Remembering the Phoenix Indian School with Patty and Rosalie Talahongva (NEA Big Read Phoenix 2021)

Rosalie and Patty Talahongva of the Phoenix Indian School Visitors Center discuss the complicated legacy of the Phoenix Indian School on Saturday, March 6, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Phoenix MST on Zoom as part of the NEA Big Read Phoenix 2021.

Learn more about the NEA Big Read Phoenix by visiting our website at http://piper.asu.edu/nea-big-read.

About the Speakers
Rosalie Talahongva is a member of the Hopi Tribe and the Curator at the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center (PISVC) gallery. As a former student of the Phoenix Indian High School she shares her boarding school experience with visitors to the PISVC. In addition to the gallery the PISVC has rental space and a commercial kitchen which she also oversees. She enjoys outdoor activities and likes to hike in the Grand Canyon.

Patty Talahongva is the former curator of the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center. Ironically, when she interviewed for the position in 2012, the hiring committee had no idea she actually attended the Phoenix Indian School. Obviously she got the job. Also ironically, she landed her first job as a journalist while attending P.I. and that started her career. She left her position as Curator of the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center in 2019 and joined Indian Country Today as the executive producer tasked with launching a once a week national newscast.

About the NEA Big Read
This event was presented as part of the NEA Big Read: Phoenix, celebrating Indigenous literary arts and culture in the Valley with over 25 talks, workshops, performances, book clubs, art exhibits other virtual events inspired by The Round House by Louise Erdrich. The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The NEA Big Read: Phoenix was presented by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University with additional support from Arizona Humanities, Phoenix Public Library, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities Division at ASU, and over 40 authors, performers, and community organizations. Find events, meet our partners, and start reading today at http://piper.asu.edu/big-read.