Free Online Talk “Our Elder Brother Dwells There: How I’itoi Ki Moved from Mountain Peak to Basket Design.” with David Martinez, PhD.

Photo: Early 20th Century O’odham Basket with “Man in the Maze” design, 13 1/4″ dia., Amerind permanent collection

Amerind Free Online Talk

Thursday, February 12, 2026

12:00 pm (AZ time)

“Our Elder Brother Dwells There: How I’itoi Ki Moved from Mountain Peak to Basket Design.” with David Martinez, PhD. (Akimel O’odham/Hia-Ced O’odham/Mexican)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline02122026Martinez

Join us on Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for a free online talk, “Our Elder Brother Dwells There: How I’itoi Ki Moved from Mountain Peak to Basket Design.” with Dr. David Martinez.

“Learn about I’itoi, Elder Brother, who taught O’odham how to live well in their desert homelands. Learn where his home, his kih, is located, according to oral tradition. Most importantly, learn about how the symbol of this home, I’itoi kih, started appearing in O’odham baskets more than a century ago. What does it all mean?”

David Martínez (Akimel O’odham/Hia-ced O’odham/Mexican), Is a Professor of American Indian Studies and Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. He is the author of the forthcoming The Maze of History: Komal Hok, O’odham Teachings, and an Earth-Based Sense of Time (University of New Mexico Press, April 2026).

Martínez is also the author of Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009), Life of the Indigenous Mind: Vine Deloria Jr and the Birth of the Red Power Movement (University of Nebraska Press, 2019), My Heart Is Bound Up With Them: How Carlos Montezuma Became the Voice of a Generation (University of Arizona Press, 2023), and editor of The American Indian Intellectual Tradition: An Anthology of Writings from 1772 to 1972 (Cornell University Press, 2011).

Dr. Martínez is also the director and founder of the Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations (ITIN), which is housed in the School of Transborder Studies at ASU, where it focuses on Indigenous nations impacted by the US-Mexico Border.

Interested but unsure if you will be able to join us live? Register using an email and the recording of the talk will be sent later that evening to all registrants.

We hope you will join us for this fascinating talk.

 

Amerind Free Online Talk-Traceological Analysis of Turquoise Objects from Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest: Technological Styles and Interactions with Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc.

Amerind Free Online Talk

Thursday, December 4, 2025

12- 1 pm (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline12042025Tisoc

Traceological Analysis of Turquoise Objects from Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest: Technological Styles and Interactions with Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc.

There are thousands of turquoise objects found in different archaeological sites of Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest. Unfortunately, most of the researches about them had been focused on the symbolic meaning, its morphology, trade and use, but very few study their manufacturing traces. In this lecture, I will present a traceological approach to analyze and characterize their manufacturing techniques through the employment of Experimental Archaeology and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The comparison of the turquoise assemblages from more than fifty sites located in these regions showed specific patterns related with lapidary traditions and technological styles. With this new data of the geography of the manufacturing techniques, it is possible to appreciate new nodes of interactions and trends of circulation of the turquoise pieces (raw materials, blanks, and finished objects) among the sourcing areas, the workshops, and the final consumers.

Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc earned a BA in Archaeology from the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) in Mexico and an MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Since 2004 he has been a full-time researcher at the Templo Mayor Museum. Dr Melgar’ research has been awarded the 2010 Alfonso Caso Award for best bachelor thesis in archaeology, the 2011 Teotihuacan Award for best essay on the materials of that city, and the 2019 Award of the Mexican Academy of Sciences for the best young researcher in the Mexican Humanities. He has written five books and more than 80 articles for domestic and foreign publications. His latest book, “Lapidary Objects from the Great Temple: Styles and Technological Traditions”, received the Honorable Mention in the 2024 INAH Prize for the best archaeological research in Mexico.

We hope you will spend your lunch with us learning about the incredible work of Dr. Melgar Tísoc!

*Unsure if you will be able to watch live? Register using an email and you will be sent a recording of the talk later that evening.

Online Artist Talk with Santiago Romero

Amerind Free Online Artist Talk

Thursday, November 20, 2025

12:00 pm (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline11202025Romero

Please join us on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for an online artist talk, with painter and potter Santiago Romero (Cochiti/Taos/Santa Ana Pueblos).

Santiago Romero was born in Santa Fe, NM but grew up between New Mexico and the heart of Los Angeles. After graduating High school, he attended Dartmouth College and received a degree in environmental science. He returned to Santa Fe, where he was working as a ceramic sculptor and painter, as well as actively participating culturally in four separate Pueblo communities. He is currently working on his Master’s degree in Texas and continues to work on his art.

Santiago comes from a legacy of artists; his dad, Diego Romero, is a renowned potter from whom he learned traditional polishing and linework. His uncle, painter Mateo Romero, taught him about layout and gestural technique in painting. His artistic influences are many, but he believes the true force behind his artwork lies within his great-grandmother, Teresita Romero. As an artist of many forms herself, he has found himself guided by her work and spirit.

He strives to integrate his background, education, and experience into all his work by incorporating different techniques, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting who he is and where he comes from.

Santiago has won many awards for his work, including, most recently, the coveted “Best of classification in Painting, Photography, drawing, and photography” at this year’s Indian Market. His work can be found in top collections and galleries. In early 2025, Santiago completed an artist-in-residence at the Amerind, where he spent a month painting and honing his artistic skills. Please note the smaller painting in the photo above was painted here on the Amerind grounds, during his residency!

We hope you will join us to learn more about this fascinating young artist.

*Unsure if you will be able to join us live, register using an email and the talk will be sent to all registrants later that evening.