Our History is the Future with Nick Estes

Northern Arizona University Liberal Arts Room 120 700 S. Humphreys, Bldg 18, Flagstaff, AZ, United States

Join us as we delve into the latest chapter in the centuries-long struggle for Indigenous liberation. In this lecture, Nick Estes will discuss his latest work Our History is the Future. In 2016, a small protest encampment at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, initially established to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, […]

“Hyenas in Petticoats”–How Women Struggled Against Every Dirty Trick in the Books to Win the Vote!

Kirk-Bear Canyon Library 8959 E Tanque Verde Rd., Tucson, AZ, United States

As we celebrate the 100th birthday of the 19th Amendment in 2020, it’s time to look back at the enormous effort it took for women to be granted full citizenship and the vote. History has downplayed suffrage, as if it were just a footnote in American history, when in fact, it was the nation’s largest […]

The Antiquity of Irrigation in the Southwest

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

Before AD 1500, Native American cultures took advantage of southern Arizona’s long growing season and tackled its challenge of limited precipitation by developing the earliest and most extensive irrigation works in all of North America. Agriculture was introduced to Arizona more than 4,000 years before present, and irrigation systems were developed in our state at […]

Water in Arizona: Sustainability, Supply and Demand

Wickenburg Public Library 164 E Apache St, Wickenburg, AZ, United States

Paul Hirt is a Professor of History, Senior Sustainability Scholar, and member of the public history faculty at Arizona State University. He specializes in the American West, environmental history, and sustainability studies. Hirt’s publications include a 2012 monograph on the history of electric power in the US Northwest and British Columbia titled The Wired Northwest, a […]

Arizona’s Great Escape

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

During the night of Christmas Eve in 1944, twenty-five Nazi German prisoners of war escaped from Papago Park POW camp on the outskirts of Phoenix and headed towards Mexico. These men were hardcore Nazis, ex U-boat commanders, and submariners, who had successfully dug a nearly 200-foot underground tunnel that took four months to complete. Many […]

The Golden Age of Solar System Exploration

Mohave Community College - Bullhead City Hargrove Library 3400 HWY 95 - 700 Building, Bullhead City, AZ, United States

Mankind has dreamed about and longed to explore space for ages. We are indeed fortunate to be living in this slice of time when we actually have the ability and technology to do it! This presentation will discuss the successes, failures, adventures, and discoveries of the final frontier. Dr. James Rice, is an Astrogeologist with […]

Barbed Wire, Windmills and Railroads: The Technology that Really Won the West

Salazar-Ajo Library 15 W. Plaza St. #179, Ajo, AZ, United States

In Arizona and throughout the West, three innovations helped make farming and living possible: Windmills brought groundwater to the surface, barbed wire sectioned the vast landscape into parcels, and railroads moved men, women, families and materials from back east. In the old West, there were over 8 million windmills, a man caught cutting down a […]

Three Generations of the American Indian Boarding School Experience

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument - Visitor Center Theater 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge, AZ, United States

Water is necessary for life, but as supply shrinks, choices must be made about who is given access to water and who isn’t. Communities across Arizona are going dry. This means that some residents may have no choice except to move. How do we decide who gets access to water, and who does not? Should […]

Hyenas in Petticoats: How Women Struggled Against Every Trick in the Books to Win the Vote!

​Ironwood Library 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Phoenix, AZ, United States

As we celebrate the 100th birthday of the 19th Amendment in 2020, it’s time to look back at the enormous effort it took for women to be granted full citizenship and the vote. History has downplayed suffrage, as if it were just a footnote in American history, when in fact, it was the nation’s largest […]

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

Patagonia Public Library 346 Duquesne, Patagonia, AZ, United States

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 during the forming of these communities, […]

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