e-culture: Updates on WTO, other travel, and a kids program
June 4, 2003

IN THIS ISSUE WTO Meeting in Mexico Other Upcoming Travel New Articles On Line Who Wants to Be a Prairie Dog?

I have a few brief updates about the WTO meeting in Mexico, some of our other travel plans, a kids program and a couple of Memorial Day stories that aren't too out of date for you to find interesting. We are behind schedule on the newsletter we planned to deliver on Memorial Weekend. We are working to include a study of participation in cultural organizations with the Survey of Discretionary Time Use/Leisure Interests that we did last fall, along with some other relevant materials when we send it out. Thanks for being patient with us.

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WTO Meeting in Mexico

We are a bit overwhelmed by the amount of interest in serving as observers at the WTO meeting later this summer. Thuy is working on insurance issues and should have more information by the end of the week. This will better determine how many observers we provide. Our specific interest is the concerns of indigenous groups of Mexico and Latin America.


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Other Upcoming Travel

We have a couple of fun and educational trips planned for the summer and fall:

Native American History and Culture in the Southwest, July 30(pm) - August 11
(to include Zuni and inter-tribal activities, and San Lorenzo Feast Day ceremonies)

The Tarahumara of Copper Canyon, November 21(pm) - November 30

There was tremendous response to the radio program I assembled from several archives on historic New Mexico, with particular interest in the Pueblo Revolt and the traditional Feast of San Lorenzo, so I decided to move the Canyon Explorers Adventure to mid fall, and organize an August trip to New Mexico and Colorado instead. This is a great time to participate in many Native American activities and learn about important events in our nationıs cultural history. We will spend several days of the trip hiking in the mountains and visiting lakes and springs -- not a bad way to escape the summer heat.

I've listed some of our planned activities and can provide an itinerary if you're interested.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial
Zuni Arts and Cultural Expo
San Lorenzo Sunset Dances at Picuris Pueblo
La Fiesta de San Lorenzo (on the date of the Pueblo Revolt, August 10) at Bernalillo, New Mexico
Native American summer education programs and dances at the Cortez Cultural Center (This where I met Samuel Sandoval, Navajo Code Talker, last year. I havenıt stopped talking about him since.)

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL SITES
Mesa Verde National Park (Prehistoric Indian Cliff Dwellings and Ruins)
Coloradoıs San Luis Valley and Spanish Peaks (historic Spanish frontier)
Historic Colorado mining and ghost towns
Zuni Pueblo and Hawikuh Ruins

SCENIC AND WILDERNESS AREAS
Great Sand Dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Rocky Mountains Collegiate Peaks Wilderness
Maroon Bells Wilderness
Blue Mesa Reservoir
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Blue Lakes in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness
San Juan Mountains
Bisti Wilderness (Painted Desert)

The very scenic 10-day loop will take us from New Mexico to Trinidad, Colorado, Aspen, Montrose, Durango, back to Gallup, New Mexico, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Our trip costs are based on the actual cost to travel with a small group. We drive from Houston to keep the cost low for students (and those of us on student budgets!), but you may choose to fly to New Mexico and start from Albuquerque.

Get more information on line:
http://www.houstonculture.org/travel


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New Articles On Line

John Schmal provided us with a couple of interesting articles and accounts related to Memorial Day and Hispanics in the military, so if you havenıt browsed our site lately, be sure to look at these:

Hispanics in Military Service
http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/memorial.html

One Familyıs Patriotism
http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/service.html


Death on the Border
Kent Baxter originally wrote this article for Collegium magazine, and with the escalating deaths of undocumented immigrants, we wanted you to be aware of Nestor Rodriguez and the UH Center for Immigration Research. http://www.houstonculture.org/border


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Who Wants to Be a Prairie Dog?

We will present our "Listen for Clues" Summer Kids Program on "Anasazi (the Ancient Puebloans) and the Modern Navajo" with a Navajo folk tale, "Who Wants to Be a Prairie Dog?, " at Koinonia Community Center. Adults are welcome, "If you think you're smart enough to compete with the kids." Let us know if you are interested (713-521-3686), so we can make arrangements for you to attend (and you may be assigned to cookie or punch duty).

Koinonia Community Center, 3229-A Hadley Street, July 16, 3:00pm



Thank you for your interest and, if you haven't already, please consider getting involved with our educational activities.

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M  a  r  k @houstonculture.org


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