Spring Break closure week of March 4-8

The Center of Southwest Studies will be closed for Spring Break the week of March 4-8, returning to normal operations on Monday, March 11th.

Happy spring!

America's First Warriors: A Book Review from Delaney Library

The Delaney Library holds many historical works in its collection, and it also holds works on current topics of significance on the landscape and cultures of the Southwest. One such book is

America’s First Warriors: Native Americans and Iraq by Steven Clevenger, which is reviewed by library student worker Stone Tighe:

 America’s First Warriors: Native Americans and Iraq is a collection of interviews and photographs of Native Americans who have served in Iraq. Most of the interviewees are from the New Mexico State National Guard. The writer investigates the traditional culture of the warrior and the way these traditions are carried on by Native American soldiers in today’s army culture. Steven Clevenger, who is Osage, documents major conflicts and his photographs have appeared in Newsweek and CNN. This book gives insight to the duality of the worlds that Native American people navigate between cultural traditions and the modern military. This book is ideal for anyone who is interested in the service of Native Americans in the U.S. military, who often occupy an in-between cultural space.

Alumni event in Flagstaff celebrates CSWS partnership with Museum of Northern Arizona

The Center of Southwest Studies is pleased to announce a Fort Lewis College Alumni Reunion event hosted by the Foundation/ Development Office on Saturday, March 2, 2013 from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ. The Center traveled its very popular Mountain Lion! exhibit to the Museum of Northern Arizona, and in celebration of that partnership, alumni and their families are invited to attend a private reception and tour the exhibit.
Please RSVP to the Foundation Office, 970-247-7177 by February 27th.
at 3101 N Fort Valley Rd  Flagstaff, AZ  (928) 774-5213.
The Museum of Northern Arizona is located at 3101 North Fort Valley Road in Flagstaff. Visit their webpage: http://www.musnaz.org/

A Book Review from Delaney Library

The Delaney Library offers a selection of books that aid professionals, staff, and researchers in their work with the various materials offered in our archival collections, such as photographs. This book review by one of our library student worker covers one such book:

Alan Trachtenberg has put together an impressive book that interprets American life through photography. Reading American Photographs includes works from acclaimed photographers such as Mathew Brady, Timothy O’Sullivan, and Walker Evans. The photographs represented are from as far back as the 1800s and cover 100 years of American history, including two depressions. Trachtenberg does a wonderful job explaining the photographs; Reading American Photographs is a great read and visually interesting. The history of America can be viewed from the lenses of these luminary men, and the photographs are very impactful. The book quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson in Chapter 1 who says most graciously, “Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds.” 

Center hosts exhibit opening and textile road show

The Center of Southwest Studies proudly unveiled its newest exhibit, Woven to Wear: An Exhibition Featuring Navajo and Puebloan Textiles, on Thursday, February 7^th. With close to one hundred people in attendance, the event brought Durango’s “First Thursday Art Walk” to the Fort Lewis College campus for the first time. The evening included a gallery talk by Jackson Clark, a popular and lively speaker on the development of Navajo textiles and other Southwest Arts. Jackson pointed out the contrasts in Puebloan and Navajo weaving, and highlighted the creative aspects of Southwest textile design. Woven to Wear will display through May 2014.

Opening night in the gallery, Thursday, February 7th.

 Jackson Clark speaks to a full house at the Woven to Wear opening reception.

Inside A Room at Walpi, part of the Woven to Wear exhibit

In keeping with the exhibit’s theme, the Center also hosted a Southwest Textile Road Show on Saturday, February 9^th. A number of Center members and friends braved the cold, snowy weather to bring in textiles and rugs for evaluation, or to simply watch attendees’ treasures be presented to textile expert and Toadlena Trading Post owner, Mark Winter. Mark was instrumental in developing the Center’s Durango Collection® and still acts as an advisor to the Center in the collection’s exhibition and development. 

Mark Winter and his wife Linda evaluated rugs and textiles at the Saturday, February 9th
Southwest Textile Road Show.

Individualized evaluations took place throughout the snowy afternoon.

Road shows always have their stars and surprises, and this event was capped with the appearance of a white field banded blanket that fell into the “slave blanket” category. The term “slave blanket” is used to refer to blankets with structural aspects from one culture and design aspects from another, combined in ways that are more integral than borrowed characteristics. This piece, which was found sewn inside a quilt, was likely made on a Hispanic loom, but shows strong Navajo design traits. Its coloration and wool type closely matched one of the Durango Collection® Navajo banded blankets on view, making it a good counterpoint example to that textile. This piece proved worth the trip through the snow for road show participants who had never seen such a textile in person.

Linda inspects the unusual "slave blanket" found sewn inside a quilt.

A Book Review from the Delaney Library

The book collection at the Delaney Library supports the programs of the Center of Southwest Studies and the research needs of its patrons. Some of the books are also on popular topics that community members will find of interest, such as Winging It: A beginner’s Guide to the Birds of the Southwest by family birdwatchers Catherine Coulter, Cynthia Coulter, James Coulter, and Vivian Coulter. It was reviewed by library student worker Tia Flippin:

 

The mother (Vivian) of the Coulter family and her three adult children compile together their memories, resources, and time to produce this light-hearted guide. An educator (Catherine), a physician (Cynthia), and a businessman (James) all add their unique perspectives to the view of a science textbook author and educator (Vivian). It is a colorfully illustrated book that eloquently mashes pictures, diagrams, stories and facts into a quick and easy-to-read guide of 42 common species of birds in the southwest. The bright colors and childhood stories add an almost childlike feel to the book. However, the emboldened terms, real pictures, and various sketches keep this book grounded in the realm of non-fiction.

 
Also check out other related books:   Watchable birds of the Southwest and  Birds of the Southwest.
  
Related material in the archives: M242 Roy E.Wells collection, Series 6, for information concerning the sales, trade, and usage of endangered and exotic birds among Native Americans and M121 Theodore Hetzel field notebooks for an accounts of the 1917 Migratory Bird Act.

Come by Delaney Library to read this and many other books on southwest topics!

For hours and directions: http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/visit.shtml 

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Woven to Wear textile exhibit opens February 7th