Arizona Legends, Myths, and Folklore with Jim Turner

From the time humans began to live in communities myths and legends have sought to explain the universe and teach social values. “Arizona Legends, Myths, and Folklore” presents stories from Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Tohono O’odham cultures as well as Hispanic, Euro-American and others. You will learn about Navajo constellations, Spider Woman, Hopi katsinas, the Tohono O’odham “Man in the Maze,” and Apache Big Owl stories. You’ll hear about “El Tejano” the ghost who guards a treasure cave, La Llorona (crying woman), lost gold mines, and how Wyatt Earp became a legend.

This program is cohosted by Pima County Public Library – Woods Memorial Branch. This is an in-person event.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Before retiring from the Arizona Historical Society, Jim Turner worked with more than 70 museums across the state. He co-authored the 4th-grade textbook The Arizona Story, and his pictorial history, Arizona: Celebration of the Grand Canyon State, was a 2012 Southwest Books of the Year selection. Jim moved to Tucson in 1951, earned a M.A. in U.S. history in 1999, and has been presenting Arizona history for more than forty years. Jim is author of The Mighty Colorado from the Glaciers to the Gulf and Four Corners USA: Wonders of the American Southwest.