Calendar

The Amerind Foundation organizes many events, workshops and cultural exploration tours throughout the year. Most of the events are planned well in advance, and you will see them listed here, but occasionally a presentation or demonstration will happen with little advance notice. We will try to put information about these more spontaneous events on our home page, so be sure to check there as well as on this page.

Some of our Amerind events are open to the general public, but spaces in our workshops and on our tours are reserved for our members. If you are not a member, please join us so you can participate in these exceptional programs.

Amerind workshops are mostly taught by well known, respected Native artists, and they are usually limited to 10-15 participants. The tours are led by Amerind staff and area Native and non-Native experts, and most fill up quickly. Depending on the nature and location of the tour, the number of participants has ranged from 10 to 40. During the past years we have returned almost annually to Casas Grandes and Mata Ortiz, in Chihuahua, Northern Mexico, an area the Amerind has been involved with for over 50 years.  Amerind’s director, John Ware, has organized annual cultural exploration tours to investigate the Pueblo world. Amerind’s first tour to Copper Canyon took place in fall 2008, and on the schedule in 2009, for the first time, was a tour to some of the Native artists and trading posts in the Four Corners region.

Because of limited spaces on our tours and workshops, notices are sent to members before they get placed on this website. Exhibit openings, and other events will be posted here simultaneously with the notices being sent to members. We will soon be posting additional information about our 2009-2010 schedule of botany walks, brown bags, and other Amerind programs. Check back soon!

For more information about any of our programs and to register please call 520.586.3666 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

2009-2010 Events, Tours, and Workshops

November 7-8, 2009
Landscape and the Scope of the Land, a photography workshop with JAY DUSARD. Jay studied with Ansel Adams and Frederick Sommer and is considered one of the great black and white print makers. Probably best know for his images of cowboys and western landscapes, Jay's work has been published and exhibited in collections world wide. Jay will work with participants on the technical and aesthetic aspects of the photographs they bring to critique as well as the images they make during the two scheduled field sessions. Group size is limited to 12 participants.

December 5, 2009
An all-day pottery demonstration by famed Hopi potter WHITE SWANN. Participants will observe and learn about every step in the pottery making process - from digging clay and pigments, to shaping, decorating, and firing the finished vessel. Along the way you will gain insights into Hopi life and culture from this delightful potter. Group size is limited to 15.  A fee of $85 (non-members add $30) incudes snacks and lunch at the Amerind.

December 19, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Maya Weaving Cooperatives: a presentation and sale of items from Maya weaving cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico, with anthropologist CHRISTINE EBER, Ph.D.(NMSU).

February 6, 2010
A Celebration of Yaqui Culture. See schedule and details under Amerind's home page.

February 9-10, 2010
Native Artists Near and Not So Far Away - a tour with Mark Bahti. Mark will introduce tour participants to Native artists working in Tucson, Sells, and the Gila River area. This tour is full.

February 14, 2010, 2:00 pm.
Bats at the Amerind.  At least 6 different species of bats fly at the Amerind. Come learn about these amazing flying mammals. Karen Krebbs, bat specialist from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, will be speaking and bringing live bats to show. She'll also be helping us locate sites for Amerind's bat house project. Learn how you can sponsor a bat house at the Amerind!

February 20, 2010, 2:00 pm.
The Sweet Smell of Home: the Life and Art of Leonard Chana.  A reading and book signing of this wonderful book about Tohono O'odham artist, Leonard Chana, by the authors, Susan Lobo and Barbara Chana.

February 27, 2010, 2:00 pm.
Exhibit Opening: Current Southwest Archaeology. Amerind's latest traveling exhibit featuring four new archaeological studies: Foot Racing and Religon in Prehistoric Central Arizona; Keeping Up with the Joneses in the Old Pueblo; Women and the Agricultural Transition:Dental Health and Early Farming Females; A Towering Enigma: A Discussion of Pueblo III Towers in Southeast Utah. Presentations followed by light refreshements.

March 1, 2010, noon
Brown Bag Presentation on Crow and Omaha Kinship by participant(s) in Amerind's professional seminar.

March 7, 2010, 10:00-4:00
Seri Indian basket makers come to the Amerind.  Come learn about the Seri, who live mostly on the mainland coast of the Gulf of California. Their baskets and ironwood carvings are wonderful. There will be demonstrations, informal presentations, and items for sale. Interpreters will be on hand.

March 8-15, 2010
Exploring the Ancient Maya Tour.  Join the Amerind as we explore the world of the Ancient Maya. A tour to monumental religious sites and once vibrant commercial centers in Belize and Guatemala. Click here to download the brochure.

March 13, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Stories and Songs From My Country.  A presentation by anthropologist Beth O'Leary (NMSU) on her ethnographic collaboration with First Nations Elder Marge Jackson, from the Yukon. Dr. O'Leary will also share some of Marge's stories and songs with the audience.

Please check back soon for additional information about our workshops and activities.