In 1864, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo making the American Southwest a United States territory where the land would soon be crisscrossed with train tracks and roads, with new economies of health, culture and anthropological tourism, as well as harsh and inhumane impacts to Indigenous people.

Within two decades, the Spanish settlers returned to the Rio Grande Valley, laying claim to the fertile valleys to build haciendas, churches and towns, to be owned by the Spanish crown. This virtual field trip to Los Luceros Historic Site will tell the story.

The new neighbors had so many demands and harsh punishments, the pueblo peoples had enough and organized a revolt, sending the priests and other Europeans packing.

In July of 1540, the Ashiwi people watched as a group of armed strangers – who turned out to be Europeans – came into the desert Southwest, on horseback, and with an agenda of finding the cities of gold they had heard were located in the desert Southwest.

For over 10,000 years, communities grew in the desert, with elaborate roads and structures that remain today. The complexity of Chaco Canyon’s architecture, engineering, and governance demonstrates the sophistication of the Southwestern cultures.

We begin 23,000 years ago at what is today called White Sands National Park with footprints discovered in the sands that tell a story of a mom, her toddler, and their journey avoiding a giant sloth.