Description
Join us in the celebration of this milestone commemorating 40 years of partnership, collaboration, and support. We are deeply grateful to the Crow Canyon community for the kindness and generosity that allows us to celebrate, appreciate, and reciprocate the wisdom and perspective we have received from Indigenous people, communities, and cultures. As we look ahead, we eagerly accept the responsibility and challenge to embark on a future that optimizes our unique gifts in service to humanity.
Highlights
- Featured speakers include Joy Harjo, Muscogee Nation, Poet Laureate (2019–2022), and Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages
- Local field trips discussing current Crow Canyon lab and field research projects
- Presentations and campus tours focused on archaeology and experiential education
- Native American demonstrations of traditional skills and arts
- Panel discussions about Crow Canyon’s past, present, and future
What to Expect
There are optional field trips taking place on Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon prior to the official start of the conference. The conference begins on Thursday evening at 5:00 PM, with a poetry reading and book signing by Joy Harjo, 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, from 2019–2022, and 2022 recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award. The event takes place at the Cortez Conference Center (adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express). After a short break, allowing time for the staff to reset the room, there will be a reception for Joy Harjo and all guests with heavy hors d’oeuvres served.
Daytime events on Friday and Saturday will be held at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, beginning at 9:00 AM each morning. Crow Canyon archaeologists and educators, together with invited scholars and Native partners, will be giving lectures, panel discussions, walks, and demonstrations on a variety of topics related to Crow Canyon’s past, present, and future. Topics include the future of archaeology and changing values, current events in Chaco and Bears Ears, plant walk and wild food tasting, 40 years of research, education and American Indian partnerships at Crow Canyon, and zooarchaeology show and tell.
Friday’s dinner will be served at the Cortez Conference Center, followed by a presentation featuring Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) --- an Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages.
Saturday evening’s activities will be held on the Crow Canyon campus. This will be a time to celebrate 40 years – with live music, Native American dancing, a selection of Indigenous cuisine and Southwestern fare, beer, wine, and good conversation around the campfire.
Annular solar eclipse on Saturday, October 14
On October 14, 2023, the Moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun — but this time it will not quite completely cover the solar disk, instead turning it into a thin "ring of fire." Pending clear skies, this annular (Latin for ring-shaped) eclipse will be visible from the Crow Canyon campus. The partial eclipse begins at 9:11 AM, with the full eclipse visible between 10:31 and 10:34. The partial eclipse ends at 12:03 PM. We have built a half hour of viewing time into our Saturday schedule (10:15 to 10:45) and we will have safety glasses available for those who want to view the eclipse.
Field trips are optional and space is limited. Advance reservations are required.
All field trips begin in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express (HIX) and are offered twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Morning field trips gather at 8:30 AM. Vans return to HIX for a sack lunch. Afternoon field trips gather at 12:45 PM, with prompt departure at 1:00 PM.
Each field trip costs $50 and includes a sack lunch.
Field Trip #1 Sandal Biographies Project at Mesa Verde's Visitor and Research Center: Embark to Mesa Verde National Park’s Visitor and Research Center for a behind-the-scenes curation room tour, where you will have the opportunity to explore Ancestral Pueblo footwear traditions with Dr. Ben Bellorado, a leading expert in the region. This is a rare chance to examine an assortment of Ancestral Pueblo sandals at the center of Crow Canyon’s recent Sandal Biographies Project, a collaborative effort to integrate perspectives of Indigenous weavers and archaeologists to develop multivocal narratives about the importance of footwear in the ancient Pueblo world. We will discuss how the analysis of sandal production and wear patterns reveals the complex histories of the ways footwear ties all humans to physical aspects of life, such as dancing or walking, as well as social dimensions of identity, status, and community. This trip involves standing for an hour and a half.
Field Trip #2 Survey and Recon at Hawkins Preserve: Crow Canyon archaeologists Steve Copeland and Dave Satterwhite will talk about the survey and reconnaissance conducted to date and the surprising range of site types that are present reflecting use of the locale by Pueblo, Ute, Navajo, and Euro-American peoples. Expect a two-hour tour that includes walking on and off trail and light scrambling up and down a sandstone escarpment.
Field Trip #3 Farming for the Future at Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Farm and Ranch: Visit the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Farm and Ranch Enterprise at the foot of Sleeping Ute Mountain. We will see how state-of-the-art technology in agriculture is helping the tribe raise 700 head of cattle, and grow, process, and store alfalfa and non-GMO corn on 7,700 acres. Rebecca Hammond, Crow Canyon’s American Indian Initiatives Manager and Ute Mountain Ute tribal member, will lead our trip and share with us some of the insights on how the Tribe has been so successful. This trip involves standing and walking for an hour and a half.
Field Trip #4 Settlement and Migration at Yellow Jacket Pueblo: Nestled in sage-covered farmlands next to Yellow Jacket Canyon, this Ancestral Pueblo village attracted regional communities throughout the Pueblo II-III periods to form the largest community center in the Mesa Verde region. Join Crow Canyon scholars Susan Ryan and Grant Coffey in a walking tour of the site, as they shed light on how this important center ties into the larger Mesa Verde world and the mass migration at the end of the 13th century A.D. Expect hiking through sage-covered ground with bits of rocky terrain and light bushwhacking.
For more information contact Jeanne Becker at 970-564-4377 or jbecker@crowcanyon.org.
Is this program right for me?
Conference registration fee is $325, $100 of which is not refundable.The conference fee includes lunches, presentations and activities on Friday and Saturday, plus evening meals and entertainment from Thursday evening through Saturday evening. The conference fee does not include lodging. Full payment is due at the time of reservation. A $225 refund will be issued if cancellation is received by 5 PM on Thursday, October 5. No refund is available for those who cancel after October 5.
Field trips are $50 each. Payment in full is due at the time of reservation. Full refund will be issued if cancellation is received by 5 PM on Thursday, October 5. No refund is available for those who cancel their field trip reservation after October 5.
You will receive an invoice within 2 business days reflecting your field trip and meal choices. The invoice is payable upon receipt. Field trip selections will be filled in the order in which they are received.
Guests are responsible for their own reservations and for payment of their rooms.
Three hotels are located in the immediate vicinity of the Cortez Conference Center: Holiday Inn Express, Baymont by Wyndham Court, and Hampton Inn Mesa Verde. Blocks of rooms are being held at each hotel for your convenience. Guests must contact the hotels directly to reserve and pay for their rooms.
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS-MESA VERDE: A block of 40 rooms with queen beds is being held at the Holiday Inn Express. You must make your reservation by Monday September 11, 2023 in order to obtain the conference rate of $130 per night. Breakfast is included in the cost of the room. Guests wanting to book online may use the following link: https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/cortez/cezex/hoteldetail?cmmmc=GoogleMaps--EX--US--CEZEX.
Enter the dates you want to stay (between Oct 11 and Oct 15), choose “group rate” in the drop-down box, and enter the code CCA. Reservations may be made by calling the hotel’s direct number (970-565-6000). Reference the block name (Crow Canyon 40th Anniversary) at the time of reservation to receive the conference rate. Reservations may be cancelled without penalty up to 6:00 pm on the day before arrival.
BAYMONT BY WYNDHAM COURT: A block of 30 rooms is being held at the Baymont by Wyndham Court. You must make your reservation by Monday September 25, 2023 in order to obtain the conference rate of $105 (for a single) to $110 (for a double) per night. Continental breakfast is included in the cost of the room. There are no penalties for individual cancellations up to 48 hours prior to arrival. Reservations may be made by calling the hotel directly at 970-565-3400 and ask for the group rate for the Crow Canyon 40th Anniversary, or book using the following link: http://www.wyndhamhotels.com/hotels/33417?checkInDate=10/11/2023&checkOutDate=10/15/2023&groupCode=CGCROW
HAMPTON INN MESA VERDE: A block of 20 rooms (mix of king and standard queen) is being held at the Hampton Inn Mesa Verde. You must make your reservation by Sunday September 10, 2023 in order to obtain the conference rate of $155 per night. Breakfast is included in the cost of the room. To avoid a cancellation fee, written notice or email of cancellation must be received by midnight on September 10, 2023. To reserve a room, call the hotel front desk (970-564-5924) and ask for the group rate for the Crow Canyon 40th Anniversary.
HOUSING ON CAMPUS: If you are a former staff or intern or if you are involved in the conference as a speaker or presenter, you may request free lodging on the Crow Canyon campus.
For more information contact Jeanne Becker at 970-564-4377 or jbecker@crowcanyon.org.
