PUBLIC FORUM : INDIAN MUSEUM SERVES STUDENTS, RESEARCHERS ALIKE.

Recently, the Friends of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum and the California State Parks Mojave Sector-Angeles District hosted a Legislative Day with honored guests state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale; Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster; and Larry Chimbole. As FAVIM president, I thank each of them for their interest and taking valuable time from their schedules to attend this event.

The purpose of the program was to present the vision, goals, accomplishments, needs and priorities of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum. Most of all, the museum was emphasized as much more than an isolated curiosity; it is indeed a valuable local and extended community resource. Please permit me the opportunity to present the public with two specific examples of how the Antelope Valley Indian Museum serves the community.

In 1993, AVIM curator, Edra Moore, and FAVIM assumed the initiative to develop a computer CD-ROM system for properly cataloging the museum's extensive artifact collection. FAVIM began in earnest soliciting the community for supporting funds. The Antelope Valley Bank was the first to respond and extended a pledge contingent upon a $10,000 grant first being secured from the National Endowment for the Arts. Through the diligence of Beryl Amspoker and others, FAVIM was successful in capturing the NEA grant that provided the impetus and credibility for receiving follow-up grants and contributions. The cities of Lancaster and Palmdale soon provided grant funding.

Corporate grant donors included: Northrop Grumman, Safeco, Target Stores and Bank of America. The Bay Foundation, an exclusive supporter of Indian collections, provided a grant as well. Contributions were donated by private individuals and generated by various fund-raising events. To date, FAVIM has collected and disbursed more than $100,000 in funds and services to the cataloging program. Presently, 4,700 artifacts are cataloged with about 3,000 major artifacts remaining plus many minor collections. The AVIM cataloging system has emerged as one of the California Department of Parks' principal pilot programs. It will help assure the preservation of Native American culture and be a historic resource for future generations and academic research. This is indeed a significant accomplishment and one of which the Antelope Valley community can be very proud.

The Antelope Valley Indian Museum also contributes a great deal of public service through its interpretative and educational programs. These programs are congruous with the California kindergarten-12th-grade school curriculum. The museum provided 75,635 hours of educational and interpretative service to 27,427 public customers during the past year. Of this amount, 7,871 students received 10,409 educational hours brought directly into their classrooms by volunteers of the museum's outreach program.

Last year, museum volunteers contributed 16,272 hours to the public, equating to 8.3 annual staff persons and approximately $162,720 in taxpayer savings. The community can indeed be proud of the dedication of these outstanding volunteers and their support enabling California Department of Parks to serve the public's needs.

These are only two examples of how the Antelope Valley Indian Museum is an asset to the community. The California State Parks Mojave Sector-Angeles District and FAVIM have organized a joint strategic planning committee to guide the museum in its continuing growth as a community resource. We need your input. I want to thank all those who have helped us get to where we are and submit a call for increased community involvement to help us grow into what we can become. Thanks for your interest, Sen. Knight, Assemblyman Runner and Mr. Chimbole. We need your support.

- Don Ruder

President, Friends of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum