Florence began as a small rural desert town. In 1875 a major silver strike and designation as Pinal County seat changed the character of the town. Despite the past tales of shootouts and stage robberies that echo off the historic adobe walls, many people still find Florence the essence of a “small town” that is […]
The 23rd Zuni Festival of Art and Culture at the Museum of Northern Arizona will feature humanities-based programming co-developed by the museum and Zuni members. Through conversations, film screenings, performances, and storytelling, festival goers will engage with Zuni history, philosophy, and culture. This program is made possible in part by a grant from Arizona Humanities.
What makes the Grand Canyon so grand? When and how did the Grand Canyon change from being an impassable hole in the ground to the best of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World? This presentation examines the Grand Canyon through the eyes of conquistadors, military surveyors, writers, artists, and photographers from 1541 to the […]
When the African slave was brought to the Caribbean and North and South America, s/he brought her oral literature and performance style. This presentation focuses on the transfer of those oral traditions from African culture to African American culture. Such traditions can be heard in trickster stories, but also observed in the narration of myths, […]
The Fred Harvey company operated its exceptional chain of restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe Railway from 1876 through the 1960s. Among its many innovations was the employment of “Harvey Girl” waitresses: single women who chose to leave their families and adhere to strict lifestyle restrictions for the opportunity to work at respectable jobs. […]
Hang on to your hats as you ride the trails beside some of Arizona’s most wicked renegades during a time when massacres, mayhem and mischief ran rampant throughout Arizona Territory. Learn the sordid details of desperadoes such as cattle/horse rustler and murderer Augustine Chacon who claimed he killed over fifty men, ladies-man Buckskin Frank Leslie […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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