We’ve had a great time, but returning home always feels nice. We left Crow Canyon on Saturday morning to begin our trek home. On our way we visited Ute Mountain Tribal Park and spent the night camping there on Saturday. We then headed to Chaco Canyon where we spent the night and got a tour … Keep reading »
It's Not What You Find…
It’s not what you find, it’s what you find out. This has been our mantra at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center this past week. Our week has been one of learning about what archaeologists do and how they represent Native Americans through the questions they ask. On Monday, we did a mock dig in a classroom … Keep reading »
Visiting Mesa Verde
Sunday, after leaving our Najavo host families, we drove to Cortez, Colorado and unloaded our bus at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, where we would spend the week. While there we would learn about the procedure behind archaeology and how the center works with representing Native Americans. On Tuesday morning, we loaded up the Crow Canyon … Keep reading »
Navajo family homestays
As we ended our time at Hopi, we prepared ourselves for a new culture and new relationships. On Friday afternoon, we drove to a Mother’s Day Feast hosted by the Black Mountain Mennonite Church in Navajo Nation. After helping serve dinner, we were divided into groups of two or four and sent out with host … Keep reading »
It's School Day!
During our stay in Hopiland, we have been staying at the volunteer house at the Hopi Mission School, which was established by the Mennonite Mission Board in 1951. It currently houses classes from kindergarten to seventh, but there are hopes to open it to eighth grade in the fall. The long-term plan for the school is … Keep reading »
Living in Hopiland
We arrived at the Hopi Mission School in Kykotsmovi around 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 4th. After getting some dinner at the Hopi Cultural Center, we had an orientation to the religious identity of Hopi from Eric and Jane Polingyouma. Our daily schedule for our time here usually included a lecture in the morning, helping out … Keep reading »
The Land Changes Around Us
We have arrived in the beautiful Southwest, with sweeping landscapes, giant rock formations and spectacular sky views. As we traveled, we noticed the vast fields of corn change into vast arid land, as far as the eye can see. The dirt took on a reddish hue. Soon we started seeing canyons in the distance against … Keep reading »
Can I Take A Picture?
As we began to learn about Native Americans here in the Southwest, photos have played a large role in our conversations about how people are represented. We often assume that photos are an acceptable way to document what is going on around us. Our Western concept of freedom of information is different from many of … Keep reading »
History of the Southwest: Native American Representations
Welcome to Southwest History! During this course, we’ll visit Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico to learn about the history of Native Americans in the Southwest over the past thousand years. We’ll also investigate a critical issue in public history: how a community is represented and who gets to decide what is represented. We will visit museums and heritage … Keep reading »