Stephanie "Sriityuwit'sa" Riley

Miss Pueblo of Acoma 2015-16

Platform: Preservation of Acoma Culture and Tradition

 

My name is Stephanie Riley. I am of the antelope clan for my mother and the sun clan for my father. My parents are Lawrence and Janet Riley, Jr. and I am the youngest of three siblings. Kristin and Philip are my sister and brother and the people I look up to most. I have resided at Acoma for most of my life and I am proud to be an Acoma woman.

 

As a kid, I had a love for museums and still to this day I very much enjoy a trip to any museum. Growing up my father would tell us something that his father told him and that was "get a career, not a job." My enjoyment of museums and the saying my father would repeat is what motivated me to obtain my degree in Anthropology with a focus in cultural anthropology and museum studies. In December 2012, I graduated from New Mexico State University and was given the opportunity to do what I love here at Acoma. Currently, I am the Assistant Curator for the Haak'u Museum at the Sky City Cultural Center and through the museum, I hope that every visitor or tribal member walks out having learned something new about Acoma, our people, and our history/culture.

 

I wish that I could say I am a fluent speaker of the Acoma Keres language, but I am not.  However, I do not let this stop me from participating in cultural activities or discourage me from trying to learn. I know who I am in our community and as an Acoma woman. I know that I will never stop being Acoma and that our culture will live on through my generation and generations to come. I am Acoma.