One of the most trenchant observers of modern democracy, Masha Gessen is a journalist, activist and bestselling author of the National Book Award-winning The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. They have covered political subjects from Russia, autocracy, L.G.B.T. rights, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump, among others, and their understanding of the events and […]

The idea of “decolonization” is a very hot topic these days. To understand what decolonization means today, we must first understand historically what colonialism is, and how it has shaped our thinking and actions in the U.S. Who was, and who was not colonized? Colonialist thinking can permeate education, media, government policies, and our lived […]

Native Americans in the U.S. Southwest developed sophisticated skills in astronomy and predicting the seasons, centuries before non-Indian peoples entered the region. In this presentation archaeologist Allen Dart discusses the petroglyphs at Picture Rocks, the architecture of the “Great House” at Arizona’s Casa Grande Ruins, and other archaeological evidence of ancient southwestern astronomy and calendrical […]

The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. From the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States to the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, meteorites have been found on these ancient sites. Much like meteorite hunters of today, ancient Native American cultures […]

Turquoise has a long standing tradition amongst Native cultures of the Southwest, holding special significance and profound meanings to specific individual tribes. Even before the more contemporary tradition of combining silver with turquoise, cultures throughout the southwest used turquoise in necklaces, earrings, mosaics, fetishes, medicine pouches, and made bracelets of basketry stems lacquered with piñon […]

From extreme weather disasters to shrinking wildlife habitats, climate change is impacting us now…and shaping a new future. These environmental themes appear throughout the work of Lipan Apache writer and earth scientist, Darcie Little Badger. Drawing upon her background in climate science and Lipan storytelling, Dr. Little Badger imagines alternate futures and parallel worlds with […]

The first issue of Arizona Highways magazine was published in April, 1925. In this presentation, former publisher Win Holden will share the fascinating story of how a brochure produced by the Arizona Highway Department evolved into one of the most respected and revered publications in the world. With annual economic impact of over $65 million, […]