Last year, the Smithsonian Institution accepted charges of "willful neglect" for the glaring absence of Latino contributions to American history, culture, and art among its vast national collection. Now that oversight is about to be rectified as Dr. Refugio Rochin, director of Michigan State University's Julian Samora Research Center, assumes the helm of the 150-year-old institution's new Center for Latino Initiatives.

Observing scholars are hoping that with Rochin's appointment, not only will Latinos be integrated into the nation's historical fabric, but non-Latinos will get help understanding who Latinos are today.

"Historically, [the Smithsonian has] woefully neglected the Latino population," says Dr. Antonio Rios Bustamante, a historian and longtime activist for efforts to create Latino museums nationally. "The result is that other populations in the United States are not knowledgeable about Latinos.

"It takes strength to recognize a mistake," he adds, applauding Rochin's appointment.

"We welcome Dr. Rochin as a new voice in the Smithsonian community," says Smithsonian Secretary Michael Heyman. "His scholarly work as well as his leadership in research and policy issues affecting Latinos are the qualities we were looking for in the director of our new center."

Rochin views his charge at the Smithsonian as one aimed at creating an awareness and greater understanding of U.S. Latinos. The Smithsonian, he points out, has sixteen museums, and his task will be to identify what -- among Latino contributions in areas, such as history, art, sciences, technology, sports, anthropology, culture and ethnography -- should be included in each museum.

"The objective has to be to impress upon the public the importance of Latinos. This includes exposing the public to leaders, events and cultural themes," Rochin says.

From on the Drawing Board to Online

The Center for Latino Initiatives was created in 1997, the result of a working group convened by the institution to assess its collections and activities relative to Latinos. The Smithsonian's current effort reach out to Latinos is, in Rios Bustamante's opinion, an acknowledgment that Latinos are not a foreign population, but rather part of its charge -- to incorporate all people and groups who have contributed to the building of the United States.

"Outside of the Quincentennial, in which the Smithsonian inadequately examined the 500-year anniversary of Columbus's arrival to what he thought was a `new world,' this is the first time the institution is focusing on Latinos," he says. "But the effort has to reach beyond tokenism."

While the Latino initiative will not have an operating budget, it will have a staff budget and access to experts in fundraising, computer technology, and program development.

"The Smithsonian is very big on fund-raising," Rochin says. "There's a need for the national corporate leadership to exert its responsibility in support of our culture and history and our leaders."

One of the issues that Rochin would like the Smithsonian audience to be exposed to is the history of Latinos in North America prior to the establishment of the United States which includes exploration and settlements in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast, and Caribbean. In addition to that, the U.S.-Mexico border region is of great importance, he says.

Exposing the Smithsonian audience to the great diversity of cultures under the Latino umbrella -- which includes Chicanos, Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South Americans -- is another of Rochin's priorities. Americans should also learn of the unique importance of the family to Latinos and the cultural fusion of Latino culture upon U.S. culture, he says.

Among the many exhibits, seminars, and educational programs that Rochin has planned, he is most excited about the creation of a Latino atlas -- an educational compilation of things Latino (including demographic information) that can be accessed by computer.

"The Web can become a springboard to connect with Latino scholars. What I want to do is have an up-to-date educational service on the Web that will be accessible to all our communities in the near future," Rochin says.

"The Latino atlas will not be like an encyclopedia. It will be about who we are and how we got here. And it will be about our contributions to the building of the United States," he adds.

Ideas about Education and Humanity

Another of the roles of the Latino initiatives is to support the existing Latino museums around the country.

"What will distinguish us from other groups is that our task is to promote our history and culture," Rochin says. "We will address who we are and address the myths about our population. I'm very conscious that what we promote will help define who we are ... [and that] we'll never be free of criticism or concern."

Rochin looks forward to working with his scholarly peers from throughout the country as part of his work at the Smithsonian. He plans not only to create advisory boards for the purpose of suggesting and developing programs, exhibits, and the like, but also to solicit ideas personally from scholars.

Smithsonian museums already have procedures to incorporate new ideas, but the objective of the center will be to feed new input from experts on Latino history and culture into the existing system.

"[One] of the things the center will do is fundamental research that is referenced and supported by evidence," Rochin says. "We have a research component to build. We want it to be historically accurate and correct."

While his current mission does not include working toward the creation of a separate national Latino museum, Rochin says he doesn't see why that could not come about.

"I'm open to a museum in the Southwest. Why shouldn't we have a Latino museum within the Smithsonian? I think many people are not ready for us. Maybe we have to find the right place -- perhaps in more than one place, such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Florida."

Rios Bustamante points out that while most Mexican Americans are at least part Native American, they also are from cultures that were present in North America before the United States existed.

"It's important to educate people that we have always been here ... even as founders," he says, adding that the role of the Smithsonian is to restore the humanity to all peoples whose humanity has historically been abridged.

"No group today should accept an affront to their humanity or their identity."