Dragoon is located approximately sixty miles east of Tucson, close to Interstate 10 and about halfway between Benson and Willcox. While the area is sparsely populated today, it has a long and rich history of Native American settlement. Over 13,000 years ago, the Clovis people took advantage of the area’s numerous lakes–which are now dry lake beds–to hunt the large mammals attracted to the water sources. Lakes, streams, and springs continued to sustain mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and humans.

Join the Opening Day Celebration of the Smithsonian Water/Ways exhibit at the Amerind Museum on Saturday, March 9.
Visitors can also explore Waters of the West, the local companion exhibit of Amerind and Friends of Western Art. The exhibit displays artworks from private collections and from Amerind’s permanent collection centered on the theme of water.

Opening Day Celebration
March 9, 2019, at 11:00 am
Exhibit open March 9–April 21, 2019

Water/Ways explores the endless motion of the water cycle, its effect on the landscape, settlement, and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at political and economic efforts to ensure access to water, and explores how human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways to protect water resources and renew our relationship with the natural environment. This is a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution that will tour 12 Arizona towns. The Smithsonian has partnered with Arizona Humanities, Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, and Arizona State University to bring the exhibit to Arizona. Learn more at waterwaysaz.org.

Amerind and The Loft Cinema Present
Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock
Saturday, April 13, 2019, 7:00 pm

Standing Rock North Dakota became one of the most watched places on earth when the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe captured world attention through their peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. A compelling new documentary, Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock, captures the story of Native-led defiance that forever changed how we fight for clean water, our environment, and the future of our planet. This event is free and open to the public.

Things to Know About This Event

  • Amerind will provide folding chairs, but it is recommended you bring a cozy chair from home.
  • You may want to bring a flashlight to increase nighttime visibility.
  • This is a family event and alcohol is not permitted.
  • Museum admission will be FREE for all guests from 4:00 pm–6:30 pm on April 13.
  • You can buy one of the best burgers in the Southwest from the Wicked Burgers food truck for dinner.

Moral Stewardship of Our Most Precious Resource: Water
Saturday, April 20, 2019, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
Presented by Robert Glennon, Regents’ Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

Join us as Amerind welcomes one of the nation’s thought leaders and commentators on water policy and law. A Native American proverb admonishes: “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” We must be good stewards, a core value of Native American culture and tradition. Water is a public resource with spiritual, cultural, aesthetic, ecological, and economic value. Glennon’s talk will explore the stewardship implications behind: government subsidies for profligate water use, bottled water, exporting water, unsustainable groundwater pumping, the commodification of water, and our individual “water footprints.”


Exhibits and Talks
Amerind is proud to host the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Water/Ways, a look at the history and science of water in the United States. While the Smithsonian exhibit will visit the Amerind in March and April of 2019, Amerind is celebrating with companion exhibits and programs.

Water Protectors: The Standing Rock Camps through the Lens of Gabrie Ayala (Yoeme)
Exhibit: Current–May 12, 2019
Gallery Presentation: April 4, 2019, 11:00am

When Gabriel Ayala heard about the events taking place near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Ayala decided to stand with the Water Protectors, a group of predominately Indigenous community members who opposed the construction of a petroleum pipeline. Ayala was forever changed by his time at the Standing Rock Camps. His 2016 photographs document his experiences at the camps.

Gabriel Ayala is a very well-known world-class classical guitarist. A member of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, Mr. Ayala has traveled the world to perform and teach. His photographic work at Standing Rock has further developed Ayala’s talents as a multimedia artist.

www.amerind.org | 520-586-3666

Waters of the West, a joint exhibit of Amerind and Friends of Western Art Featuring Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists
October 6, 2018–May 25, 2019

Amerind is proud to host the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Water/Ways, a look at the history and science of water in the United States. While the Smithsonian exhibit will visit the Amerind in March and April of 2019, the Amerind is celebrating with companion exhibits through the 2018-2019 year. Water is life in the American West for all people and across all ages. Not surprisingly water is a subject of great fascination to the artists who call the American West their home. This exhibit, created in partnership with Friends of Western Art, displays artworks from private collections and from Amerind’s permanent collection centered on the theme of water. From raging arroyos to life giving springs, water is as much a necessity as it is an artistic inspiration.

Indigenous Water/Ways
Exhibit: February 26, 2019–June 14, 2020

Indigenous communities of the southwestern US and northern Mexico revere water in all its forms. With incredible feats of engineering and an eye to sustainability, Indigenous farmers and ranchers have carefully cultivated water resources to nourish their crops, livestock, and people. This exhibit explores the intersection of water with Indigenous life in deep history and recent times. Arts and crafts that celebrate water in all its forms and depict the harbingers of our rainy season accompany the exhibition. www.amerind.org | 520-586-3666

Water is Life
Exhibit: March 9, 2019–February 28, 2020

In this invited show, Indigenous artists exhibit works related to water. Water is indispensable to the body as it is to the spirit. Rain, snow, and clouds are depicted in art created centuries ago and are still the subject of artworks today. Ancient songs, still sung today in Indigenous communities, celebrate the ocean, rain, and tumbling waters that race across arroyos and riverbeds. Come see what water inspires.


Water/Ways will remain in Dragoon from March 9-April 21. For more details on all of Dragoon’s programs, visit waterwaysaz.org/host-sites/dragoon.
Thank you to the Water/Ways Arizona Sponsors! Premier Sponsor Salt River Project and additional sponsors Nestlé Waters North America, the American Slavic Association, and Chaos RX Optics.

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