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For over a century, El Palacio has been a forum for voices exploring New Mexico’s art, archaeology, history, and landscape. Explore the writers, photographers, historians, and scientists whose perspectives have defined the magazine’s pages—past and present.
Arthur Sze is the current U.S. Poet Laureate. Sze is a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of twelve books, including Into the Hush, Sight Lines, and others. Sze’s poems have been translated into fifteen languages, and he is the recipient of the National Book Award among many other honors. He lives in Santa Fe.
Deborah Jackson Taffa is a citizen of the Quechan Nation and Laguna Pueblo. Her memoir Whiskey Tender was a 2024 National Book Award Finalist and was longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Taffa serves as the director of the MFA in creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Cara Romero is an award-winning contemporary fine art photographer. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero’s expansive oeuvre has been informed by formal training in film, digital, fine art, and commercial photography. She maintains a studio in Santa Fe, regularly participates in Native American art fairs, and was featured in PBS’ Craft in America (2019).
Lloyd Henri Kiva New (Cherokee, 1916-2002) (opens in a new tab) was best known for fashion design and developing innovative concepts in culturally-based education for Native people. Earning a degree in art education from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1938, New taught painting at the Phoenix Indian School until enlisting in the Navy in 1941, where he served on the USS Sanborn on the Pacific Front. Upon returning to Phoenix after World War II, New became a charter member of the Arizona Craftsmen cooperative, a group of artists who helped develop Scottsdale, Arizona into a western center of handcrafted arts. New took the trade name Kiva in 1946, and the Lloyd Kiva Studio built an affluent clientele and earned national acclaim for handbags, clothing, and printed textiles throughout the 1950s. In 1961, New changed his career path, accepting a position as Art Director at the newly formed Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). New was appointed director of IAIA in 1967 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1978. Although officially retired, New continued to be active in the Native arts community, serving on the Indian Arts and Crafts board, several boards of national museums, and engaging in writing and speaking engagements world-wide until his death in 2002.
![Three small handbags in red, purple, and blue with metallic clasps are displayed on a fabric printed with horse silhouettes. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/drums-400x225.jpg)
After four years serving his country in the navy during World War II, Lloyd Kiva New took a spur‑of‑the‑moment drive to Scottsdale, Arizona, to reconnect with leisure and the landscape. This day trip would both change his life—and make history
![Painting depicts an aerial attack on a coastal military landing, with planes in the sky, ships approaching shore, and explosions on the beach. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Everything_3-400x225.jpg)
BY CINDRA KLINE LLOYD HENRI KIVA NEW’s life as designer, artist, scholar, and visionary educator remains a call to creative souls still listening to what New frequently referred to as “the sound of drums.” In celebration of his influence, and honoring what would have been his 100th birthday, a collaborative effort between three Santa Fe museums spotlights the man and the motivation he has provided to so many individuals.
