The Mesa Verde Foundation strives to provide exciting and educational experience through our tours and events. Tours provide those seeking deeper experiences at Mesa Verde National Park and the greater Ancestral Puebloan region with in-depth experiences. Our events provide ways for people to engage further with the Foundation in communities throughout the Four Corners region.
After 25 years, Mesa Verde National Park has an updated visitor film focusing on contemporary Pueblos’ and Tribes’ connections to Mesa Verde as told by members of those communities. “Footprints of our Ancestors: Mesa Verde National Park” is a short film produced by Boyd Productions and narrated by Robert Mirabal of Taos Pueblo. It also includes interviews with Governor Vallo, of Acoma Pueblo, and Madeline Naranjo, of Santa Clara Pueblo.
The film’s creation included over two years of planning, filming, interviewing and consulting with the Park’s 26 affiliated tribes. It is the result of a collaboration between the Mesa Verde Foundation, Mesa Verde National Park, and the State Historical Fund of Colorado.
To celebrate, the Mesa Verde Foundation is hosting a film premiere event on June 2nd, 2023, 6:00 p.m., at the Ft. Lewis College Ballroom, 100 Rim Drive, Durango, CO. Join us as we present “Footprints of Our Ancestors: Mesa Verde National Park.” Meet us on the red carpet for your chance to see the film before it is available to Park visitors!
The film premiere is a fundraising event to benefit the Mesa Verde Foundation. The event will include a cocktail hour, appetizers, and the first public viewing of the film.
JOIN US for the Mesa Verde Foundation Fall Tour!
Where: Mesa Verde National Park
When: September 8th-11th, 2023
The Mesa Verde Foundation is hosting our annual behind-the-scenes tour September 8th-11th, 2023. You are invited to join us for this once in a lifetime experience!
Join tour leaders Dr. Andrew Gulliford, Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis College, and Christopher Lewis, expert basket weaver and fiber artisan of the Zuni Pueblo, for a four-day tour of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde, one of 12 original UNESCO World Heritage sites, is home to thousands of ancient artifacts of Ancestral Puebloan tribes. During these four days, you will visit several cliff dwellings, and get an in depth look at the history of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived at Mesa Verde. The event includes guided tours of some of Mesa Verde’s most iconic sites, lodging (based on double-occupancy), six meals, an exclusive reception with the Park Superintendent at the superintendent’s residence that Jesse Nusbaum built on the rim of Spruce Tree Canyon in 1921, and a private viewing of artifacts from the museum’s collection.
Tour Leaders:
Dr. Andrew Gulliford
Andy is a Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He teaches courses on wilderness, national parks, and environmental history. Andy is the author of America’s Country Schools, Sacred Objects, and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions and Boomtown Blues: Colorado Oil Shale, which won the Colorado Book Award. For the centennial of Mesa Verde National Park in 2006, he edited seven new books on Mesa Verde published by the Durango Herald Small Press. His most recent book, Outdoors in the Southwest: An Adventure Anthology (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014) won two New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards as well as the Colorado Book Award.
Christopher J. Lewis
Christopher Lewis lives in the village of Zuni Pueblo in southwest New Mexico. He is a member of the Badger Clan and a child of the Corn Clan. He is a Native scholar, fiber artist, basket and textile scholar. Christopher has worked the last 11 years to revive basketry in Zuni. He has also collaborated with other Pueblos to revive their textile arts. Christopher is a Native Scholar on the Cedar Mesa Perishables Project. He has studied Ancient Perishables such as baskets, textiles, wood, and feather work from the Greater Southwest housed in major museums.
Tour Cost: $1,250: MVF Fellow, per participant
$1,350: Non-member, per participant
Early Birds who register by July 1st, will receive $100 off the registration fee.
$70 per night single supplement for guests not sharing a room.
50% deposit required to register.
The tour has limited capacity and will fill up. Register now!
To register, or for more information, contact the Mesa Verde Foundation’s Executive Director, Shannon Clifford, at 303-321-3120 or by email at shannon@mesaverdefoundation.org
For view all of our past webinars, please visit our YouTube page by clicking HERE.