May 2014
Armed with Our Language, We Went to War: The Navajo Code Talkers
During WWII a select group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon. Using the Navajo language, they devised a secret code that the enemy never deciphered. For over 40 years a cloak of secrecy hung over the Code Talker’s service until the code was declassified and they were finally honored for their military contributions in the South Pacific by Presidents Reagan, Bush, and the Navajo Nation. The Code Talkers’ cultural background, how the code was…
Find out more »October 2014
Set in Stone but Not in Meaning: Southwestern Indian Rock Art
Ancient Indian petroglyphs (symbols carved or pecked on rocks) and pictographs (rock paintings) are claimed by some to be forms of writing for which meanings are known. But are such claims supported by archaeology or by Native Americans? Dart illustrates how petroglyph and pictograph styles changed through time and over different regions of the American Southwest prehistorically and historically, and discusses how even the same rock art symbol may be interpreted differently from popular, scientific, and modern Native American perspectives.…
Find out more »November 2015
Coast-to-Coast in 48 Hours: A Pioneering Transcontinental Air Route Through the Southwest
In 1929 the newly-formed Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) company launched an ambitious plan to establish the country’s first coast-to-coast airline service from New York to Los Angeles. Assisted by famous pilots Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, the TAT established a series of pioneering airports along the route (including Clovis, Albuquerque, Winslow, and Kingman) and helped establish the modern age of air travel. Using historic photos and film, this presentation will discuss the history of the TAT with a special focus…
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