In 1985, Tony Reyna and Joseph Co**ha started Oo-Oo-Nah Art Center (Oo-Oo-Nah means child in Tiwa) on the site donated by Rose Cordova for Constantine “Stan” Aiello’s dream of an Indian children’s art center, back in the ’70s. Aiello died during the opening, and Taos Indian arts education almost died with him. However with Marie A. Reyna's passionate leadership and dedicated volunteers and, the Oo
-Oo-Nah-Cultural Center has persevered and is now gearing up to become a federally recognised Non-Profit Organization. Oo-Oo-Nah-Cultural Center is focused on sustaining and promoting the future of The Taos Pueblo community, by nurturing and building self-esteem, traditional Indian lifeway-skills and a positive learning atmosphere for the children and elderly of Taos Pueblo. Insuring that the Intergenerational community of Taos Pueblo has a strong sense of identity, respect, and tradition. Working closely with Taos Day School and Taos Municipal Schools, the Center attracts student who can enroll in the Oo-Oo-Nah’s Vocational Education Programs. Using pottery as an example, Marie Reyna points out that a pot is a “utilitarian” item. “The reason we want them to learn these ways is because they will need to produce these things. We have to use the knowledge from the past thousand years from now on,” so the old ways continue unbroken. Oo-Oo-Nah-Cultural Centers programs also teach children to behave well; to participate in their culture; to vitalize the Tiwa language; to respect the site of Taos Pueblo, its buildings and lands, the vegetation, the animals and, of course, the community. Oo-Oo-Nah students have been juried into local, national, and international exhibits and received numerous awards and ribbons over the years. Student work has been exhibited at Santa Fe’s Museum of Indian Art and Culture and at the Governor’s Gallery in the State Capitol. Works have also been seen internationally in the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Yokohama, as well as in Poland during the Krakow 2000 festival.
