February 2015
Arizona’s Civilian Conservation Corps and Our National Parks and Forests
In 1933, at the nadir of the Great Depression, the CCC was born. The program was designed to help unemployed and untrained young men learn new skills and earn money to support their families. CCCers fervently claim that the skill-building experiences forever changed their lives. These men built the roads, trails, picnic areas, ranger stations, fire lookouts and public campgrounds that we still use and appreciate today. This presentation will provide a brief history of the Great Depression, the CCC…
Find out more »October 2015
Riding with the Duke: John Wayne in Arizona
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 this talk, Gregory McNamee, who often writes about film and western history alike for such publications as the Encyclopaedia Britannica and The Hollywood Reporter, looks…
Find out more »July 2016
Boarded Up: Social and Historical Interpretations of the American Indian Boarding School Era
This presentation will impart a social interpretation of how life among Indian Nations began to change due to the plight American Indian people were forced into in the name of education. American Indians are the only ethnic group in the U.S. who were subjected to forced education by the federal government for generations. Children were taken by force, placed in a boarding school, kept there for several years, and were not allowed to speak their language or practice their culture.…
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