Preserving the Legacy of Dr. Lucile Cruz Arellano Gajec
The Museo Indigenista initiative is dedicated to safeguarding and sharing the extraordinary collection of Dr. Lucile Cruz Arellano Gajec (1926–2019), a trailblazing community historian and cultural organizer in Southwest Detroit. Dr. Gajec spent decades collecting, researching, and exhibiting the Indigenous cultural heritage of Mexican and Mexican-American communities, ultimately founding the Museo Indigenista in 1991. For over a decade, the museum offered Detroiters free access to artifacts, textiles, instruments, pottery, and even a detailed scale model of Teotihuacán—resources that filled the gaps left by local school curricula and celebrated a cultural history too often overlooked.
Today, Dr. Gajec’s collection of more than 1,500 artifacts—currently stored in over 45 boxes—is at risk of deterioration and remains largely inaccessible. BAA’s partnership ensures that her work and vision will not be lost. Through this initiative, we are:
- Digitizing & Cataloging every item in the collection, creating a freely accessible digital archive for researchers, educators, and community members.
- Preserving & Rehousing materials in archival-quality containers to guarantee their long-term care.
- Engaging Community Voices through elder consultations, youth workshops, and focus groups that will shape the interpretation of the collection.
- Exhibiting the Legacy with a curated public exhibition, honoring Dr. Gajec’s pioneering role in cultural preservation and education.
By bringing Museo Indigenista into BAA’s archival work, we continue Dr. Gajec’s mission of teaching future generations about the Indigenous roots of Mexican culture, while ensuring that her contributions to Detroit’s cultural landscape are formally recognized, celebrated, and preserved. This project not only protects a vital cultural history but also strengthens community pride, fosters intergenerational dialogue, and expands Detroit’s narrative of immigrant and Indigenous contributions to the arts.
