Armed with Our Language, We Went to War:  The Navajo Code Talkers

Perry Branch Library 1965 E. Queen Creek Rd., Gilbert, AZ, United States

During WWII a select group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon.  Using the Navajo language, they devised a secret code that the enemy never deciphered.  For over 40 years a cloak of secrecy hung over the Code Talker’s service until the code was declassified and they were finally honored […]

Free

Landscape of the Spirits: Hohokam Rock Art of South Mountain Park

Dragon's View Restaurant 400 N. Bonita Ave, Tucson, AZ, United States

The South Mountains in Phoenix contain more than 8,000 ancient petroglyphs. This program will discuss Dr. Bostwick’s long-term study of these Hohokam petroglyphs and will describe the various types of designs, their general distribution, and their possible meanings. Interpretations of the petroglyphs include the marking of trails, territories, and astronomical events, as well as dream […]

Free

Pauline Weaver and the Mountain Men of Arizona

Osher Life Long Learning Institute, Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus 601 Black Hills Drive, Clarkdale, AZ, United States

This presentation explains who the mountain men were, how they lived, and why they were in Arizona. Using a colorful presentation, Weber, clad in buckskins, focuses on the life and times of Pauline Weaver, Prescott, Arizona's first white citizen, and other famous mountain men who made their way through this territory. Using photos, maps and […]

Free

Boarded Up: Social and Historical Interpretations of the American Indian Boarding School Era

Estrella Mountain Community College Conference Center 3000 North Dysart Road, Avondale, AZ, United States

American Indians are the only ethnic group in the United States who, for generations, were subjected to forced education by the federal government.  In the early years, Indian children were hunted down and taken by force to boarding schools, residing there for three or more years.  These children were stripped of their Native identities, not […]

Free

Arizona Place Names: Names on the Land

Roadhaven Resort 1000 S. Idaho Rd., Apache Junction, AZ, United States

Place names are like fossil poetry: they afford a kind of folk history, a snapshot in time that enables us to read them and reconstruct how people have assigned names to the places to which they come. The U.S. has over 3.5 million place names, and there is no part of the world where nomenclature […]

Free

Sustainability Issues in Arizona: A Moral Responsibility?

Prescott Public Library 215 E. Goodwin St., Prescott, AZ, United States

Join Goodwin in a conversation about sustainability issues facing Arizona. Topics can include the coal-burning Navajo Generating Station, the Colorado River dams, uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, wind turbines, water conservation and catchment, the costs of water and electricity, preservation of natural landscapes, and others. The presentation can be focused on one or more […]

Free

Walking the Corn Pollen Path

Red Rock State Park - AZ State Parks 4050 Red Rock Loop Road, Sedona, AZ, United States

Knowing one’s culture implies being educated about who you are, what social order expects of you, and it provides the primary steps to individual identity.  Stories of the Emergence, Trotting Coyote, First Man and Spider Woman, among others, teach the past, suggest the present, and create a pathway to a satisfying future.  Through recurring themes […]

Free

Pauline Weaver and the Mountain Men of Arizona

Esmond Station K-8 9400 S. Atterbury Wash Way, Vail, AZ, United States

This presentation explains who the mountain men were, how they lived, and why they were in Arizona. Using a colorful presentation, Weber, clad in buckskins, focuses on the life and times of Pauline Weaver, Prescott, Arizona's first white citizen, and other famous mountain men who made their way through this territory. Using photos, maps and […]

Free

Honky Tonks, Brothels and Mining Camps: Entertainment in Old Arizona

In pioneer Arizona, among the best places to experience the performing arts were in the mining towns. Striking it rich meant having disposable income and miners, like the well-heeled of the Gilded Age, wanted to demonstrate their sophistication with culture. From the early popular music of ragtime and minstrelsy evolved orchestras, operas and glee clubs […]

Free

The Arizona Connection to Sacagawea

Prescott Family History Center 1001 Ruth Street, Prescott, AZ, United States

Beginning with a short overview of the epic 1804 journey of Lewis and Clark, Weber then focuses on the little known history of Sacagawea's son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.  Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born on the expedition, adopted by William Clark, and went on to become one of the most interesting and foremost figures in early […]

Free

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