SOUTHWEST SEMINARS PRESENTS
TRAVELS WITH A SCHOLAR

RIDING THE RAILS: HARVEY HOMOLOVI AND HOPI WITH DR. CHUCK ADAM
Wednesday September 4 -Sunday, September  8, 2024

Experience the excitement felt by 19^th c. train travelers as we head into Indian Country by rail instead of trail.  Relive the birth of cultural tourism in the Southwest as we follow the route of the legendary Santa Fe Railroad along with the sights and sounds moving past our window as we clickety-clack along the tracks. Our trip begins at the Lamy Station where we board the train in the afternoon. After enjoying dinner on the train as we pass stunning red rock scenery of the Colorado Plateau, we arrive at the historic and beautifully restored La Posada in Winslow, Arizona in the early evening and settling into your room in this renowned Arizona trackside Harvey house. The following days will be filled with a mix of everything Harvey and Hopi.

The second day we journey to Homolovi State Park, an important Ancestral Hopi site, accompanied by Dr. Charles Adams, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Arizona and Curator Emeritus of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum. As a scholar of Hopi culture and history, he oversaw the Homol’ovi Research Program and has worked with and lived among the Hopi. We visit an important cultural site, Chevelon Canyon at Rock Art Ranch, known for its several thousand petroglyphs. In the evening we explore the nooks and crannies of La Posada and learn about the impact of Fred Harvey Company era and the loving restoration of the hotel back to its glory days. We will be joined by Diana Pardue, Curator of Collections at the Heard Museum and Dr. Kathy Howard, co-authors of Over the Edge: Fred Harvey at the Grand Canyon and in the Great Southwest for a stimulating lecture. Learn historic advantages and disadvantages of the Santa Fe railroad and Fred Harvey Company, such as employment of native people as railroad labor and as Harvey Girls. Dinner in the famous Turquoise Room at La Posada where we enjoy fine dining Harvey-style

We spend Friday and Saturday visiting select Hopi villages and meeting important artists to see and learn how they express their culture through traditional arts and crafts. Understand and appreciate traditional and contemporary Hopi arts and crafts, such as overlay silver jewelry, katsina carving, basket-making as we visit the homes and studios of some of our favorite artists.  Visit a clan field and learn about the importance of corn agriculture to Hopi culture and how they adapted over many centuries to this high dry climate. Our days may include visits to Dawa Tribal Petroglyph Park and tour of Walpi while we learn about the importance of maintaining ancestral Hopi traditions, customs, and beliefs while managing rapid cultural change.

Overnight Friday at Hopi Culture Center. Return to Winslow late Saturday afternoon to check into La Posada for one last night and farewell dinner in everybody’s favorite Turquoise Room. Very early Sunday morning we board the train for the return rail trip to our starting point at Lamy with breakfast and lunch on the train as we roll down the tracks toward home.

This five-day, four-night trip includes rail travel to Winslow and back to Lamy, coach transportation for our excursions, 3-nights at La Posada, Winslow, Arizona., 1-night at Hopi Cultural Center, Second Mesa, Arizona. All meals on the train, at La Posada and in Hopi, tours and visits to Hopi artists, Study Leader honoraria and fee for our services. $2400 pp for a Shared Room.  $2750 for a Private Room.

CONTACT: Southwest Seminars at southwestseminar@aol.com to register.