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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Begaye
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/28/08
HB 319
SHORT TITLE UNM Gallup Indigenous Media Art Center
SB
ANALYST Haug
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$250.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplication
SB319
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
University of New Mexico (UNM)
Indian Affairs Department (IAD)
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 319 appropriates $250.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the
University of New Mexico to the indigenous media art center at the Gallup campus of the
University of New Mexico for the development of a production studio for traditional and
contemporary native stories and media content.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $250.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the
general fund.
pg_0002
House Bill 319 – Page
2
This request was not submitted by NMSU to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for
review and is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY09.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to UNM:
The goal of the Indigenous Animation and Digital Art Program (IADAP) is to provide
training and education to native youth and professionals to produce traditional and
contemporary animated stories and digital art using technology for the purpose of
restoring native culture and language, increasing student and professional learning, in
addition to developing production studios for tribes and pueblos in New Mexico. The
objectives of the (IADAP) are to motivate native youth and professionals to study and
present Native history, government, technology, language and other aspects of native
cultures, gaining valuable technology skills in the total animation production process, and
sustaining these programs by marketing digital products nationally and internationally.
The program includes training, mentoring and a production studio for fifty students and
professionals from the Navajo Nation and Laguna, Taos and Jemez Pueblos. Currently,
many native authors, illustrators, film makers, bilingual educators, administrators and
tribal leaders are supportive and ready to begin this important initiative for the restoration
of native culture and language, and to increase opportunities in the native learning
community and tribal workforces.
The DCA comments that:
Fostering media industries in New Mexico is one of the cornerstones of the State’s
economic development and educational strategies. If residents of rural and tribal
communities are going to be able to participate in this emerging economy, students will
need opportunities to acquire the necessary new technological skills using industry-
standard equipment and software.
The facility and educational program proposed in HB 319 would be a welcome addition
to the other media arts centers cropping up at other academic institutions around the state.
It would serve an under-served region and target population.
The media arts center would also be an asset to McKinley County’s Cultural Enterprise
Network, a project sponsored by the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments,
whose purpose is to enhance the region’s economic progress and cultural enrichment
through support and promotion of cultural enterprises. Local cultural organizations and
arts-related businesses would be able to rely upon a home-grown workforce to help them
tell their stories and provide educational experiences instead of having to seek creative
talent and technological services elsewhere.
The IAD states that indigenous media production allows Native ideas and perspectives to be
disseminated through modern media technologies and “contribute to the understanding,
strengthening, and support of Indigenous people and communities." Universities in the US and
Canada have developed similar programs. For example, the University Of Washington
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House Bill 319 – Page
3
Department Of Communication houses the Native Voices-Indigenous Documentary Film Center.
This Center gives students and film producers the “opportunity to explore documentary [film
making] from an Indigenous perspective, and to create projects that speak to critical personal,
social and political issues in their lives." Students in this program earn undergraduate and
graduate degrees from the Department of Communication while concentrating on developing
indigenous film and media at the Native Voices Center. HB 319 would allow UNM-Gallup to
develop a similar center dedicated to the development of indigenous media. This would provide
an opportunity for Native and non-Native students in New Mexico to explore indigenous and
Native perspectives through media and film.
DUPLICATION
Senate Bill 274 is a duplicate.
GH/mt