We have used music to aid healing but only recently have we understood how it works. Music has always been intricately involved in cultures, from lullabies to dirges, work songs to war songs, entertainment to music’s profound role in spiritual expression. There is no culture without it. Thought to have the power to heal the […]
With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic artists like Glenn […]
When America entered the Second World War, Arizona’s sparse population and mild weather made it an ideal location for training facilities and prisoner of war camps. By war’s end, Arizona had trained more pilots than any other state, hosted the country’s largest POW camp, and was part of the largest military training grounds in history. […]
The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868 In 1864, Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years the people suffered from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe environmental conditions. On June 1, 1868, U. S. officials and […]
The Woman Who Shot Cowboys: Rodeo Photographer Louise L. Serpa Anyone who has ever stared down an angry bull coming full throttle across an arena will understand why rodeo photographer Louise Serpa often uttered the adage, “Never Don’t Pay Attention.” Born into New York society, Louise ended up out west with her nose buried in […]
A Story, A Story: African and African American Oral Tradition and Storytelling When the African slave was brought to the Caribbean and North and South America, s/he brought her oral literature and performance style. This presentation focuses on the transfer of those oral traditions from African culture to African American culture. Such traditions can be […]
Plants, Inspiring the People: Reflections on Hualapai Ethnobotany of the Grand Canyon Where lies the cure to diabetes? “Ask the prickly pear, or the mesquite bean pod…maybe they will tell you.” This is the answer you may hear from elder instructors of the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project. The ethnobotanical story of the Hualapai Tribe begins […]
By the Time They Came to Phoenix: African American Cotton Pickers in Arizona Description – Featuring a documentary that tells the stories of early African American cotton pickers in El Mirage and in other regions of Arizona, this presentation explores the lives of African Americans who came to the cotton fields from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and […]
Arizona Songbirds: The life stories of Marty Robbins and Linda Ronstadt These two Arizonans were blessed with beautiful and unforgettable singing voices and had more hits than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Songs like El Paso, Big Iron, Yellow Roses for Robbins and Different Drum, Blue Bayou and Skylark for Ronstadt. Marty was a little bit country […]
Swing Into History With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic […]
Growing Up Chicana in Morenci, Arizona Through a slide presentation of the town before its destruction in the late 1960s, readings from Suffer Smoke and Water from the Moon, and oral history interviews, Díaz Björkquist portrays the lives of girls and women of Morenci in their own voices. It is a historically accurate picture of life […]
Meteorites Among Ancient Native American Cultures The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. From the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States, to the Polar Eskimo, to the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, meteorites have been found on these ancient sites. […]
Written in Thread: Arizona Women’s History preserved in their Quilts Written in Thread: Arizona Women’s History preserved in their Quilts traces the history of Arizona through women who recorded pieces of their lives in their needlework. The colorful patterns of women’s quilts added a spot of brightness to their homes and their lives. They also celebrated […]
Cowboys and Cowgirls: Icons of the American West Few symbols have been more durable than the American cowboy. This program will give an overview of this populist figure, whose image was first defined by painters Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Also important to the story are brave cowgirls and the Mexican vaqueros. Buffalo Bill’s […]
The Mighty Colorado River: From its Sources to the Sea Jim Turner has traced the Green and Colorado rivers from their beginnings as clear bubbling glacial springs high in the mountains, then through roaring canyons in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, and finally to the salt flats in Mexico. Stunning photographs tell the story of the […]
Tom Mix: King of the Cowboys Cowboy movie star Tom Mix was internationally famous, and many legends and tall tales have been told about his life. This presentation highlights some of the true stories about Mix and his connection to Arizona, debunking some of the Hollywood hype. What brought Mix travel that lonesome highway where […]
Lee Wee Kwon, Chinese Grocer in Tucson, 1917-1965 The Chinese had once dominated Tucson’s grocery business. Lee Wee Kwon was among the successful Chinese grocers whose business relied on the patronage of a Hispanic clientele. Lee entered the US as a refugee from Mexican Revolution. Before he came to Tucson, he had lived and worked […]
Swing Into History With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic […]
Sheep Ranchers and Herders of Arizona An early viable economic activity of the 1800s in Arizona has been mostly forgotten. Basque, Canadians, Danes among others arrived in the mid to late 1800s to graze sheep on thousands of acres practicing transhumance. Many of these men worked for other established ranchers until ultimately they gained a […]
Arizona Ghost Towns Ghost towns dot Arizona’s landscape and provide unique insights into a diverse history. Some ghost towns tell a boom-to-bust story with few remaining traces of the people who once lived there, while others, like Jerome, have become thriving tourist destinations. Many are old mining locations that once bustled with life, while others […]
The Ballad of Arizona: our First Hundred Years Similar to NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” but with and Arizona twist, this program uses music, storytelling and live radio-style newscasts to present important but often neglected events in Arizona history. The “Hoosiers”-like story of a Miami, AZ High School basketball team comprised of the sons of […]
Arizona Songbirds: The life stories of Marty Robbins and Linda Ronstadt These two Arizonans were blessed with beautiful and unforgettable singing voices and had more hits than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Songs like El Paso, Big Iron, Yellow Roses for Robbins and Different Drum, Blue Bayou and Skylark for Ronstadt. Marty was a little bit country […]
The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868 In 1864, Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years the people suffered from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe environmental conditions. On June 1, 1868, U. S. officials and […]
Instruments and Music of Arizona’s Pioneers The story of our state is not complete without music. This program will focus on the various genres of music that reflected the milieu and personalities of our various immigrants. Using musical instruments and stories, audience members will be presented an artistic tableau of our past: heroes, villains, and […]
Art of the Internment Camps: Culture Behind Barbed Wire President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1942 WWII Executive Order 9066 forced the removal of nearly 125,000 Japanese-American citizens from the west coast, incarcerating them in ten remote internment camps in seven states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Government photographers Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and […]
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