In accordance with his wishes, Prof. Alfonso Ortiz's body will be cremated and distributed on one of the Sacred Mountains near his native Pueblo of San Juan. There will be no funeral.

The University of New Mexico will hold a special Memorial Service on Friday, February 7th at 4pm. Tentatively, the service will be held at the UNM Alumni Memorial Chapel pending a reconsideration on its seating capacity. If you plan to attend, you may wish to confirm before your arrival by contacting the Department of Anthropology at (505) 277-1536.

In addition, the Department of Anthropology has set up a special fund in honor of Prof. Alfonso Ortiz, to be used to help Native American students studying Anthropology. Donations may be sent directly to:

The UNM Foundation/Alfonso Ortiz Memorial Fund University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131

The outpouring of condolences has been tremendous. These may now be conveyed directly to the family. Individuals wishing to send sympathy cards to the family may send these in care of:

The Department of Anthropology University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131

"He was the most senior of our native professors on campus. He always had an enormous presence here," said Ted Jojola, past director of UNM's Native American Studies and now a UNM Associate Professor. "He served as one of my mentors and he served as an advocate in higher education for many American Indian students."

Ortiz, 57, died Monday night at his Santa Fe home. He had recently taken medical leave from teaching cultural and social anthropology at UNM, but had hoped to return this semester, said Elena Ortiz, one of his three children.

Ortiz was born April 30, 1939, at San Juan Pueblo in Northern New Mexico. He received a bachelor's degree in sociology from UNM in 1961 and his masters's and doctorate in anthropology from the University of Chicago. Ortiz taught at Princeton and Rutgers universities before returning to hi8s alma mater to teach in 1974.

"I think the university is very much impoverished by this loss," said Marta Weigle, chairwoman of UNM's anthropology department. "It's hard to imagine how we'll replace him."

Ortiz won many awards, research grants and scholarships, including a postdoctoral fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant."

Author of numerous publications, he's best known for his book, "The Tewa World: Space, Time, Being and Becoming a Pueblo Society," published in 1969. He also edited two volumns of the Smithsonean Institution's "Handbook of American Indians."

As an American Indian anthropologist, Ortiz was both commended and criticized for revealing the traditions and people of New Mexico's pueblos.

But in recent years, he seemed to be coming to terms with his role in the academic world and his place at "Ohkay-Owingeh" -- The Place of the Strong People, said San Juan Pueblo Gov. Joe Garcia.

"There has been some friction because of some of the things he printed," said Garcia, leader of the 2,500-member pueblo northwest of Espanola. "But, in the Indian way, there was forgiveness. I think he realized he had done something not to the liking of elders."

"This is a great loss to the Indian community," Garcia added. "There was a lot of knowledge and wisdom in that man."

In an interview 14 years ago upon winning the $216,000 MacArthur grant, Ortiz said he chose the "fun" field of anthropology because "it was a way of being concerned with Indian matters all the time."

Many remembered Ortiz as willing to lend his name, time and testimony to causes ranging from uranium miners rights to religious freedom. He's also credited with founding UNM's Kiva Club, the first American Indian organization on campus.

"He had quite a reputation," said Karl Schwerin, a colleague in the anthropology department. "He was constantly being invited to give lectures and to serve on various boards and in various organizations."

Among his many public service activities, Ortiz was president of the Association on American Indian Affairs, Inc., from 1973 to 1988; a member of the board of trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian from 1989 to 1990; and a member of the National Advisory Council on the National Indian Youth Council from 1972 to 1990.

"He believed passionately in the worth of the native past and the importance of an Indian future, " said Rick West, director of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonean Institution in Washington, DC.

West, who had known Ortiz for 30 years, said his friend "involved himself throughout his lifetime in activities that went far beyond the profession for which he was trained."

Ortiz is survived by two daughters, Julliana Ortiz of San Diego, Elena Ortiz of Santa Fe; a son, Nico Ortiz of Chicago; two sisters, Sylvia Medina of San Juan Pueblo, Louisa Montoya, of Inglewood, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews.