Thank you to our 2024 Texas Canyon Sporting Event sponsor, The Mahoney Group
Continue readingAmerind Free Online Talk: Comanches, Captives, Germans: Transactions on the Texas Frontier, 1847 with Daniel J. Gelo & Christopher J. Wickham

Free Online Talk
Comanches, Captives, Germans: Transactions on the Texas Frontier, 1847
with Daniel J. Gelo, PhD & Christopher J. Wickham, PhD
Saturday, June 22, 2024
11:00 am – Arizona Time
In 2021, three finely worked sketches dating back to the middle of the nineteenth century were brought to the attention of scholars studying the relationship between German settlers and Comanche Indians. Seemingly the work of one artist, and (with one exception) never published, the sketches feature Comanches, Germans, a captive girl, a wagon train, the landscape and wildlife of the Texas Hill Country, and dynamic scenes of cultural contact. Who was the girl? Who were the Comanches involved? Who were the Germans? Where and when did this captive exchange take place? What do we make of the rich Indian and German cultural details that the artist includes? How can we understand his work—as art, as data about Comanche life and customs, and as documentation of a specific cultural encounter? And, of course, who was the artist, and how important is his work? Trying to find answers to these questions, the presenters will examine the drawings in detail and decode information placed by the artist.
Daniel J. Gelo is Dean and Professor of Anthropology Emeritus and former Stumberg Distinguished University Chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Gelo holds Ph.D., M.Phil., M.A., and B.A. degrees in anthropology from Rutgers University. His publications include: Comanche Vocabulary (University of Texas Press, 1995), Comanches in the New West, 1896-1908 (with Stanley Noyes, University of Texas Press, 1999), Texas Indian Trails (with Wayne L. Pate, Republic of Texas Press, 2003), Comanches and Germans on the Texas Frontier: The Ethnology of Heinrich Berghaus (with Christopher J. Wickham, Texas A&M University Press, 2018), and Indians of the Great Plains (Second Edition, Routledge, 2019). He has won the UTSA President’s Distinguished Achievement Award, the University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award, and the Presidio La Bahia Award for best book on early Texas history.
Christopher J. Wickham is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Having taught at the Universität Regensburg, Germany, Allegheny College, PA, and the University of Illinois at Chicago he moved to UTSA in 1991. Wickham retired from teaching in 2017. His research focuses on German literature and culture, and most recently on the interaction between German settlers and Comanches in 19th-century Texas. He authored a monograph on the dialect of Diendorf, Bavaria, (1987) and books on the notion of Heimat (1999) and Comanches and Germans in Texas (2018, with Daniel J. Gelo) which won the Presidio La Bahia Award for best book on early Texas history. Comanches, Captives, and Germans, a book coauthored with Dan Gelo, Hoppy Hopkins and Bryden Moon, appeared in January 2023. He is currently working with Dan Gelo on a study of 19th century Texas botanist and newspaperman Ferdinand Lindheimer.
Book Publication:
Gelo, Daniel J., C. B. “Hoppy” Hopkins, Christopher J. Wickham, and Bryden Moon.
Comanches, Captives, and Germans: Wilhelm Friedrich’s Drawings from the Texas Frontier. Kerrville, TX: State House Press, 2022.
https://www.tamupress.com/book/9781649670137/comanches-captives-and-germans/
To register for this free online event, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline06222024GeloWickham
Introduction to Nature Journaling with Roseann Hanson

Introduction to Nature Journaling at the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve
with Instructor Roseann Hanson
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9:00 am – 3:30 pm
$75 non-members
$70 Members (please call to register)
Day long workshop Includes:
Lunch
a copy of the workbook, Nature Journaling for a Wild Life-a $35 value, free passes to
Amerind Free Online Talk: Capturing Water in Chaco Canyon and the Legacy of R. Gwinn Vivian, with Samantha Fladd, PhD

Amerind Free Online Lecture
Capturing Water in Chaco Canyon and the Legacy of R. Gwinn Vivian
with Samantha Fladd, PhD
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 11:00 am – Arizona Time
Capturing Water in Chaco Canyon and the Legacy of R. Gwinn Vivian
While Chaco Canyon is renowned for massive great houses and concentrations of nonlocal materials, the ability of residents to productively farm the arid landscape has remained contentious within archaeology. These debates have ranged from questions over soil quality to the existence and use of water management features. Throughout his career, Dr. R. Gwinn Vivian worked tirelessly to locate and document evidence of water management, particularly canal systems, from within and around the Canyon. In this talk, I will provide an overview of this evidence and discuss the importance of Dr. Vivian’s legacy on the field of Southwest archaeology.
Samantha Fladd is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University. She received her PhD from the University of Arizona in 2018 and has been doing archaeological research in the Four Corners region of the US Southwest for about 15 years. She is the second author on an upcoming book with Dr. R. Gwinn Vivian on Capturing Water (University of Utah Press), which presents his lifetime of research on water management and agricultural potential in and around Chaco Canyon.
To register for this free online event, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline04062024Fladd
Exhibit Celebration and Artist Talk with Maria Arvayo

Exhibit Celebration and Artist Talk with Maria Arvayo
Saturday, January 27, 2024 1 – 2 pm, Artist Talk: 1:00 pm
Come and meet artist Maria Arvayo on Saturday, January 27th when we will celebrate her exhibit Inspired by Texas Canyon: The Art of Maria Arvayo, on display through September 2024. She will give a talk at 1:00 pm.
Maria Arvayo is a painter and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe living in Tucson, Arizona, where she works and teaches painting. She works in a wide variety of media including watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil and encaustic.
In 2020 she completed an artist in residency at the Amerind. During this time, she hiked the grounds and did a number of plein air paintings. Inspired by the landscape of southern Arizona, in this exhibit she shares her appreciation for the beauty that is abundant in the land and sky of Texas Canyon. Many of the works in this exhibit are from her time spent at the Amerind. Some of the works in this exhibit are from her time spent at the Amerind and many pieces are available for purchase, although they must remain at the Amerind through September 2024. For more information contact the Museum Store.
We hope you will join us in celebrating this talented artist and the inspiration of the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve!
This event is included with your membership or regular Museum admission.
Celebrating and Reconnecting Turtle Island and Abya Yala through Lucho Soler’s Pottery Art

Please note: Rescheduled- the Amerind closed due to dangerous winter road conditions in Texas Canyon last Saturday on February 1oth.
Lucho Soler will speak this Saturday, February 17 at 11:00 am in the Amerind Art Gallery.
Saturday, February 10th
Saturday, February 17th
Artist Talk: 11:00 am
Born in Peru, Lucho’s interest in clay and pottery art came at the early age of 10. His extensive knowledge and practice in pottery art blends ancient technologies, techniques, and motifs from the Chavín, Moche, Nazca, and Paracas Indigenous Peoples of South America with contemporary ceramic art traditions of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Vessel forms and finishes encapsulate both the ancient and contemporary, for example his rolled coil, stone burnishing, and 24 karat gold and platinum luster appliqué techniques. In addition to creating stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces, Lucho’s work essentially reconnects contemporary Indigenous artists of the Americas, hence the title of his talk.
Lucho will be at Amerind to discuss his work and demonstrate his pottery making techniques.
Lucho’s talk will be at 11:00 am
This event is included with regular Museum admission.
Lucho Soler Fine Pottery Art exhibit will be on display in the Amerind Gallery through June 2024.
Lucho has made many of the pieces in this exhibit available for sale, although the works must remain until the exhibit ends in June 2024. To inquire about purchasing work from this exhibit please contact the Museum Store at: [email protected].
Vintage Basketry & Navajo Weavings with Terry DeWald

Vintage Basketry and Navajo Weavings with Terry DeWald
Saturday, February 3, 2024
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Talk: 11:00 am
Please join us on Saturday, February 3, 2024, when we host Terry DeWald of Terry DeWald American Indian Art for a Vintage Basketry and Navajo Weavings Show & Sale at the Amerind Museum. The show will feature vintage Navajo weavings, vintage baskets from California, the greater southwest, and contemporary Tohono O’odham baskets.
DeWald has been a prominent dealer, lecturer, appraiser, and author of Native American art for more than 40 years.
DeWald will give a talk on Vintage Basketry and Navajo Weavings at 11:00 am.
This event is included with regular Museum admission.
Exhibit Celebration and Artist Talk with Michael Chiago
Free Event
Continue readingTexas Canyon Trail Run

11th Annual Texas Canyon Trail Run/Walk
Saturday, March 23, 2024
9:00 10K Start Time
9:20 5K Start Time
Open to the Public-All ages
The Amerind Museum presents the Eleventh Annual Texas Canyon Trail Run on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Bring your friends and family to run or walk the scenic 5K or 10K courses in this awe-inspiring region the Texas Canyon Nature Preserve. Texas Canyon is marked by spectacular rock formations, including balancing boulders, spires, and trails crisscrossing through open fields of yucca, ocotillo, a variety of cacti, and scattered trees that dot the terrain.
In a culture of running, it is no surprise that many Native communities have ways of encouraging runners along their path. Among the O’odham of Arizona and Sonora, singing is important at all community events and celebrations. The Amerind is honored to welcome back the No:ligk Traditional Singers and Basket Dancers from the Tohono O’odham Nation. On March 23, they will sing traditional O’odham songs to encourage the trail runners along their way.
Once you have completed the race, please stay for the Awards Ceremony at 11:00 am. This year in addition to their medals, the Amerind is pleased to award the overall winners of the 5K and 10K with original artwork from acclaimed Tohono O’odham painter Michael Chiago, thanks to this year’s Title Sponsor-Desert Diamond Casinos.
After the awards ceremony, grab a bite to eat from our food vendors (Shirley Harvey Native Frybread, Bam Bam BBQ, and the Dragoon General store’s Stagecoach Squeeze). Then, step inside and explore Amerind’s exhibits. Your race registration also includes free entry into the Amerind Museum and Art Gallery. Simply show your bib number or guest passes to the admissions desk to take advantage of this offer.
Want to register or participate as a group from a company, organization etc. contact us for details and arrangements, we make it easy!
Participation in the event enables Amerind to further its mission of fostering and promoting knowledge and understanding of the Native Peoples of the Americas through research, education, conservation, and community engagement.
10K-$40 adults, $25 youth
5K-$30 adults, $15 youth
*Early bird rates, price increases to $45. and $35. ($50 and $40 on race day)
Whether you’re a competitive runner or just want to walk leisurely, this is the perfect opportunity to get off on the right foot in the new year, meet new people and join the fun!
We hope to see you Saturday, March 23!
Register here: https://bit.ly/TCTR2024
Register by March 22 and save. Prices increase after March 22 at 11:59 pm for adult 5K & 10K registrations. Youth prices do not change.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:

**Please note that the Amerind hiking trails will be closed Friday, March 22, 23 & Sunday, March 24th for race day preparation and clean up. We apologize for any inconvenience. The trails will reopen to the public on Tuesday, March 26 at 8:30 am.
Mata Ortiz Show & Sale

Mata Ortiz Pottery Show and Sale
Friday-Sunday, February 16-18, 2024
10:00 am-4:00 pm each day
with talk on Mata Ortiz pottery by Ron Bridgemon, Sr., 1:00 pm each day
Visit Amerind’s Mata Ortiz Show and Sale and meet Award-winning pottery artists Hector Gallegos Jr., Laura Bugarini, and Lazaro Ozuna Silveira from Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico.
You will have the opportunity to meet these artists and learn about their work. The artists will conduct demonstrations, firings (weather permitting), and offer their exquisite ceramic vessels for sale.
Also, on Friday and Saturday, February 16 & 17, 2024, 10:00 am-3:00 pm we will have a book signing with Award-Winning Author Charmayne Samuelson for her Best Seller biography SPENCER MacCALLUM Memories-Mystique-Mata Ortiz. a biography of the anthropologist who jump-started the Mata Ortiz pottery movement after meeting potter, farmer and cowboy Juan Quezada.
What could be more special than an exquisite piece of pottery along with a signed bestseller!
This event is included with regular Museum Membership or regular admission.










