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.

Book-Signing and Talk with Authors Henry Haven, Dale Nations, PhD and, Max Goldtooth, Sr.

Saturday, November 23, 2024

11 am – 12 pm

Join us for a book signing with authors Heny Haven and Dale Nations, PhD & Max Goldtooth, Sr., who will be signing their book “Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology” by Dale Nations, Henry Haven & Max Goldsmith, Sr.

Geologist Henry Haven (Dine’) will also give a talk.

The three authors of this book vary greatly in backgrounds and experience but share in the love of the land and a desire to impart their knowledge of it. Comparisons are made of the rock record of geologic events known to geologists, to the legends in stories known to traditional Navajos. Ages and environments of deposition of stratigraphic units progress from the two billion-year-old rocks that are exposed in the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon to succeeding rock units known to exist on and under the lands of Dine ‘Bikeyah across the Colorado Plateau that were formed a few million years ago or less. Geologists use observed fossil records and other geologic events to establish a Universal Geologic Time Scale that consists of four Eras of geologic time: the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. Navajo medicine men tell stories of their vision of the First Dark World, the Second Blue World, the Yellow Third World, and the Fourth White World. The stories show a major cycle of life beginning and extinction of variety of different species in the four worlds as does the geologic history in the four geologic eras.

*This event is included with Museum admission

Geology Walking Tour at Amerind with George Davis, PhD

Balancing granite boulders at sunrise at the Amerind Museum Campus

Geology Walking Tour at Amerind with George Davis, PhD

 Rescheduled to April 2, 2022, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

When people in Tucson learn that I am a geologist, I not uncommonly find myself being asked ‘question-after-question’ about certain landscapes in southern Arizona that arouse curiosity.  At the very top of the list is Texas Canyon. “Where did those big rounded boulders come from?”  “How did they get that way?”  “What kind of rock is it?”  “Why is the landscape so different?” During a two hour walk on the Amerind Museum property we should be able to cover those questions, and more. We will learn that the nature of the Texas Canyon landscape is directly related to the sequential history of intrusion, hardening, fracturing, and erosion of granite. Granite is the dominant rock in the continental crust of Earth, and thus it will be good to see and touch our foundation, including its essential mineralogy. Normally granite is out-of-sight ‘at depth,’ completely covered. We could not run this trip in Kansas, for example. You might find that one of the most interesting parts of the Texas Canyon story relates to the nature of the plate tectonic setting around 50 million years ago, for western North America plate tectonics caused the granite to be intruded in the first place.

This geology walk will be carried out on flat ground, over a distance of a mile or two.  Imagine a slowly moving conversation, with on-the-spot white board drawings to help clarify things. We will conclude at Amerind’s picnic area and participants are encourage to bring a sack lunch to enjoy after the tour. Wear comfortable shoes, preferably shoes/boots with some ankle support. I never recommend shorts on off trail hikes; scrubby Sonoran Desert vegetation does a job on your legs. Be sure to wear sun protection and bring water.

George Davis is Regents Professor and Provost Emeritus, The University of Arizona.   He is a field-oriented structural geologist whose main focus has been on the tectonics of the Colorado Plateau and the Basin & Range provinces, and geoarchaeology in the Peloponnesos of Greece. George joined the faculty of the Department of Geosciences at The University of Arizona in 1970, and over the years has held a number of academic leadership positions, including Department Head of Geosciences and Executive Vice President and Provost.  George received his BA degree from The College of Wooster, Ohio, his MA degree from The University of Texas, Austin, and his PhD degree from The University of Michigan.  He received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Carleton College in 2012, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from The College of Wooster in 2016.  His honors, awards, and professional leadership contributions include the Lindgren Citation Award for Excellence in Research (Society for Economic Geologists); selection as among 100 most distinguished PhD recipients of The University of Michigan; UA Geosciences Outstanding Faculty Award; Chair of National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Atmospheric, Earth, and Ocean Sciences; Career Contribution Award in the Structure-Tectonics Division of the Geological Society of America; President of the Geological Society of America; and National Recipient of the Inspire Integrity Award conferred by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Current projects include a 4th edition of his textbook, “Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions.”

The price is $20 per person. The tour will be limited to 20 guests, with 8 spaces available to Amerind members at no cost. Space is limited and is on a first-come-first-served basis for both paid and free slots. Amerind members must call 520-586-3666 to reserve their free space.

To purchase a ticket visit: https://bit.ly/AmerindTour011522

To reserve one of the limited free Amerind members’ tickets, please call 520-586-3666.