The Arizona Heritage Project
Community culture is all around us. We all belong to one or more cultural groups. Folklife
and cultural heritage flourish in these groups and affiliations, where members gather to work,
play and celebrate together.
To celebrate its centennial in 2003, SRP worked with the Folklife Center of the Library
of Congress to develop the Arizona Heritage Project, an opportunity for Arizonans statewide
to explore the cultural threads that make up the unique fabric of our lives.
Participants in the Arizona Heritage Project explore and examine how diverse cultural
influences and management of natural resources shape the development of folklife in Arizona's
contemporary communities. The projects are conducted and directed by high school students based
on primary and secondary source research.
The Arizona Heritage Project is funded by SRP and the Arizona Republic with the assistance
of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Planning and Advisory
Committees includes representatives from SRP Community Outreach, SRP Research Archives,
the Arizona Humanities Council, the Museum Association of Arizona, and the Arizona State
Library, Archives & Public Records.
The idea for the Arizona Heritage Project was formed when Representatives J.D. Hayworth
and John Shadegg nominated SRP for inclusion in the Library of Congress' Bicentennial "Local
Legacies" project.
While taking part in the Local Legacies celebration in May 2000, SRP and Folklife
Center staff began a dialogue on conducting a similar project for all of Arizona.
Following the guidelines and mission of the Folklife Center, the Arizona Heritage Project
was developed as SRP's centennial gift to the State of Arizona.
The Arizona Heritage Project is administered by the Sharlot
Hall Museum in Prescott, the largest museum in the central territory of Arizona.
Dr. Ed Berger is the Arizona Heritage Project state coordinator.
The 2006-07 Arizona Heritage Project grant recipients were announced at a special event
in May, 2006. A total of $30,000 will be awarded to the following schools:
- Cactus Shadows High School (Cave Creek): Students are continuing what is perhaps the most impressive high school Veterans History project in the nation, Cactus Shadows students will contact, record, transcribe and edit Veteran's stories. The competed interviews will again be illustrated and published as Book III of, Since You Asked: Arizona Veterans Share Their Memories, archived in Arizona and at the Library of Congress.
- City High School (Tucson): Having competed the first year of a project examining the history and cultural importance of buildings in downtown Tucson, these student will enlarge the project and continue to record oral and place histories. They are seeking to understand why some buildings are saved, and others torn down. Students will continue recording the oral histories of building owners and managers, and find stories from the history of the buildings.
- Globe High School (Globe): Students will research military history in the Globe area and its impact on mining, railroads, and community-building. This project will be the first project conducted through the Reserve Officer Training Program at a high school.
- Parker High School (Parker): Students will explore the relationship of the land and its use on the peoples of the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT): Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo. This project will be conducted through collaboration and partnerships with Parker High School, the Parker Library, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the community of Parker, and AHP.
- Prescott High School (Prescott): By combining English and Social Studies into a block program, Prescott High School teachers have created a unique opportunity to involve students in recording community storytellers. They will organize the research into "decades projects." The students will record community history and help capture and preserve the cultural elements that made up the decades of the 20th century.
- Southwest Academy (Rimrock): In the initial year of this project, Southwest Academy students have sought out the stories of those who mapped, dug, researched, and recorded the sites of the Ancient Pueblo People, Yavapai, Apache, and others who once called this land their own. Again this year, the project includes hands-on learning as well as mastering the process of recording through digital storytelling.
Arizona Heritage Project grant proposals are invited from high schools (charter,
public and private) or a home school association representing at least 15
high-school-age (13-18) students. Communities that have an active local library
or museum may complete the projects.
All sites must include a high school project, but districts with interested teachers
at other levels may include additional narrative projects for middle and/or elementary
school projects. No site will receive more than $3,000 total.
The 2006-07 grant cycle has been awarded. If you are interested in applying for a 2007-08 Arizona Heritage Project grant, please visit www.azheritageproject.org for information.
For more information about SRP's Arizona Heritage Project, please
e-mail Ed Berger, or visit the Arizona Heritage Project Web site. Also, you may write to:
Arizona Heritage Project
c/o Sharlot Hall Museum
415 West Gurley Street
Prescott, AZ 86301
Or:
SRP Heritage - PAB 338
P.O. Box 52025
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2025