History of Indian Training in Albuquerque

The NIPTC is part of an Indian-owned, Indian services business complex that sits on a 44-acre site which once was home to the Albuquerque Indian School. Thousands of Native American students attended the boarding school from the 1880's to the 1980's.

Peak enrollment at the Albuquerque Indian School occurred in the 1930's when about 1,400 students attended the off-reservation school administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The school, which first served the eight primary grades and expanded to include high school in 1925, specialized in vocational training for both Indian boys and girls. In 1982, school programs were transferred to the Santa Fe Indian School, and the Albuquerque school structures eventually fell victim to fire and were razed in 1985.

The school property was transferred to the All Indian Pueblo Council - a coalition of the 19 New Mexico pueblos - in the 1980's. Today, the old school site features more than 300,000 square feet of office space in twin buildings, which house numerous Indian programs.

Artifacts and memorabilia from the Albuquerque Indian School are on permanent display in the common areas of the NIPTC, linking three centuries of training Indian people at this location.

The NIPTC was opened in April 2006 and offers training events to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Office of the Special Trustee as well as tribal representatives.