Through July, Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos presents "Following the Manito Trail" – a cultural heritage exhibition that shares the largely untold histories of nine Manito (Hispanic New Mexican) families from Taos County with public audiences.

The project is a collaboration between the museum and several scholars who are documenting these families’ oral histories through recorded interviews. Both the scholars’ work and the exhibition frame these family stories within the broader context of Manito/a migration patterns and the Manito agrarian, artistic, cultural and religious practices in the American West.

The exhibition shares the migration experiences, creative practices and largely untold stories of Manito families from Taos County and its surrounding area. These families carried their culture with them through their migrations to other states for seasonal and permanent work during the 19th and 20th centuries. These migrations represent Manito family values in surviving, even if it meant leaving the homes they cherished.

Trisha Martinez (UNM-Taos) will moderate a panel discussion, “Building Community: Wisdom of Place, Educational Attainment & Paying it Forward,” Sunday, June 12 from 1 - 3 p.m. The panel features UNM-Taos Dual Enrollment Program Specialist Bonavita Quinto-MacCallum and David Fermín Argüello.

This exhibition will travel to two more locations in Northern New Mexico, one in Santa Fe County and one in Río Arriba County. The exhibition is supported by the Northern Río Grande National Heritage Area and the New Mexico Humanities Council.

For more information about the Manito Trail events and programs, visit millicentrogers.org.