2026 Poster presentations(to date)

 "Amplifying Indigenous Voices: A Journey of Challenging Eurocentrism"

 The purpose of this presentation is to examine evidence-based resources that define the importance of amplifying Indigenous voices while challenging Eurocentrism in history education. The poster will highlight both content and instructional choices that lead to breaking Eurocentrism in educational settings, cradle to career, while supporting our Indigenous students 

"Archaeology of the Cactus Saloon, Tucson, Arizona Territory"

Novels, movies, and television shows have depicted saloons in the western United States as places of where men are thrown through windows, shootings, drunken carousing, and scantily clad bar maids. How accurate is this? An archaeological excavation of the Cactus Saloon in downtown Tucson spurred research on the saloons of Territorial Tucson, from 1860 to 1914. Hundreds of saloons were identified and a new book provides biographies of each, along with biographies of men and women involved in the saloon industry. The research revealed the truth behind the myths about Western saloons.

 "The USS Arizona Memorial Gardens and its impact on the Native American Community"

  The USS Arizona Memorial Gardens was built in 2020 by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. Through various programs, the tribe was able to gain relics from the USS Arizona and build the monument. It allows the tribe to showcase its contributions to the war and the war's significance. 

 
"Amanda Blake, Arizona Zoos, and the Rise of Early Cheetah Conservation Network"

 Through archival research, oral histories, and zoological records, this exhibit explores Amanda Blake’s role in early cheetah conservation connected to Arizona zoos and regional wildlife networks.  I will be covering her efforts during the 1970s–1980s, highlighting the intersection of celebrity activism, animal welfare, and the development of modern conservation collaboration. 

 "Researching Borderlands Together:  Mexican Expertise and a Binational Method" 

 Using an 1882 shooting in Saltillo, Coahuila, as a case study, this poster explores how borderlands research can be strengthened by combining U.S. and Mexican records with local expertise. It argues that historians, archivists, genealogists, and Indigenous knowledge holders can reveal sources, context, connections, and questions archives may otherwise miss. 

  
"The Retail Wars: The Built Suburban Environment and the Evolution of Community in Maryvale, Arizona, 1970-1980"

Maryvale arose as local residents and commercial investors joined forces to rapidly develop an attractive and affordable suburb. But after annexation into Phoenix, the community-oriented desires of local residents often clashed with the development-oriented perspective of elected officials fomenting conflict on how the democratic development of Maryvale would occur. 

"Foundations of Violence: The Implementation of 

U.S. Total War on the Western Frontier" 

 The tactics of total war that emerged during the Civil War were used to enforce federal policy to legitimize widespread violence against Native populations on the ever-expanding frontier. This shift was built on earlier patterns in U.S. policy and led to lasting changes in both government actions and Indigenous resistance.