Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of NM Speaker Series

About this event

Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of NM Speaker Series: Historian Dr. Joseph P. Sanchez.

New Mexico and the Louisiana Purchase

Saturday, November 14, 2026

10:30 am – 12:00 pm

NHCC | Dominici Educ. Bldg. Rm.122-124

Spanish Colonial History with Dr. Joseph P. Sánchez

Please join the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center as we welcome historian Dr. Joseph P. Sánchez, former Director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center at the University of New Mexico.

Topic: The Louisiana Purchase of 1804 and New Mexico’s Disputed Border

Dr. Sánchez will explore how modern-day northeastern New Mexico fell within the historical watershed parameters of the Louisiana Purchase—a territorial claim hotly contested by Spain until the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819.

This is a free community event.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Joseph P. Sánchez is a distinguished historian, author, and scholar specializing in Spanish colonial history. His career spans academic teaching, cultural preservation, and leadership in national heritage institutions.

Dr. Sánchez is the founder and former director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center (SCRC) at the University of New Mexico—a joint initiative between UNM and the National Park Service dedicated to preserving early colonial documents and cartography. Under his leadership, the center collected over 500,000 pages of microfilmed records and nearly 8,000 historical maps and architectural plans from archives across Spain, Mexico, Portugal, France, Italy, and the Caribbean.

He also served as Superintendent of Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2003 to 2014, retiring from the National Park Service after 35 years of service. Prior to his work with the Park Service, Dr. Sánchez was a professor of colonial Mexican history and Director of the Mexican American Studies and Research Center at the University of Arizona.

Over his career, he has taught at the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, Santa Ana College, and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. His extensive research continues to shape scholarship on Spanish colonial history across New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, and Alaska.

Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico

PO Box 24250

Albuquerque, NM 87125

505-833-4197

HGRC-NM, Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico

This is a free community event.