World War I in the Middle East: Roots of Contemporary Conflict

The Arizona Senior Academy 13715 E. Langtry Lane, Tucson, AZ, United States

Although World War I began 100 years ago, its effects are still evident in the Middle East today. The war ended the Ottoman Empire and created new states, yet the peace settlements left many Middle Eastern people dissatisfied. The treaties left millions of Kurds without a country, Arab lands divided into various British and French […]

Free

Desert Trader: Goldie Tracy Richmond, Trader, Trapper, and Quiltmaker

Smoki Museum Pueblo 147 N. Arizona Avenue, Prescott, AZ, United States

Goldie Tracy Richmond came to southwestern Arizona in 1927 where she lived in a canvas lean-to. To survive, Goldie mined, ran traplines, and operated Tracy’s Trading Post, living among the Tohono O’odham people for four decades. She was a large woman, and the stories told by the O’odham people of Goldie’s life are legendary. Goldie […]

Free

How Wild Was It? Crime and Justice in Arizona Territory

Copper Queen Library 6 Main St., Bisbee, AZ, United States

Arizona’s territorial era has the reputation of being a violent and crime-ridden place with ineffective criminal justice institutions. This presentation provides an overview of crime and justice in Arizona Territory. Based on data from court cases and newspapers, it describes the types of crimes most commonly committed and the justice system’s response to them. Contrary […]

Free

Riding with the Duke: John Wayne in Arizona

Show Low Historical Society 561 East Deuce of Clubs, Show Low, AZ, United States

John Wayne was born in Iowa and lived for most of his adult life in California. Yet, he spent many years exploring, living, and investing in Arizona, where he produced his own films, raised cattle, operated a game ranch, and was seemingly everywhere at once. Wayne remains an iconic presence in American popular culture. In […]

Free

Southwestern Rock Calendars and Ancient Time Pieces

Smoki Museum Pueblo 147 N. Arizona Avenue, Prescott, AZ, United States

Ancient Native American cultures of the Southwest, including the Mesa Verde culture of southern Colorado and Utah, the Chaco culture centered in northwestern New Mexico, and the Hohokam culture of southern Arizona, developed sophisticated skills in astronomy and predicting the seasons centuries before Old World peoples first entered the region. In this presentation Dart examines […]

Your Brain and Music: Can Music Make You Smarter, Happier, Healthier?

Many neuroscientists study music to elucidate mysteries of the brain. Why is music such a rich resource? Not only can scientists physically track the process of learning music as different areas of the brain light up, they can trace music’s powerful effect on our emotions, muscles and memory. The benefits of music span well beyond […]

Native Roads: A Virtual Guide to the Hopi and Navajo Nations

Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum 1 Plaza Circle, Miami, AZ, United States

As editor of the third edition of Fran Kosik’s classic travel book, A Complete Motoring Guide to the Navajo and Hopi Nations, Turner retraced her routes in January 2013, updating information on dozens of intriguing Native American trading posts, prehistoric ruins, museums, and natural wonders. Using the pictures taken on that trip, this presentation creates […]

Free

We Must Grow Our Own Artists: Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton

La Posada Hotel 303 E. Second St., Winslow, AZ, United States

Discover art educator Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton’s contributions to the progressive education movement and the American Indian arts and crafts movement. Artist, author, ethnographer, educator, and curator, these were but a few of the talents of Colton, co-founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona and early art advocate on the Colorado Plateau. Colton labored to increase […]

Free

Working in the Salt Mine: Native American Salt Procurement and Ritual in the Southwest

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

Salt has been a valuable trade item throughout human history. Native American salt procurement in the Southwest involved dangerous journeys across sacred landscapes associated with the deity Salt Woman. This presentation focuses on the prehistory of a famous salt mine in what is now known as Camp Verde. In the 1920s, miners discovered prehistoric salt-mining […]

Father Kino: Journey to Discovery

Himmel Park Public Library 1035 N. Treat Avenue, Tucson, AZ, United States

Through his many diaries and letters it is obvious that Father Kino was more than a missionary who worked among the Native Americans. While his name is often associated with the San Xavier del Bac Mission, he was also a skilled mathematician and cartographer. He made more than 40 expeditions during his life while living […]

Free

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