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Join us Wednesday, August 23^rd for a presentation from author Dr. Dexter Cirillo, as part of our "Year in the Life of the West" summer lecture series. Dr. Cirillo will be speaking on "1868: The Impact of Bosque Redondo on Navajo Silverwork and Southwester Indian Jewelry" at 1:30 pm in the Center's Lyceum Room, #120.

The history of Southwestern Indian jewelry is the story of turquoise and silver. Turquoise, a sacred stone to all of the Southwestern tribes, has been mined in the Southwest for more than 1000 years. Silverwork, on the other hand, is barely 150 years old. 1868 marks the year the Navajos were released from four years of incarceration at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner in southeastern New Mexico. It is also the “official” beginning of Navajo silverwork. Dr. Dexter Cirillo will discuss the relationship between Bosque Redondo and the beginnings of Navajo silverwork within the history of Southwestern Indian jewelry.

Dr. Cirillo is the author of Southwestern Indian Jewelry (Abbeville, 1992) and Southwestern Indian Jewelry – Crafting New Traditions (Rizzoli, 2008), winner of the 2008 New Mexico Book Award in the Arts, among many other publications. She has lectured at numerous museums and universities around the country and is a frequent jewelry judge at the Santa Fe and Heard Museum Indian markets. She holds a Ph.D. from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. She and her husband have recently moved to Durango from Aspen, Colorado.

This lecture is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the summer months.