentially more expensive. Funds from the auction will go a long way to help lower the sale price of the book, thereby making the author or artist's work far more accessible."
The auction is the first fundraiser to support an endowment for books on American Indian art, culture and history, UNM Press Director Luther Wilson said. The auction of contemporary Navajo weavers' work will benefit American Indian literature, but not at the expense of the contributing artists, he said.
Of funds raised, 80 percent will go to the weavers, 10 percent to the R.B. Burnham & Co. Trading Post and 10 percent to the endowment, Wilson said.
UNM Press requested contemporary weaving, Frain said.
"We want to support current artists as well as our books," she said. "The auction environment also helps beginning weavers bring in more cash for their pieces. Hopefully, the better prices will give them the freedom to continue mastering their craft."
The vendor hosting the auction, R.B. Burnham & Co. Trading Post, has experience fundraising with nonprofits, Frain said.
"Burnham's has been partnering with nonprofits to conduct auctions for a number of years," she said. "They identified that by selling the consigned rugs through auctions, they could generally get a higher price for the weavings."
UNM Press
Navajo Rug Auction
Saturday
Maxwell Museum
1:30 p.m.
