JANUARY 7, 2015
Desert Foothills Chapter, Arizona Archaeological Society presents guest speaker Ken Zoll on Jan. 14
The Desert Foothills Chapter (DFC) of the Arizona Archaeological Sociey (AAS) is pleased to announce that Ken Zoll (r) will be the guest speaker for the January 14 meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek.
In 1921, the Hopi tribe was told that so called “church people” petitioned Congress trying to stop their “pagan” dancing. Milo Billingsley, who founded the school on Second Mesa, was asked for his assistance. He formed a dance troupe to show that these dances should not be stopped, referred to as The Billingsley Hopi Dancers. The Hopi Dancers traveled extensively throughout the United States. A platform was erected on the U.S. Capitol steps in 1927 where both Houses of Congress assembled with their families to watch the Hopi dancers. Congress passed a resolution giving the Hopi permission to carry on their dancing “for all time,” after this performance. The dancers continued to perform for the public culminating with performances at the 1937 New York World’s Fair and Carnegie Hall in 1955. The Verde Valley Archaeology Center and Hopi Tribe received a joint grant to preserve a rare 1957 film of the Billingsley Hopi Dancers. This Arizona Humanities presentation provides background and shows selected segments of the 1957 film.
Ken Zoll, an Arizona Humanities speaker, is the Executive Director of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center located in Camp Verde. He is also a site steward with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and a volunteer docent at cultural heritage sites in the Coconino National Forest. Ken conducts extensive fieldwork in rock art and cultural astronomy of the southwest and is a certified instructor for cultural astronomy. He is the author of several popular books on cultural astronomy and rock art in Central Arizona, as well as several cultural astronomy articles in professional publications. Ken Zoll’s work with the Hopi on the Billingsley Dancers history began with the donation of films to the Verde Valley Archaeology Center and developed into another avenue for research and publication.
The general public may attend an Arizona Archaeology Society – Desert Foothills Chapter meeting at no charge. The AAS-DFC meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month, September through May. There are refreshments available at 7 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m., usually ending prior to 9 p.m.
The meetings are held in the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek (near the Dairy Queen). www.azarchsoc.org/desertfoothills
