- Registration is required for this event.
- Registration will close on December 13, 2025 @ 2:00pm.
Program Description
Event Details
MAH-WAAN (WELCOME)
The Story of Hotel Santa Fe and Picuris Pueblo
With Author Daniel Gibson and Photographer Kitty Leaken
Celebrate the rich history and heritage of Hotel Santa Fe through a slideshow presentation with Author Daniel Gibson and Photographer Kitty Leaken as they reveal how the venture came to fruition back in 1991 and what it has come to mean to the Picuris Pueblo.
Book author, magazine editor, ski columnist and tour guide, Gibson is an expert on the history, culture and outdoor activities of the state where he was born and raised: New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. Gibson is the author of 10 books, including Kevin Red Star: Crow Indian Artist (Gibbs Smith), Skiing in New Mexico: A Visual History (Arcadia Publishing) and Pueblos of the Rio Grande: A Visitor’s Guide (Rio Nuevo).
A seasoned photojournalist, Kitty Leaken creates documentaries that preserve art and culture of native peoples of the world. After graduating from Stanford University, she worked at newspapers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then ran a nonprofit, Art Refuge, for displaced youth in Tibet, India and Sri Lanka.
She has been the photographer for several books, including: Art of Exile: Paintings by Tibetan Children in India (Museum of New Mexico Press), Cafe Pasqual's (Ten Speed/Random House) and Cooking with Johnny Vee (Gibbs Smith).
It all began in 1988 when local business people approached Picuris tribal leaders about a joint development. The agreement that ensued is a culturally-honorable step toward financial independence for the tribe, which settled nearly 800 years ago in a verdant valley northwest of Santa Fe and became one of the largest tribes in the region. In March 1991, Hotel Santa Fe opened, followed by the addition of The Hacienda at Hotel Santa Fe in September 2001.