The University of Arizona Press

When: February 6, 2024

Time: 1 p.m., EST

Where: Southbury Public Library, 100 Poverty Rd., Southbury, CT

Registration recommended: Register for event here

Lucianne Lavin will speak on Our Hidden Landscapes edited by Lucianne Lavin and Elaine Thomas at the Southbury Connecticut Library. The event is co-sponsored by the Library and the Southbury Land Trust. Lavin will talk about built stone cultural features. The idea of Native Americans designing stone structures that represent sacred landscapes is fairly new to some Northeastern researchers, as it was historically–and erroneously—thought that local Indigenous peoples did not build in stone and all such structures were the result of European-American farming activities. Some of it is, but some of it is not.

This event is free to attend and open to all. Register here.

About the book:

Native American authors provide perspectives on the cultural meaning and significance of ceremonial stone landscapes and their characteristics, while professional archaeologists and anthropologists provide a variety of approaches for better understanding, protecting, and preserving them. The chapters present overwhelming evidence in the form of oral tradition, historic documentation, ethnographies, and archaeological research that these important sites created and used by Indigenous peoples are deserving of protection.

This work enables archaeologists, historians, conservationists, foresters, and members of the general public to recognize these important ritual sites.

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Time: 3 – 4  p.m., AZT

Where: ENR2 Rm S107, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell St., Tucson

Steven LeBlanc, retired director of collections, Peabody Museum/Harvard University, will present his slides on “Chaco, Mimbres and Paquime: A New Synthesis,” in person on the University of Arizona campus. The event is sponsored by the Arizona State Museum and is free and open to the public. LeBlanc’s presentation is based on the forthcoming book that he co-authored with Roger Anyon,  Ancient Communities in the Mimbres Valley, Continuity and Change from AD 750 to 1350. Attendees will receive a discount code to pre-order this book.

Chaco Canyon and Paquime (Casas Grandes) are both world heritage sites. Between them lies the unique Mimbres culture. For over 50 years the relationships between them have produced many theories, but little consensus. Recent information strongly suggests that the terminal dates for Chaco and Mimbres ca. AD1130 are very near the initial date for the founding of Paquime, thus changing how they might have been related. A new synthesis provides insights into the links between these three cultures.

About the book:

In the Mimbres Valley of southwestern New Mexico, archaeologists have been working for decades to meticulously excavate archaeological sites. Expanding beyond studies that focus on a single pueblo, this volume represents the final report on the excavations of the Mimbres Foundation. It brings together data from a range of pithouse and pueblo sites of different sizes and histories in diverse locations—to refine the current understandings of Mimbres region archaeology in the context of the Greater Southwest.

Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023

Time: 10  – 11 a.m.

Where: Rincon Congregational Church, 122 N Craycroft Rd, Tucson, AZ

Tickets: $10, available at the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation website

William L. Bird, author of In the Arms of the Saguaros, interprets the rise of modernism through postcard images of Tucson, offering a fascinating journey through time as he explores the transformation of the city. In his talk, “Every Day I Walk These Streets: The Curt Teich Postcard and the Coming of Modern Tucson,” Bird embarks on a visual and historical adventure, tracing the evolution of Tucson from its early days to the vibrant, modern 20th century city.

Tucson postcards, not surprisingly, also featured saguaros. Bird’s latest book, In the Arms of the Saguaros shows how, from the botanical explorers of the nineteenth century to the tourism boosters in our own time, saguaros and their images have fulfilled attention-getting needs and expectations. Through text and lavish images, this book explores the saguaro’s growth into a western icon from the early days of the American railroad to the years bracketing World War II, when Sun Belt boosterism hit its zenith and proponents of tourism succeed in moving the saguaro to the center of the promotional frame. 

William L. Bird Jr. is a curator emeritus of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. His interests lie at the intersection of politics, popular culture, and the history of visual display.  

Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023

Time: 12 – 1 p.m., PST

Where:  Student Center, San José City College, 2100 Moorpark Ave., San José, CA

Josie Méndez-Negrete, author of Activist Leaders of San José, California: En sus propias voces, will speak at “Paths of Activism and Leadership: Chicana/Latino Stories of San José.” Josie Méndez-Negrete is a professor emerita of Mexican American studies in the Department of Bilingual-Bicultural Studies, the Mexican American Studies Program, and the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio.She will talk about activists Sofia Mendoza, Mike Garcia, Jack Brito, Cecilia Arroyo, Ernestina Garcia, Josie Torralba Romero, Anthony R. Soto, Jose & Clare Villa, and Esther Medina.

About the book:

The community of San José, California, is a national model for social justice and community activism. This legacy has been hard earned. In the twentieth century, the activists of the city’s Mexican American community fought for equality in education and pay, better conditions in the workplace, better health care, and much more.

Sociologist and activist Josie Méndez-Negrete has returned to her hometown to document and record the stories of those who made contributions to the cultural and civic life of San José. Through interview excerpts, biographical and historical information, and analysis, Méndez-Negrete shows the contributions of this singular community throughout the twentieth century and the diversity of motivations across the generations.