Community Program

Water sustains life and has a significant role in our state’s history. The myths and stories of our indigenous tribes are rich with its references. Immigrants trod and floated Arizona’s waterways enduring great peril. Government surveyors explored and mapped our river systems. Huge dams blocked their flow to create vast reservoirs. This program will share […]

In addition to an entertaining, visual display of the communities, towns and settlements that contributed to the early growth of the state, this presentation also focuses on respect for these diminishing historic resources. Most of the photographs represent a comprehensive exploration of Arizona ghost towns made by Mr. Mark in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This […]

Health care in early Arizona was hardly reliable and frequently nonexistent. Often, settlers were on their own when tragedy struck with women taking on the responsibility for the well-being of their families. And if women were considered incapable of earning the title “Doctor,” they could certainly save souls. Meet a handful of women who influenced […]

Join Zarco for a series of stories that share the vibrant and tragic history of water and the River People, over a 2,000 year period. Beginning with the Toltec trade route that brought agriculture and corn to the Southwest. The history of the O’Odham before and after the expansion west is revealed. We learn about […]

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 […]

During WWII a group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines without knowing that they would be called on to develop a secret code against the Japanese military. This select group of Code Talkers devised a Navajo language code that was accurate, quick, never broken, and saved many American lives. This talk profiles four […]

Nanibaa Beck provides a history of Diné jewelry over the century, focusing on changes in each decade. Beck highlights the shifting techniques, styles, and meaning of the art over the years. Also incorporated is the impact of boarding schools, training schools and access to new styles and materials on Navajo jewelry over this expanded period […]

Using storytelling, historical artifacts and songs, this presentation will depict the ingenuity and resiliency used by those involved in the Underground Railroad to help over 100,000 enslaved people escape to freedom between 1810 and 1850. We’ll then fast forward to the Jim Crow era and explore the Overground Railroad created by the Green Book which […]