Free Online Talk: “Life on the Edge of the Mimbres Region: Powers Ranch as a Mimbres Site” with Patricia Gilman & Mary Whisenhunt

Free Online Talk
Thursday, March 12, 2026
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ time)
“Life on the Edge of the Mimbres Region: Powers Ranch as a Mimbres Site” with Patricia Gilman, PhD & Mary Whisenhunt, PhD

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline03122026Gilman

Join us on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 12:00 pm (AZ time) for an online talk, “Life on the Edge of the Mimbres Region: Powers Ranch as a Mimbres Site”, with Patricia Gilman, PhD and Mary Whisenhunt, PhD.

When people think of Mimbres archaeology, they picture beautiful black-on-white pottery with paintings of people and animals and large pueblo sites in the Mimbres Valley of southwestern New Mexico.  However, there were Mimbres sites beyond the Mimbres Valley, but they were different from those in the valley.  We explore what it meant to be Mimbres at the Powers Ranch site, a small settlement at the western edge of the Mimbres region. We conclude that the people at Powers Ranch were quintessentially Mimbres and were more closely affiliated with Mimbres settlements on the Gila River drainage in southeast Arizona and New Mexico than with those living in the Mimbres Valley core area.

Mary Whisenhunt received her anthropology doctorate in 2020, conducting her field work in southeast Arizona. Her research focused on the social resilience of precontact Indigenous people on the western boundary of the Mimbres region.

Patricia Gilman has done archaeological research in the Mimbres region for more than 50 years, retiring from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. One of her research foci has been Mimbres beyond the Mimbres Valley.

We hope you will join us!

If you can’t join us to watch live on March 12th, register using an email and the recorded talk will be sent to you after the talk, to watch at your leisure.

 

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: O’Odham Pottery: Prehistoric, Historic, and Contemporary Native American Ceramic Production in the Phoenix Basin of Southern Arizona with Linda Morgan, M.A., (Akimel O’Odham, Dinè), and Katrina Soke, (Akimel O’Odham)

Amerind Free Online Talk

O’Odham Pottery: Prehistoric, Historic, and Contemporary Native American Ceramic Production in the Phoenix Basin of Southern Arizona

with Linda Morgan, M.A., (Akimel O’Odham, Dinè), and Katrina Soke, (Akimel O’Odham)

Thursday, October 30, 2025

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ time)

Within the last three decades, Native communities in the United States have taken on the management of their own archaeological resources, including the establishment of Cultural Resource Management Departments.  These developments have resulted in increased interactions between archaeologists and Native people, which has led to a better understanding of indigenous material culture, especially more recent remains, which for obvious reasons are more concentrated within extant Native American reservations, such as the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC).  This presentation discusses research by the GRIC Cultural Resource Management Program (GRIC-CRMP), focusing on their recent contributions to the indigenous ceramic analysis process.

Linda Morgan, M.A., (Akimel O’Odham, Dinè), is from Blackwater, AZ. and a member of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC). She has worked for the GRIC’s Cultural Resource Management Program (CRMP) since 1994 and is currently Director of the CRMP. She has been a ceramic analyst for the department since 1994 specializing in the analysis of prehistoric Hohokam and Historic O’Odham indigenous ceramics. She has a BA in Anthropology and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Arizona State University.

Katrina Soke, (Akimel O’Odham), is from Gila Crossing, AZ. She is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), where she was born and raised. She has worked for the GRIC’s Cultural Resource Management Program (CRMP) since 2016 as a Laboratory Technician.  She is a ceramic analyst with extensive experience studying prehistoric and historic Indigenous ceramics.

Please note our day and time change- Hoping you can grab your lunch and join us for lunchtime learning at the Amerind!

If you are not able to join us live, register using an email and the recording of the talk will be sent to you later that evening and available to watch on our You Tube Channel: Amerind Foundation at your leisure.

 

Amerind Free Online Talk: Indians and Energy Transition: Green New Deal to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ with Scholar Andrew Curley, PhD (Diné).

Free Online Talk

Saturday, July 26, 2025 

11:00 am (AZ time)

Indians and Energy Transition: Green New Deal to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ with Scholar Andrew Curley, PhD (Diné).
To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline07262025Curley

Please take this opportunity to join us on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 11:00 am (AZ time) for an online talk Indians and Energy Transition: Green New Deal to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ with scholar Andrew Curley, PhD (Diné) as he discusses his research on the implications of energy transitions on Indigenous nations.

Energy in the United States is a topic of extreme importance. It is foundational to the U.S. economy, infrastructure, development in local communities, and accelerating processes of climate change. In political rhetoric, energy conversations oscillate between broad ideas of clean energy technology to opening more and more protected spaces for oil and gas drilling. Tribal communities are often caught in the middle of these political movements. Native leaders, planners, and workers must anticipate energy headwinds while shoring up their sources of development and revenue while at the same time thinking through the politics of climate change and the negative environmental impacts of energy projects, such as new kinds of contamination, threatening limited water sources or climate change. In this presentation, I will offer new research focused on the perspectives of Diné, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and Jicarilla Apache community members in places with long histories of fossil fuel production, primarily oil & gas as well as coal and uranium.

Andrew Curley (Diné) is an Associate Professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation (2023), UofA Press.

Not sure you can watch live on Saturday? Register using an email and a recording of the talk will be sent to you to watch at your leisure.

We hope you will join us!

Amerind Members -Fulton Family Heritage Lunch & Tour

You’re invited to the Fulton Family Heritage Lunch & Tour

Thursday, September 18, 2025 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
Member’s Only, $35.

Reserve your ticket here: Eventbrite

Have you ever wondered more about Amerind’s founding family? Or, want to peek at the historic home behind the museum and art galleries? Now is your opportunity.

You are invited to an insider members-only lunch and tour of the historic Fulton Seminar House, where heritage meets elegance. Members can experience Amerind in an exclusive, intimate setting with a full delicious lunch service and behind-the-scenes tour of the Fulton Seminar House.

Your memorable luncheon begins with a warm welcome in the Spanish Colonial courtyard. Enjoy light bites in the Fulton Seminar House living room while learning about the latest events at Amerind with a backdrop of the panoramic views of Texas Canyon.

A private tour by Willie Adams, great-grandson of Amerind founder William Shirley Fulton, provides unique insights into Amerind’s history peppered with a few entertaining family tales!

Lunch will be served in the family dining room, including entrée with sides and a delectable dessert.

Fulton Family Heritage Luncheon Thursday, September 18, 2025 from  10:00 AM–1:30 PM

Don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity! Reserve your spot today! To purchase your ticket or learn more details, go here

Not a Member? Annual Memberships start at $50, consider joining by going to our membership page here for access to this exclusive Amerind experience.

To find out if your membership is active and up-to date contact our membership services via email at [email protected] or call 520.586.3666.

Reservations and payments are required in advance. All participants, including guests, must have an active membership with Amerind. The cost per person is $35. Luncheon participants are limited to 12 individuals. To find out about availability please click on: https://bit.ly/memberslunchtour

We look forward to sharing this memorable time in celebration of Amerind’s historic home and founding family. If you should have any additional questions or needs, or if you have any dietary restrictions, please  contact Maggie Ohnesorgen, at 520-686-1336 (mobile phone) or email to [email protected].

Amerind Free Online Talk: Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology with Henry Haven

Yaalnii Neé Yani (Navajo Creator) blowing air into the small earth: image by Henry Haven
photo: Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly

Amerind Free Online Talk

Saturday, February 15, 2025

11:00 am (AZ time)

Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology, with Henry Haven 

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline02152025Haven

Join us on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 11:00 am (AZ time) for an online talk with Geologist Henry Haven (Diné).

Henry will be giving a talk on his knowledge of traditional Navajo stories and oral history and the connection to the history and science of geology. Henry compares the four geological eras and geological events in the Four Corners region and lands of the (Diné Biknéyah) to traditional oral stories of the four worlds, four sacred elements, and other cultural concepts, where appropriate. They are not based on science as we know it but reflect an awareness of past geological events. Henry also draws on his education and experience as a geologist. This talk is based on his book entitled “Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology”, which he co-authored with J. Dale Nations, PhD, Geologist, and Max Goldtooth, Sr., a Navajo Medicine Man. (Innovative Ink Publishing, 2023).

Henry Haven is a geologist from the Navajo Nation. He received his master’s in Geology from Northern Arizona University. He retired after many years from the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency. Previously, he worked for the Oil and Gas industry in Texas and the Four Corners area, exploring for oil and gas. Henry continues to consult for the Navajo Nation EPA, helping value and care for the land and water.

If you are unsure if you will be able to watch live at 11 on February 15th, register with an email, and you will be sent the recording of the talk after the talk.

Amerind Autumn Fest

Amerind’s Annual Autumn Fest

Saturday, October 19, 2024

10 am – 4 pm

$10 per vehicle

Join Amerind at our Annual Autumn Fest as we celebrate the history, culture, and arts of the Apache Community.

Rich in tradition, history, and culture, Apache teachers, artists, and singers will hold a day-long cultural celebration at the Amerind Museum in Dragoon, Arizona.

Autumn Fest will feature live performances by musician Matthew Andrae (Jicarilla Apache) accomplished guitarist and singer-songwriter.

Public talks about Apache history from scholars:

Jeff Haozous (Fort Sill Apache) will present the following talks:
“Geronimo’s Road — the removal and ruination of the Chiricahua Apache Tribe”
11:45-12:45 Lecture in the Art Gallery
“Cochise’s Trees — the restoration and return of Chiricahua Apache people”
1:00-2:00 Lecture in the Art Gallery

Marcus C. Macktima,PhD (San Carlos Apache) will present the following talks:

“Civilizing” the Peoples: San Carlos Apache History, 1872-1900″ 

10:30-11:30 Lecture in Art Gallery

Prior to the colloquially named, “Apache Wars,” in the late nineteenth century, the Apachean peoples in Arizona Territory underwent a series of changes to their culture and hierarchies. The placement of Apachean peoples on reservations in the White Mountains and at the San Carlos Agency after the Camp Grant Massacre in 1871, fostered an environment where the federal government replaced the societal structures of the peoples and transformed the people into one that grew reliant on the government for all of their basic needs. Removals of Indigenous peoples throughout Arizona to the San Carlos Reservation altered the local community into a conglomerated peoples that proved problematic for all those involved. Moreover, the discovery of precious natural resources motivated Arizona officials to petition government entities to force a relinquishment of reservation territory for the benefit of the territory. The inclusion of all removed peoples on the reservation in determining such a change to reservation territory proved that the perception of identity was rooted in “reservation” politics, and also provided a means for government agents to accomplish its goals in developing a civilized American West. These changes and experiences primed the reservation for a moment in the 20th century that solidified the modern understanding of the San Carlos Reservation.

“Modernity as a Justification: The Coolidge Dam and Indian Reorganization, 1900-1930s”

2:15-3:15 Lecture in Art Gallery

As Arizona Territory moved into the 20th century, so did the Apachean peoples. The changes brought to the reservation in the 19th century, culminated in further diminishment of the Apachean identity. Furthermore, perceptions of the “San Carlos Indian” stemming from the previously fought “Apache Wars” made the peoples “expendable” in the eyes of the new settler government as water rights and issues for both settlers and the O’odham peoples in Central Arizona came to the forefront. The creation of the Coolidge Dam on the reservation, justified by Carl T. Hayden as a necessity to assist the O’odham people, hindered the ranching and farming capabilities of the San Carlos “Indians.” By the 1930s, the peoples underwent a significant change as they incorporated the Indian Reorganization Act into their new tribal government. Debates on its implications and implementations caused a political upheaval, and upon the establishment of the San Carlos Constitution, the peoples officially recognized all peoples on the reservation, including those removed to the reservation, as “Apache.”

We will have artist booths from various Indigenous artists who will be showing and selling their work, including: Oliver Enjady, paintings, Ishkoten Dougi, paintings/prints, Aaron Freeland, paintings/prints, Jicarilla Apache baskets by Rowena Mora, Jacinda & Adrian Atencio, Beadwork, pottery by Shelden Nunez-Velarde, Jewelry by Matagi Sorensen, Talrick Enjady, paintings/drawings,  Jordan Torres, paintings/prints/metalwork, Leonard Boyd, paintings/sculpture, Randy “Sabba” Sabaque, prints, Roger Sosakete Perkins, paintings/pottery/digital art, Eric & Charlotta Greenstone, jewelry/horsehair pottery, Veronica & Ernest Benally, jewelry, Maria Arvayo, paintings,  Gerry Quotskuyva, paintings/carvings,and last years people choice winners, Priscilla Tacheney, photography, John Suazo, sculpture, Arnold & Karlene Goodluck, jewelry and others!

  • Artist demonstrations in Apache basket weaving by Rowena Mora.
  • Amerind Artist in Residence Akilah Martinez will be showing her latest digital art.
  • Join us for a special free basket-making activity designed for kids. This event offers a unique opportunity for young participants to learn about Apache culture and engage in the timeless art of basketry. Come and discover the beauty and significance of Apache baskets through a hands-on activity.
  • Enjoy two new museum exhibits during Autumn Fest; Museum entry is included with vehicle entry.
  • non-profit booth  Nde’ Bike’eya’ Chiricahua Apache Land Trust

Food: by Shirley’s Native Food and La Unica Mexican Food.

Autumn Fest is Saturday, October 19, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm at the Amerind Museum in Dragoon, AZ. $10 per vehicle.

Please be aware the Amerind Hiking Trails will be closed on October 19th during Autumn Fest. Thank you for your understanding.

Please note if you are interested in coming with a group on a chartered bus from Tohono Chul, visit: https://tohonochul.org/event/amerind-autumn-fest/ for more details.