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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Harrison

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/2007

HB 806

SHORT TITLE Intertribal Consultant Conservator

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$50.0 Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)

Intertribal Ceremonial Office (ICO)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 806 appropriates $50,000 from the General Fund to the UNM Regents for

expenditure in FY 2008 to hire a consultant conservator to assess Intertribal Ceremonial

Association collection, develop a preservation plan and purchase equipment needed to conduct

oral history interviews with persons associated with the Intertribal Ceremonial at Gallup.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $50,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the General

Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to

the General Fund.

House Bill 806 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Intertribal Ceremonial Association collection consists of documents, photos and artifacts

related to the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial dating from the first Ceremonial event in the 1920s

to the present day. It represents an important collection of regional history items with national

significance related to the history of Native American arts and crafts fairs, and tourism,

especially of the old Route 66 corridor, during the 20

th

century. The Ceremonial Board has

loaned the collection to UNM-Gallup with an understanding that UNM and the Board will work

together to develop a long-term plan for preservation and management of the collection.

Ownership of the items remains with the Ceremonial Board; UNM will be responsible for

overseeing the conservator (DCA Analysis).

UNM-Gallup is requesting funding from the 2007 Legislature for two phases of the archival

curation and use. This funding will greatly assist the institution in disseminating information and

creating presentations on the history of the ceremonial within the university, the Gallup

community, and the region.

UNM-Gallup will conduct the ceremonial preservation in two phases. UNM-Gallup must consult

with a conservator who has expertise in the areas of paper, photograph, and film preservation.

The conservator will assess the condition of the collection and help develop a long-range plan for

preservation and use. A crucial and immediate need is the transfer of historic film footage

(16mm and 8mm) before it disintegrates and is permanently lost. This must be done by

professionals who can be recommended by the conservator. This phase would cost

approximately $32,500.

UNM-Gallup plans to conduct oral history interviews with people associated with the

ceremonial. These will include local leaders, trader/dealers, artists, performers, and community

members who traveled the region to participate in the event over the course of its history. UNM-

Gallup would like to begin interviews during spring semester 2007 and continue them

indefinitely. The original interview materials will be accessioned into the archival collection.

UNM-Gallup is asking for funding for technology to support the interview and presentation

project. This phase is expected to cost $17,500.

This request was not submitted by UNM-Gallup to the HED for review and is not included in the

Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Fragile artifacts, documents, and photographic film may not receive preservation treatment soon

enough, and will be lost. The opportunity to collect important in-person oral histories from

participants in the Intertribal Ceremonial will be lost.

BM/nt