NMSU Library

We are excited to watch you walk across that stage this weekend Aggies!

We are hosting activities to help students manage stress during finals week from May 4th through May 8th, 2026.

Dr. William Kiser will present at 3pm this afternoon in Branson Library, as part of the NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections' Borderland History Lectures. His topic is "The Business of Killing Indians: Scalp Warfare in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands." KRWG Public Media host Scott Brocato interviewed Dr. Kiser about his topic and the lecture. Hope to see you later today in Branson Library for this fascinating lecture.

Professor will discuss the history of scalp warfare in the southwest borderlands Thursday at NMSU's Branson Library Scott Brocato talks with Dr. William S. Kiser, professor of history and department chair at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, about his latest book, “The Business of Killing Indians: Scalp Warfare and the Violent Conquest of North America."

NMSU Library is hosting the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) exhibit at Zuhl Library. The IYRP exhibit program was started by Washington State University’s Extension service (https://extension.wsu.edu/thurston/arts-grasslands-rangelands/), as part of an international project.

There will be an opening reception for the exhibit on April 30 from 4-5 PM in the Zuhl Library lobby. Michael Benanav (https://www.michaelbenanav.com/), an international ecological and cultural photographer, will be here to talk about his work photographing rangeland environments.

William S. Kiser, professor of history and department chair at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, will present “The Business of Killing Indians: Scalp Warfare in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands” from 3 to 4 p.m. April 23 at Branson Library.

The talk is part of the NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections’ Borderland History Lectures. In the mid-19th century, the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora implemented bounty systems to monetize the killing and scalping of Apache people as a strategy for conquest. Civilians contracted with local governments to carry out a series of massacres that yielded windfall profits for the perpetrators. These events in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands reflected a broader 300-year trend across North America, wherein civilians were encouraged to kill Indigenous people through lucrative scalp bounties. Kiser’s most recent book, “The Business of Killing Indians: Scalp Warfare and the Violent Conquest of North America,” was published in 2025 by Yale University Press.

For more information, contact Dennis Daily at 575-646-4756 or [email protected].

Our very own Jason Bengtson will be a panelist tomorrow!