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The
Mesa Verde Association is a joint
membership program of the Mesa Verde
Museum Association and the Mesa Verde
Foundation. Your MVA membership supports
both of these 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organizations.
The Mesa Verde Museum Association
(tax ID 84-1404606) provides educational
and interpretive material to visitors
of Mesa Verde National Park through
an active publishing program and the
operation of retail bookstores online,
in the park, and in Cortez, CO. Our
services enhance the visitor experience
and promote stewardship of Mesa Verde's
world-renowned archeological resources
and natural landscapes. Proceeds from
all Association operations are donated
to the park's interpretive, research,
and education programs.
The Mesa Verde Foundation (tax ID
84-046967) funds capital improvements,
projects, and educational endeavors
for Mesa Verde National Park. Our
projects include construction of a
new Visitor and Research Center near
the park's entrance and remodeling
the existing Far View Visitor Center
into a Tribal Cultures Center to enhance
understanding of the connection between
the Ancestral Puebloans and contemporary
Native American tribes.
You are receiving this email because
you are a member of the Mesa Verde
Association or because you purchased
a product from the Mesa Verde Museum
Association. To ensure that you continue
to receive emails from us, add info@mesaverde.org
to your address book today.
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Welcome to "Verde Views," the e-newsletter
for Mesa Verde Association members and friends.
This periodic publication will keep you
informed about Association news and events,
park happenings, new products and special
sales.
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Free Four Corners
Lecture Series
Begins May 6
The 2011 edition of the free Four Corners
Lecture Series kicks off on Friday, May
6, at 7:00 p.m. with a talk by Ben Nuvamsa
at the Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National
Park. Ben is the CEO of KIVA Institute,
LLC, and will talk about the various clans
that migrated to the Hopi villages, through
Mesa Verde and other parts; the roles
and responsibilities of the clans; how
they are really all related; and how these
relationships are still very much alive.
Additional programs this month include
archeologist Emily Brown discussing “Instruments
of Power: Prehistoric Musical Instruments
of the American Southwest” (May 13,
7:00 p.m. Far View Lodge, MVNP), Tony
Apa and “Grouse of Southwestern Colorado”
(May 14, 8:00 p.m., Cortez Elks Lodge),
Solstice Project founder Anna Sofaer and
geologist and archeologist Rich Friedman
sharing “New Insights into Chaco
Roads with New Technology” (May 15,
1:00 p.m., Anasazi Heritage Center), and
“Pigments of the Imagination: Basketmaker
Paintings in Canyon del Muerto” with
archeologist Lawrence Loendorf (May 22,
1:00 p.m., Anasazi Heritage Center).
The complete Four Corners Lecture Series
schedule is available at www.mesaverdeinstitute.org
and is a collaboration of the Anasazi
Heritage Center, the Cortez Cultural Center,
the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,
Mesa Verde National Park, and MVMA’s
Mesa Verde Institute, along with ARAMARK
Mesa Verde, KSJD Dryland Community Radio,
and the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado
Archeological Society.
The 2011 Four Corners Lecture Series
is dedicated to the late Audrey D. Coleman,
a founder of the Four Corners Lecture
Series who worked tirelessly to expand
and promote the series. As a 19-year employee
of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,
Audrey was a leader in administration
and development who left behind a legacy
of accomplishments upon her retirement
in October 2010. She was a key fund-raiser
and event planner, known for her attention
to detail and artistic flair, and she
developed many friendships and close ties
to community members and Crow Canyon staff
and supporters. She passed away on December
19, 2010. WE hope you’ll join us
in honoring Audrey’s memory by attending
a lecture series program this year.
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Space Still Available
on Some Backcountry Hikes!
The Mesa Verde Institute (an educational
program of the Mesa Verde Museum Association)
is partnering with the National Park Service
to offer exciting new visitor experiences
again this summer. The free Yucca House
National Monument tour in April was
well-received, and a few spaces remain on
the May 18 and August 17 tours. While Yucca
House is open to the public, the sprawling
unexcavated Pueblo III site can be challenging
to find and to understand without the help
of a trained professional. For our Institute
programs, MVNP archeologist Julie Bell provides
a historical overview of the monument and
then leads participants through many of
the site’s remarkable features.
Starting Memorial Day weekend will be
a two-hour ranger-led hike into Oak
Tree House and Fire Temple every Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday morning, continuing
through September 3, for just $20 per
person. Oak Tree House was last opened
to the public during the park’s 2006
centennial celebration, but Fire Temple
has not been open since the 1930s! Fire
Temple is also the subject of plaster
conservation research being conducted
by Frank Matero, a professor of Architecture
in the Historic Preservation program at
the University of Pennsylvania’s
School of Design. Hike participants will
see Fire Temple’s remarkable examples
of Ancestral Puebloan plaster work. You’ll
even be able to chat with the researchers
if they are working in the site during
your hike!
Registration, schedule, fees, and program
details for all MVI hikes are posted on
www.mesaverdeinstitute.org;
you must register online in advance to
participate. We hope you’ll take
advantage of these rare opportunities
to visit spectacular archeological sites
this year!
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New Mesa Verde Webcam
View
Need a Mesa Verde fix, but just can’t
get away from your computer? See what’s
happening on the park’s southwest horizon
by visiting the new US Geological Survey
webcam that monitors regional airborne dust.
Click here
to view the image that updates automatically
every 6 to 15 minutes.
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Indigenous Materials
Institute Coming to Four Corners
The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries,
and Museums (ATALM) will be convening an
Indigenous Materials Institute in the Four
Corners area of Colorado, June 5-8, 2011.
Co-hosted by the Center of Southwest Studies
at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado,
and the Southern Ute Cultural Center and
Museum in Ignacio, Colorado, this three-day
institute will focus on challenges that
are specific to the care of indigenous materials
found in archives, libraries, and museums
– artifacts, collectibles, photographs,
recordings, maps, and much more.
Participants to the three-day Indigenous
Materials Institute include staff and
volunteers from tribal and non-tribal
archives, libraries, and museums located
throughout the nation, along with college
students pursuing degrees and research
in these fields. The wide variety of sessions
and hands-on workshops are designed to
serve participant needs in order to provide
the best possible stewardship for indigenous
materials in their collections or care.
These programs range from caring for and
storing textiles to creating exhibits;
starting a tribal museum to locating funding;
and recording oral histories to using
digital technology.
Located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation,
the Sky Ute Casino and Resort in Ignacio
will serve as the host hotel while providing
classrooms and venues for evening events,
as will the Center of Southwest Studies
and the Southern Ute Cultural Center and
Museum.
ATALM is a non-profit organization funded
through grants by the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) of Washington,
D.C. and housed at the Oklahoma Department
of Libraries. The organization is built
on the foundation of earlier efforts beginning
in 2002 with the first National Conference
in Mesa, Arizona and sponsored by Arizona
State Museum and the Arizona State Library,
Archives, and Public Records. Subsequent
conferences, workshops, and institutes
have been held nationally in 2005, 2007,
2008, 2009, and 2010.
For more information regarding registration
and scholarships, go to www.atalm.org,
phone 405-522-3515 or email atalminfo@gmail.com.
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Heritage Preservation
Month Activities at Aztec Ruins National
Monument
Join Aztec Ruins National Monument for its
first academic forum in the Great Kiva on
Friday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m.! Aztec Ruins
was the largest Ancestral Puebloan community
in the Animas River Valley and the largest
Chacoan great house outside of Chaco Canyon.
It is monumental in scale, both in its designed
landscape as well as in its individual structures.
This planned community is characterized
by a symmetrical layout, a unique complex
of architectural features that includes
rare tri-walled structures, and unusually
well-preserved masonry and wood structures,
artifacts, earthworks, and other remains
from the late A.D. 1000s to 1300. Past archeological
debates have characterized Aztec Ruins as
a Chacoan outlier, or more recently, as
the major center of a post-Chaco world.
The upcoming discussion, “In the Center
of What? Perspectives on Aztec from Outside
the Animas,” will offer a rousing interaction
among archeologists sharing scholarly and
diverse perspectives as they explore the
complex identity and place of Aztec Ruins
as viewed from surrounding sites in the
Four Corners area. For more details on participants
and other information, see the Schedule
of Events at http://www.nps.gov/azru.
During Heritage Preservation Month, visitors
are also invited to an off-trail guided
tour of the East Ruin archeological site
complex. The additional East Ruin tours
are free but require reservations. The
park entrance fee is waived for the East
Ruin tours, but does apply for those people
who would like to visit the self-guided
trail through site. The tours will begin
at the Visitor Center located at 84 County
Road 2900 (Ruins Road), north of Aztec
off Hwy 516 (Aztec Blvd). East Ruin tour
dates are Sunday, May 15, 2:00 pm. and
Sunday, May 22, 2:00 p.m. For more information
about tour reservations and the lecture
series, call Tracy Bodnar at 505-334-6174
or email tracy_bodnar@nps.gov.
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Show your support for your favorite nonprofit
park association with a stylish new cap
that features the striking black-on-white
Mesa Verde Museum Association logo. You’ll
be the envy of your peers when sporting
this headgear, available in a traditional
ball-cap style as well as a new military
style cap. The ball cap is made by Eco3
of organic cotton, and comes in natural,
choclate and olive for $19.99. The military
cap is 100% cotton made by Otto Collection
and is available in charcoal, chocolate
and nave for $17.99. Both feature adjustable
headbands to fit most sizes. Click here
to order yours today.
As always, Mesa Verde Association members
receive a 20% discount on all purchases
when you order by phone or shop in our
stores. Place your order today at 800-305-6053
or 970-529-4445. Not a member yet? It’s
easy to join! Just click here
or call us.
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