AZ Speaks

Ancient American Indian petroglyphs (symbols carved or pecked on rocks) and pictographs (rock paintings) are claimed by some to be forms of writing for which meanings are known. But are such claims supported by archaeology or by Native Americans? Archaeologist Allen Dart illustrates how petroglyph and pictograph styles changed through time and over different parts […]

Farming has always been the way of life for the Tohono O’odham community in San Xavier, located just south of Tucson. Their way of life depended on access to the land and to the water, namely the Santa Cruz River, which nourished agriculture in the area for generations. But a history of division sown through […]

The debate over what happens in the classroom continues to escalate as politics creep into curriculum. What can be taught, what can be said, and what pronouns teachers can use are all in question. What are the new bills and school policies being introduced in Arizona? How is legislation in other states influencing the national […]

Turquoise has a long standing tradition amongst Native cultures of the Southwest, holding special significance and profound meanings to specific individual tribes. Even before the more contemporary tradition of combining silver with turquoise, cultures throughout the southwest used turquoise in necklaces, earrings, mosaics, fetishes, medicine pouches, and made bracelets of basketry stems lacquered with piñon […]

Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan friar, arrived in what is now Arizona in 1768. Assigned to the church at San Xavier del Bac south of present-day Tucson, he traveled widely throughout Arizona and California, charting overland routes that later travelers would follow. Near where Garcés would meet his death in 1781, an American soldier named Joseph […]

In 1929, the first national women’s air race from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH passed through Arizona. Stopping in Yuma, Phoenix, and Douglas, the intrepid fliers solidified their determination and sisterhood along these Arizona waypoints. Who were these aviators? What were their planes like in 1929? What challenges did they encounter along the way? […]

Flagstaff, Arizona was the world’s first community designated an International Dark Sky Place for its active efforts reduce light pollution and protect the visibility of the night sky. There are now over 130 dark-sky communities, places, and parks globally. Arizona alone has 17 dark-sky places, which is more than any other country in the world. […]

Arizona’s history of the LGBT+ community begins long before Arizona was a state with the Native American belief of two-spirits, continuing on through to the seismic shift of Civil Union/ Marriage Equality. There are some surprises along the way as we talk about artists and Arizona connections to Warhol, Keith Haring, and those muscle magazines […]

Although the desert may seem like a desolate landscape devoid of life, it is actually home to hundreds of unique species. Some are only visible or appear alive for a short time, others grow for hundreds of years, and many are not found anywhere else on earth. Participants will learn about the many traditional Tribal […]