SOUTHWEST SEMINARS is a self-sustaining educational non-profit organization 501(c)3 that specializes in developing programs in Southwest studies in the fields of history, archaeology, natural sciences and culture which are sensitive to the multi-cultural heritage and community traditions of its people. Its purpose is to educate, foster and encourage awareness, as well as to heighten cultural sensitivity in the Southwest through academic lectures, educational tours and videos of archived lectures.
In 2020 we created a Video Library from our treasured collection of archived lectures with exceptional scholars for you to enjoy during a time of social distancing and the better times that will surely follow. Learn from national and regional scholars as they share their passion and knowledge of their fields of important research. In Voices From the Past discover Spanish Colonial, Mexican-American and Territorial history of New Mexico. In Native Voices we honor our original Native inhabitants, the many indigenous peoples through time, and modern Pueblo descendants. In Ancient Sites Ancient Stories we explore the significance of nearby archaeological sites, cultural anthropology and the sacred landscape. In Mother Earth, Father Sky learn fascinating stories of earth history, geologic processes that formed our scenic landscape, as well diverse natural and environmental sciences. New video lectures from our archived library will be added on a regular basis, with more than 1,200 archived lectures we always have new information to share.
To rent go to southwestseminars.tv
Southwest Seminars hosts Weekly Public Lectures (50 a year) attended by usually 80-150 folks at tribal-owned Hotel Santa Fe and occasionally at the Santa Fe Woman’s Club. The Monday night lectures feature exceptional scholars in the fields of Archaeology, Southwest History, Native Cultures and Natural Sciences who share primary research with an engaged audience of Santa Fe locals and visitors of over 5,000 folks annually. Twenty yeas after our founding in 1997 we have offered over 1,200 public lectures and hundreds of field study tours. Our efforts provide public exposure to scholars of primary research and engage members of our community in important issues.
In 2019 Southwest Seminars conducted Field Study programs accompanied by exceptional scholars. Participants learned about the geologic stories told by the rocks and landscape including ancient oceans, swamps, rivers, and sand dunes in the Navajo Sandstone of Snow Canyon and Zion. While hiking the cultural landscape of Bears Ears, we shared a rare opportunity to walk with respect among ancestral sacred sites, great houses, kivas, towers, shrines and rock art, untethered by paved pathways to marvel about the people who created such beauty. We learned about the past and the present of Picuris Pueblo and the environmental issues they face. We learned about the Ortiz Volcanic system and the geologic story told in the Cretaceous to the Tertiary eras and its eventual demise. We learned about the geologic forces that created the Grand Canyon and its human history while rafting the magnificent Colorado River. Participants witnessed ceremonial dances and visited indigenous friends and artists. Educational programming and lectures were also provided for special academic and private groups.
Please share our lecture and trip schedules and this new video website with your friends. Sign up for our occasional newsletters that keep you informed of upcoming lectures, new tours or new video releases. Thanks for your amazing support and know how much you mean to both of us at Southwest Seminars, a non-profit 501c3 educational organization.
Connie Eichstaedt and Alan Osborne
About Us
Connie Eichstaedt, native New Mexican, is the director of Southwest Seminars develops programs in Southwest Studies through educational lectures and cultural tours for the local community and for organizations such as Archaeology Southwest, Princeton, Yale and UCLA Alumni organizations, The Palace of the Governors, The Archaeological Conservancy, Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the American Orient Express and Tony Hillerman Indian Country Tours. In addition, she has wonderful stories to tell about the experience of building her adobe home in the country
Alan Osborne, co-founder of Southwest Seminars and native of Oklahoma, was educated at Oklahoma State University and completed his Master’s coursework (UNM) in American Indian history and Spanish Colonial borderlands. His academic teaching and public lecturing specialties are American Indian history, Spanish Colonial borderlands frontier history, and Mexican-American territorial history. Alan has presented lectures for American Philosophical Society, Museum of Indian Art and Culture, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, New Mexico Humanities Council, Council on International Relations, The Palace of the Governors, Western United States Attorneys General, Federal Administrative Law Judges, U.S. Senate-Canadian Parliament Bilateral Trade Commission, Renesan, the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Alan was the New Mexico State Director of Elderhostel for 12 years and toured with educational study groups such as Yale Alumni Association, UCLA Alumni Association, Princeton GeoGrads, The American Orient Express/American Museum of Natural History, and Smithsonian Travel Associates.
The History of Southwest Seminars
Southwest Seminars creates programs in Southwest Studies that raise awareness and interest in the cultures and rich history of New Mexico and the Southwest. Founded in 1997 we fulfill our mission in a number of ways. Southwest Seminars sponsors lectures 50 Mondays a year working with regional experts, authors, Native American and Hispanic cultural ambassadors. We provide speakers for community and corporate groups. Southwest Seminars received the 2008 Historic Preservation Award for our community lectures in Anthropology and Archaeology. Endorsed by the Cuarto Centenario Committee in 1998 and by Santa Fe’s 400th Committee in 2008 our lectures have been attended, at last count, by well over 100,000 people.
We created programs in educational travel for academic groups such as: Archaeology Southwest, Amerind Foundation, UCLA Alumni Travel, Yale Alumni Association, Princeton GeoGrads, Association of Federal Law Judges.
Southwest Seminars’ programs frequently honor or benefit the work of other non-profits including; The Archaeological Conservancy, Archaeology Southwest, School for Advanced Research, Indian Arts Research Center, Picuris Pueblo Kiva Restoration Fund, Palace of the Governors, New Mexico History Museum, Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum of New Mexico Foundation, New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Galisteo Basin Coordination Committee, Indigenous Language Institute, Native American Rights Fund, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, American Indian College Fund and Vecinos del Rio. Southwest Seminars, participants and instructors in our programs donated over $45,000 to many of these wonderful groups.
Southwest Seminars has received financial support from the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities, New Mexico Humanities Council, Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, The Lamar Morse Charitable Trust, the City of Santa Fe and participants of Southwest Seminars programs.
Permissions: Most of the photos on this site came from our camera, but a few came from family, friends or students over many years. Beautiful images have come to SWS from Dr. Linda Cordell, John Potter, Dr. Frances Levine, Dr. Wendell Harris, Dr. Kirt Kempter, Sandia Johnson. Michael Buchheit and Richard Moeller, Historical Postcards, Chimney Rock National Monument, Museum of New Mexico. Jesse Nusbaum, James Kaiser, Anglers Guide. Some images have come from the web. If we have missed acknowledging you, contact us for proper credit.
