Journey Stories Speaker Series Continues on July 11
Join the Old Trails Museum at La Posada Hotel this Thursday, July 11, at 7 pm for the next free presentation in its Journeys to Winslow Speaker Series. Dr. Evangeline Parsons Yazzie will present “The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868” as part of Winslow’s tour stop for the Smithsonian’s Journey Stories exhibition, on display at La Posada through August 4, 2013. The Winslow Harvey Girls will serve as greeters, and the Old Trails Museum’s companion exhibit, Journeys to Winslow, is also on display.
The presentation will explore the Long Walk, which the Navajo people refer to as Hweeldi. Starting in 1864, the Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Events surrounding the Long Walk have been collected and recorded by many non-Navajo authors in historical literature that excludes the Navajo perspective. Many Navajo elders refer to Hweeldi as if it was the beginning of time, and their version of this unfortunate event has remained mostly as oral history. The recollection of many Navajo elders has been preserved in this presentation as a way to acknowledge the Navajo perspective.
Dr. Evangeline Parsons Yazzie is a Professor of Navajo at NAU. A Navajo woman from the small community of Hardrock on the Navajo Reservation, Dr. Yazzie teaches and writes on behalf of elders as a way to acknowledge and honor her parents for their gift of language, culture-knowledge, and teachings. She is the award-winning author of a bilingual children’s book and co-authored a Navajo language textbook for high school and college students.
Also happening this week in conjunction with Journey Stories is the Winslow Arts Council’s Western Art Show. Come to the Arizona 66 Trading Company at 101 East Second Street from 10 am to 4 pm this Saturday, July 13, to see work by artists including Elizabeth Hardy (handmade jewelry), Gregory and Sheila Long (high-end Navajo art and jewelry), Larry Melendez (traditional Hopi Kachinas), Dale Patton (hand-crafted wood toys), and Gwen Setella (traditional, dung-fired Hopi ceramics). There is no entrance fee, though many pieces will be available for sale. Call 928-289-1100 for more information.
Follow this “News” feed and “like” the Old Trails Museum on Facebook for the latest details on all Journeys to Winslow exhibits and programs. Journey Stories has been made possible in Winslow by the Arizona Humanities Council. Journey Stories is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and State Humanities Councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
