NEWS
Native leaders say New Mexico GOP misled them into appearing on partisan event flyer
Seven of those featured say they thought they were attending an event for American Indian Day at the Roundhouse
Several Native American leaders say they were misled into appearing in an advertisement for an event held by the Republican Party of New Mexico.
In a letter, seven of the eight people pictured on the flyer — rapper Def-i, fashion designer Loren Aragon, filmmakers Goldie Tom and Ryan Begay, businesswoman Nicole Johnny, museum director Patsy Phillips and Miss Indian New Mexico Jolene Tsinnijinnie — say they were approached to appear at what they thought was a nonpartisan event celebrating American Indian Day at the state Legislature.
The flyer, posted to the New Mexico GOP Instagram account, advertised an event called “The Red Rise of Native New Mexico,” to be held at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe on Friday morning. The seven people who signed the letter are listed as “special guests.”
The group said in the letter they “did not consent on the use of our names, images, or affiliations in connection with any partisan activity, political endorsement, or party-sponsored event.”
New Mexico GOP officials said the situation was a misunderstanding.
“The event information was shared with me with a specific request that it be shared broadly. It was my understanding at the time that the same request had been made to both major political parties, and that the event was being promoted in connection with American Indian Day activities at the Roundhouse,” New Mexico GOP Chairwoman Amy Barela said in an email.
Barela said she removed the posts after she was informed of the mistake.
“I respect the concerns raised and acted promptly once they were brought to my attention,” Barela said.
Phillips, director of the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, said she was approached by IAIA President Shelly Lowe to attend the event — what they both thought was a brunch recognizing Native leaders — on her behalf, since Lowe would be out of town.
Phillips said she learned her name and photo appeared on the post from a professor friend at UCLA.
“She said her students came to her and said, ‘Isn’t this your friend?’ And so she called me last night and said, ‘What’s going on with you in politics?’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I had no idea,” Phillips said.
Appearing on the flyer without her consent felt “terrible,” said Phillips, who said she tries to stay politically neutral as a representative of IAIA.
The arts college nearly had a majority of its budget slashed by the Trump administration last summer, when the federal government attempted to cut 90% of funding for the country’s 37 tribal colleges and universities, including IAIA — part of a broader push by the administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion-focused programs. The school ended up retaining its federal grants after an appropriation by Congress last month.
“We got a call from somebody yesterday who said, ‘When did you all become MAGAs at the museum?’” Phillips said.
One of the organizers called Phillips to apologize and told her it was unintentional, she said, and that “red rise” referred to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“But if everybody on that flyer did not know — that was an issue,” Phillips said. “And none of us knew what it was.”
Phillips and the other Native leaders will not be appearing at Friday’s meet-and-greet, she said, and will instead hold their own event that same day in the Capitol Rotunda.
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
