January 16, 2009
Terry Tempest Williams, well-known writer and naturalist whose writing explores relationships between environmental issues and social justice, will be reading selections from her new book Finding Beauty in a Broken World on February 9 at 7:30 p.m. at High Country Conference Center on the campus of Northern Arizona University.
Hosted by the Grand Canyon Trust and the Museum of Northern Arizona, the public is cordially invited to attend this free literary event.
Williams is the recipient of the Grand Canyon Trust’s Trees Fellowship, which was established to foster broader public appreciation of canyon country conservation challenges by publicly exploring the steps society must take to sustain the health of this magnificent part of the world.
Always an advocate for a just relationship between the natural world and humankind, Williams has broadened her concerns to include a reconfiguration of family and community in her search for a deeper understanding of what it means to be human in an era of physical and spiritual fragmentation.
Williams is a Utah native, descended from five or six generations of Mormon pioneers. “I write through my biases of gender, geography, and culture,” she says. “I am a woman whose ideas have been shaped by the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau.”
Williams is perhaps best known for her book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (Pantheon, 1991), in which she chronicles the epic rise of the Great Salt Lake and the flooding of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in 1983, alongside her mother’s diagnosis with ovarian cancer, believed to be caused by radioactive fallout from the nuclear tests in the Nevada desert in the 1950s and 60s. Refuge is now regarded as a classic in American nature writing, a testament to loss and the earth’s healing grace.
Williams’ other books include Red: Patience and Passion in the Desert, 2001, a collection of essays; An Unspoken Hunger; Desert Quartet: An Erotic Landscape; Coyote’s Canyon; and Pieces of White Shell: A Journey to Navajoland. She is also the author of two children’s books: The Secret Language of Snow; and Between Cattails.
In 2004 Terry Tempest Williams published The Open Space of Democracy, in which she defined how we can break down the partisanship and polarization in our society so that we can come together to solve the political and environmental problems which threaten our democracy and our land.
Contact Darcy Allen at Grand Canyon Trust at 774-7488 or dallen@grandcanyontrust.org; or Cheryl Blume at the Museum of Northern Arizona at 774-5213, ext. 219 or cblume@mna.mus.az.us for more information on the event.
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January 8, 2009
2009 HERITAGE PROGRAM: Connecting through Stories and Art
MNA’s four festivals continue to foster communication and create connections through the exchange of stories and artistic expression between Colorado Plateau cultures. An in-depth mix of art, music,
dance performances, and Heritage Insights presentations focus on authentic expressions of cultural traditions, creating a community of cultural understanding and a forum for dialogue.
19th Annual Zuni Festival of Arts and Culture
Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24
The Museum of Northern Arizona partners with the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center and Zuni artists for this festival of Zuni life, language, and creativity. The finest Zuni artists travel to Flagstaff to share their art, music, and dance. Prepare to be amazed and inspired by weavers, inlay jewelers, fetish carvers, and painters. See historic film footage and learn about Zuni farming practices.
76th Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture
Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5
Award-winning Hopi artists, carvers, painters, jewelers, potters, quilters, and basket and textile weavers bring the Hopi mesas to Flagstaff during the Fourth of July weekend. Watch Hopi pottery being shaped and painted. Walk the Museum’s Rio de Flag Nature Trail with a Hopi medicine woman. Take part in insightful discussions about the Hopi values of humility, cooperation, respect, balance, and earth stewardship.
60th Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture
Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2
The largest tribe in the Southwest, the Navajo or Diné are known for their spectacular weavings and innovative expressions of traditional art forms. More than 65 of the best Navajo artists share their work with visitors during this weekend. Enjoy music, dancing, storytelling, and art demonstrations. Hike with an ethnobotanist and learn the Native uses of local plant life at this colorful and exciting event.
6th Annual Celebraciones de la Gente
Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25
The Museum comes to life for Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, an ancient Meso-American holiday held throughout Mexico, Latin America, and the Southwestern United States. This event is created in partnership with the Flagstaff Hispanic pioneers, Nuestras Raices. Musicians, ballet folklorico dancers, traditional and contemporary Latino artists, and ofrendas (altars) are all part of this colorful celebrationonnecting through Stories and Art
Museum of Northern Arizona
3101 N. Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 • 928/774-5213 • musnaz.org
Festival admission: $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, $4 Native people, $4 children (7–17)
Attend the Friday night Members’ Previews by becoming a Museum member
High resolution jpg images are available by e-mail.