PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION For many of us, the American Southwest is distinctive because of its landscape, culture, and history. We see, for instance, its mountains, deserts, and canyons. We are aware of its diverse cultures. And we have some understanding of the Indigenous, Mexican, and U.S. histories that have brought us to the present moment. But […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION During WWII a group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines unaware that they would 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. Excerpts from live interviews with the Code […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION During WWII a group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines unaware that they would 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. Excerpts from live interviews with the Code […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Entrepreneurs offering assorted “get rich quick” schemes and “cure-alls” have visited Arizona since the early days. Benefitting from tales of abundant resources in the territory, limited law enforcement and communication, a scoundrel could create enticing promises of wealth and health without much external oversight. Newspapers often fanned the hysteria only to later denounce […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Throughout the Southwest, tourists and locals encounter a range of Indigenous art, from manufactured and imported cultural appropriations to fine art in galleries and museums. The state’s creative Indigenous communities are sometimes lost in what is popularly featured as Native American Art. In this presentation, Diné jeweler Nanibaa Beck will highlight contemporary Native […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION From birth to death, the mesquite tree is an integral part of life for many who call the desert home. The mesquite tree is just one of many holistic materials, elements of our natural environment, that are vital to sustaining Native culture and practices. But climate change and environmental degradation are changing the […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Why are we drawn to such places as the Grand Canyon? Why are people moved to travel from all around the world to visit and explore them? In this presentation, we will discuss people’s relationship with the natural landscape with a particular focus on some of Arizona’s most iconic locations. What are the […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION In the late-19th century, Arizona was the center of one the grandest land-fraud schemes perpetrated in the U.S. As the result of an apparent 17th century royal decree, more than 12-million acres from central Arizona to western New Mexico were claimed as private property — the largest single land ownership in the country, […]