Sé’sh Shóto’sh Psí’sh

New MAH Exhibit by Cannupa Hanska Luger

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History presents Cannupa Hanska Luger: Sé’sh Shóto’sh Psí’sh , a solo exhibition from May 12–Sept. 3 at 705 Front St., Santa Cruz.

Sé’sh Shóto’sh Psí’sh presents new and recent regalia and video work from Luger’s series, Future Ancestral Technologies, Indigenous science fiction --a methodology, a practice, a way of future dreaming.

The series develops an ongoing narrative in which Indigenous people develop sustainable, migrationbased technology to live nomadically in hyper-attunement to land and water. The project prototypes designs for objects and their use and advances new materials and new modes of thinking within Indigenous methodologies.

Muscle, Bone & Sinew embody the celebration of food, shelter, and tools—paying attention to gratitude for sustenance and reverence for the technology of more than human kinships—this work is a symbol of abundance. Watȟéča looks at using the detritus of our time, making do with what is left. These two ideas make up a spectrum of possibilities to tell a full narrative of complexity in the act of survival.

Sé’sh Shóto’sh Psí’sh is presented as part of the MAH’s Kincentricity project, a three-year initiative launched with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, that explores Indigenous culture. Funding is provided through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Museums for America program. Additional support provided by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.

Born on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, Cannupa Hanska Luger is based in New Mexico. He is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold and is of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota heritage.

Luger is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, a recipient of a 2021 United States Artists Fellowship Award for Craft, and was named a 2021 GRIST Fixer. He is a 2020 Creative Capital Fellow, a 2020 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, and the recipient of the Museum of Arts and Design’s 2018 inaugural Burke Prize, among others.

Luger has exhibited nationally and internationally including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gardiner Museum, Kunsthal KAdE, Washington Project for the Arts, Art Mûr, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. He has a bachelor’s of fine ats in studio arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts. n

Erica Marquez, New Brighton Middle School

Employees of the Year

The strength of our district, any school district for that matter, rests with our stellar staff. It’s always rewarding when outside agencies recognize some of our staff. This year, we have two such employees who represent all of our tremendous staff members in SUESD.

The first employee is Jackie Gomez, assistant to the assistant superintendent of educational services. Jackie helps keep our district on track in myriad ways including supporting curriculum procurement, student assessment, and staff professional development. One of the nights where she shines the brightest is at our annual Reclassification Ceremony. Her work behind the scenes in all of these areas is done with a wonderful mix of excellence and humility. Anybody who knows her will agree that she sets a high bar for herself in terms of job performance, outreach to the community, and a strong code of ethics.

It is for all the reasons above, and many more, that Jackie Gomez was recently recognized by the Association of California School Administrators as their Confidential Employee of the Year in Region 10! She will be recognized for this achievement on May 5 at the Embassy Suites in Monterey.

Our other award winner this year is Craig Broadhurst who came back to serve as a bridge principal this year at Santa Cruz Gardens (where he began his career as a teacher in our district). He began working for SUESD in 1988! He has dedicated over 30 years to our district as a teacher and site administrator.

From all accounts, Craig started in 1988 with a youthful spirit, a student-centered approach, and a love for learning. I can say unequivocally that he still has all of those qualities. It was quite poetic for him to come full circle by leading the school where he started teaching in his last year before retirement.

It makes this scenario even sweeter now that he has been recognized as the Administrator of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education! He will be officially recognized at the SCCOE board meeting on May 18.

By the way, I am pleased to announce that we have already selected Carlo Albano as Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary School’s principalm beginning in the new school year. This will ensure the smoothest transition possible for the school community.

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Enrollment for 2023-24 School Year

Our school office staff are actively engaged in enrolling and registering students for the 2023-24 school year. The earlier the better, to ensure students get off to a great start. If you know someone with young children in our area please make sure they have the information below about our processes:

Kindergarten registration for the 2023-24 school year has begun in Soquel Union Elementary School District. Registration information & procedures may be obtained from your neighborhood school. Your child must turn five on or before September 1, 2023, to be eligible for Kindergarten.

If you have a child who turns five between September 2, 2023 — May 24, 2024, they are eligible for our Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program. The registration process for all grades, including TK, takes place at your neighborhood school (school of residence).

If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to contact the district office at (831) 464-5639 or go to our website at www.suesd.org/enrollment.

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And finally, our last day of school this year is May 26. Our calendar for next year, 2023-24, can be found at www.suesd.org/ calendars (the first day of school next year is Aug. 9). n