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Arizona/New Mexico

Ancestral Homelands: Hopi, Navajo and Chaco Canyon

Program No. 4541RJ
Immerse yourself in the culture and mystery of America’s Southwest as you explore ancient cliff dwellings, attend a Native-arts demonstration and visit world-renowned Chaco Canyon.

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Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 23, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Mar 24 - Mar 30, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Mar 31 - Apr 6, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Apr 7 - Apr 13, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Apr 14 - Apr 20, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Apr 21 - Apr 27, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Apr 28 - May 4, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Sep 15 - Sep 21, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Oct 6 - Oct 12, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Oct 20 - Oct 26, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Oct 27 - Nov 2, 2024
Starting at
1,799
Mar 16 - Mar 22, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Mar 23 - Mar 29, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Apr 6 - Apr 12, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Apr 20 - Apr 26, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Apr 27 - May 3, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Sep 14 - Sep 20, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Sep 21 - Sep 27, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Oct 5 - Oct 11, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2025
Starting at
1,899
Oct 26 - Nov 1, 2025
Starting at
1,899
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 23, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Mar 24 - Mar 30, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Mar 31 - Apr 6, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Filling Fast!
Apr 7 - Apr 13, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Filling Fast!
Apr 14 - Apr 20, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Filling Fast!
Apr 21 - Apr 27, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Filling Fast!
Apr 28 - May 4, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Sep 15 - Sep 21, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Oct 6 - Oct 12, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Filling Fast!
Oct 20 - Oct 26, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Oct 27 - Nov 2, 2024
Starting at
2,159
Mar 16 - Mar 22, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Mar 23 - Mar 29, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Apr 6 - Apr 12, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Apr 20 - Apr 26, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Apr 27 - May 3, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Sep 14 - Sep 20, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Sep 21 - Sep 27, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Oct 5 - Oct 11, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Oct 19 - Oct 25, 2025
Starting at
2,299
Oct 26 - Nov 1, 2025
Starting at
2,299

At a Glance

The Southwest is the keeper of America’s best-preserved and most compelling archaeological treasures. That heritage continues today in the modern Hopi and Navajo culture of northeastern Arizona. Hear personal insights as Native American representatives share cultural achievements, historic struggles and modern challenges. Then journey to uncover the mystery of Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with its Great Houses and Great Kivas, displaying prehistoric architectural masterpieces on a grand scale.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to 1.5 miles on varied terrain. Exploration of ruins requires agility. Elevations up to 7,000-plus feet.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Visit cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon National Monument and, on the Hopi Reservation, experience a cultural demonstration and explore a Pueblo village that is one the oldest continually inhabited American settlement.
  • On the Navajo Reservation enjoy a 4x4 vehicle trip into the heart of Canyon De Chelly.
  • Journey to the center of the Ancestral Puebloan world — Chaco Canyon — to explore the Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl and the Great Kiva of Casa Rinconada.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Matt Turner
Since he decided to attend high school in Southwest Colorado, Matt Turner has been in love with the natural wonders of the Four Corners region prompting him to obtain a degree in Natural History from Prescott College. In addition to working as a field biologist and ecological consultant, he is an avid photographer, leads trips throughout the Southwest, across rivers and in the backcountry. As a naturalist, he hopes to impart a unique perspective of the region's natural environment in all of its visitors.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Matt Turner
Matt Turner View biography
Since he decided to attend high school in Southwest Colorado, Matt Turner has been in love with the natural wonders of the Four Corners region prompting him to obtain a degree in Natural History from Prescott College. In addition to working as a field biologist and ecological consultant, he is an avid photographer, leads trips throughout the Southwest, across rivers and in the backcountry. As a naturalist, he hopes to impart a unique perspective of the region's natural environment in all of its visitors.
Profile Image of Richard Stephens
Richard Stephens View biography
Rich has been director of Northern Arizona University’s highly popular Road Scholar programs since 2001. He previously spent many years in the field as a program coordinator and group leader, where he honed his skills and learned the importance of detailed, pre-trip planning. Before making his home in Arizona’s spectacular red-rock country, Rich spent 10 years in Yosemite National Park and the Santa Cruz mountains as an environmental educator.
Profile Image of Filmer Kewanyama
Filmer Kewanyama View biography
Fil Kewanyama was born in the village of Shungopavi on Second Mesa on Hopi Land in northeastern Arizona. He is of the Qalwung'gwa (Sun Forehead) clan and grew up with all the ceremonies that are still a part of his life. Following his military service, Fil moved to Phoenix and then Prescott, Arizona where he started focusing on his art. Fil says he grew up learning to draw, paint and carve as it was all around him in the form of Hopi ceremonies and rituals.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Fourth World of the Hopis: The Epic Story of the Hopi Indians As Preserved in Their Legends and Traditions
by Courlander, Harold
Folklorist Courlander traces Hopi legends from the tribe’s search through the wilderness for its home location to its settling on the Hopi Mesas and development thereafter. 239pp
Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers
by Kawano, Kenji
The American offensive in the Pacific during World War II [was] hampered by the Japanese ability to crack the most secret U.S. Codes. Navajo was virtually unknown outside the reservations, ... and [their] code proved uncrackable. Kenji Kawano's striking photographs capture the quiet dignity of the surviving veterans as they recall their actions --Los Angeles Times 128 pp
People of Chaco: A Canyon and Its Culture
by Frazier, Kendrick
Chaco Wash has cut a broad canyon through northwestern New Mexico. Its natural beauty is surpassed only by the many prehistoric ruins it contains, which were built by the Chacoan Anasazi, the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. About 1000 years ago, the Chacoans constructed multistory residences, established an extensive road system, exercised cultural hegemony over a large region in the southwestern United States, and then suddenly left. Frazier skillfully recounts the fascinating story of Chaco Canyon. He describes its discovery and exploration, its role in the development of American archaeology, and the clues it contains about a unique cultural system. Gordon C. Tucker, Jr., Nickens and Assocs., Montrose, Col. 261pp
Native Roads : The Complete Motoring Guide to the Navajo and Hopi Nations
by Kosik, Frank
Using the mile markers of the US, Arizona, and Navajo highways and routes running through the Navajo and Hopi nations as her organizing principle, the author offers a travel guide to the sites found in the area. Natural, historical, and cultural points of interest are covered, along with some information on lodging and services. 280 pp
Diné: A History of the Navajos
by Iverson, Peter; Roessel, Monty
This comprehensive narrative traces the history of the Navajos from their origins to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Based on extensive archival research, traditional accounts, interviews, historic and contemporary photographs, and firsthand observation, it provides a detailed, up-to-date portrait of the Diné past and present that will be essential for scholars, students, and interested general readers, both Navajo and non-Navajo.
In Search of Chaco
by Noble, David Grant
Startling discoveries and impassioned debates have emerged from the "Chaco Phenomenon" since the publication of New Light on Chaco Canyon twenty years ago. This completely updated edition features seventeen original essays, scores of photographs, maps, and site plans, and the perspectives of archaeologists, historians, and Native American thinkers. For more than a century archaeologists and others have pursued Chaco Canyon's many and elusive meanings. In Search of Chaco brings these explorations to a new generation of enthusiasts.
In the House of Rain
by Childs, Craig
In this landmark work on the Anasazi tribes of the Southwest, naturalist Craig Childs dives head on into the mysteries of this vanished people. The various tribes that made up the Anasazi people converged on Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) during the 11th century to create a civilization hailed as "the Las Vegas of its day," a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, and a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. By the 13th century, however, Chaco's vibrant community had disappeared without a trace. Was it drought? Pestilence? War? Forced migration, mass murder or suicide? Conflicting theories have abounded for years, capturing the North American imagination for eons.





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If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
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