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May 6, 2025

For Immediate Release

May 6, 2025

Contact: [email protected]

Western Shoshone citizen, experienced museum/non-profit leader joins Nevada Department of Native American Affairs as Director of the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum

Carson City, Nev. – Dr. Joshua Bonde, a citizen of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone, who has worked for Nevada-based non-profits and museums for over 15 years has taken the reigns of the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum.

“The Stewart Indian Boarding School has had an impact on every single Indigenous family in the Great Basin,” Bonde said. “It is a big responsibility to caretake the story of this campus, honor the past and reclaim these 110 acres and 64 historic structures into a community space, but I am ready for the challenge.”

In July of 2024, the Nevada Department of Native American Affairs (DNAA) became a stand-alone state agency with the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum as one of its divisions.

“Dr. Bonde’s convivial personality, his curiosity, and his previous professional credentials blends perfectly with his Native American experience,” said Stacey Montooth, executive director of the DNAA. “He is already a trusted voice in our Tribal communities, so he will be a strong leader as a conduit between our Tribal Nations and the Nevada’s executive government.”

Bonde’s previous work includes time as faculty at UNLV, director of conservation and research at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, co-founder and director of research at the Nevada Science Center, and director at the Nevada State Museum.

Bonde grew up in Fallon, Nev., and graduated from Churchill County High. He received a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Nevada, Reno, a Master of Science from Montana State University, and his doctorate in geoscience from UNLV.


Further, Bonde previously served on the Board of the Directors of the Southern Nevada Conservancy, the Geological Society of Nevada and the Gordon McCaw School of Mines in Henderson, Nev. He was appointed by former Gov. Brian Sandoval as a founding member of the advisory council for the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.

Along with his wife Becky Hall, Bonde named Nevada’s first dinosaur species, Nevadadromeus schmitti, discovered in Valley of Fire State Park.

The Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum located at 1 Jacobsen Way in Carson City, Nev., is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no cost to visit the museum or take the self-guided campus walking tour.

Additional information is at www.stewartindianschool.com .

A stand-alone agency since July of 2024, the Nevada Department of Native American Affairs is a state agency charged with improving the quality of life for the 28 Tribal governments, Colonies, and Bands, plus 62,000 urban Indians within the State of Nevada. The DNAA works to develop and improve cooperation and communications between Tribal Nations, state and local governments, and related municipalities with the purpose of improving education, employment, health, well-being, and socio-economic status of Nevada’s Native American citizens as well as enhancing Tribal sovereignty, economic opportunities, and community development. The Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum which uses a multi-media approach to preserve the history of Indian Boarding Schools in America, provides a platform for the DNAA for outreach and education about the first people of this land.

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