Institute for American Indian Education
Originally created in 2004, the Institute for American Indian Education (IAIE) was created by Native education faculty in the College of Education in response to the overwhelming need to increase the number of Native American teachers and improve American Indian Education. In 2017, the work expanded to collaborate with other faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Native American Studies (NAS) as a planning effort to revitalize the institute.
The mission of the Institute for American Indian Education is to support community intergenerational well-being and educational outcomes of Indigenous Peoples by cultivating the quality of educational professionals through community engagement with Native Nations and collaborative partnerships with educational stakeholders.
News and Upcoming Events
Thursday, November 17, 2022 | 01:00 pm


Yazzie/Martinez Case Update
Melissa Candelaria
The state constitution guarantees that all children in New Mexico have access to a uniform and sufficient education. However, since the Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico case that was filed in 2014, the court found that far too few students are receiving an education that meets the state’s minimum standard and prepares them for college, career and life. This presentation provides an overview of the landmark Yazzie/Martinez court ruling, the key deficiencies of the education system that must be addressed, and the current phase of the lawsuit.
Thursday, November 5, 2022 | 08:30 am

Indigenous Education Curriculum Fair
The Institute for American Indian Education and NACA Inspired School Network are hosting a curriculum fair on Saturday, November 5th from 8:30 A.M to 3 P.M at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The Curriculum Fair will present a variety of sessions featuring presentations on current curriculum projects and available resources for educators. K-12 educators, administrators, and community are invited to attend this FREE event. Registration is required, and space is limited.
Thursday, November 19, 2022 | 10:00 am


Acess and Equity in NM Schools
A free professional development workshop
on key issues relevant to K-12 students in New Mexico
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The Institute for American Indian Education consists of Native Faculty in the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Native American Studies. Collectively, IAIE faculty recognize the critical nature of preparing pre-service educators, administrators (K-12 and higher education), non-teaching educational professionals, researchers, and policy makers to work with Native People in the state.
Our Curriculum Fair were we host a variety of sessions featuring curriculum development workshops, presentations on the Indigenous Wisdom project with opportunities to speak with the authors, and panels.
The College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of New Mexico leads the nation in the number of Native faculty that represent a diversity of Indigenous Peoples. Individually each faculty member is engaged in research that serves Indigenous Peoples and Nations. Collectively, Native faculty engage in critical dialogue on issues of scholarship/research, teaching, and service.
The Institute host monthly brown bag series, indigenous research conferences, annual summits, curriculum fairs, and many more event. To keep up with the IAIE’s events, head to our website at iaie.unm.edu to subscribe to our ListServ.
IAIE’s mission is to support community intergenerational well-being and educational outcomes of Indigenous Peoples by cultivating the quality of educational professionals through community engagement with Native Nations and collaborative partnerships with educational stakeholders.