The U.S. federal government’s harsh policy of compulsory Indian education in the form of boarding schools began in 1879 and continued through the Great Depression, with boarding schools on and off Indian Reservations remaining prominent through 1970. Presently, boarding schools are still the main means of K-8 education in rural Indian communities. This presentation will […]

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 […]

Originally conceived to celebrate Arizona’s Centennial in 2012, “The Ballad of Arizona” has been updated to provide a more complete survey of important, but often little-known, chapters of Arizona’s unique history. A blend of music, video, and lecture, “The Ballad of Arizona” is similar to “A Prairie Home Companion” but with an Arizona twist. The […]

In 1909 the Territory of Arizona amended its compulsory school attendance bill to give cities and counties the ability to segregate their schools. Inspired by the change in the law, the Tucson school board conducted a rapid search of available buildings, settling on an abandoned mortuary. Shocked by this unsettling turn of events, Tucson’s Black […]

Communication and secrecy were key to the successful operation of the Underground Railroad. Safety was more important than quickness. Both fugitive slaves and members of the Underground Railroad learned to code and decode hidden messages, and to disguise signs to avoid capture. There were code names for routes and code numbers for towns. A quilt […]

In the early 20th century, archaeologists in the southwestern U.S. viewed a constellation of distinctive cultural traits – multicolored pottery, houses arranged in walled compounds, and monumental architecture – as evidence of a cultural group they termed “Salado.” Subsequent discoveries cause us to question what the Salado traits really represent. In this presentation archaeologist Allen […]

Women began contributing to aviation from the very beginning. Whether it was training men for the Layfaette Escadrille in WWI, plotting aviation maps in the 1930s, or training men in WWII, women fliers have been at the forefront of aviation. Learn their stories and be inspired. REGISTER Natalie J. Stewart-Smith has been an educator for […]

The First Amendment prohibits the government from abridging “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” This basic freedom ensures the right of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ideas. When and how have people engaged in protest? Who has engaged in protest? What is civil […]

People the world over express Divine Devotion through humbly coming together and creating blessed sounds, blending their energies and hearts to help bridge that sometimes narrow, sometimes great, divide between us, as temporal beings, and the Infinite. One example of this bridge is African American sacred music: Negro Spirituals, and the Gospel tradition. Many have […]

What is the history of policing in the U.S.? Where did police come from, and what was their role? How did police interact with communities in the past? How do police interact with communities now? Recent clashes between the police and the public have thrust the nation into a period of social unrest and violence […]