Moab Happenings Archive

MUSEUM HAPPENINGS - September 2024

Celebrating Canyonlands’ 60th & Honoring Navajo Traditions:
A September to Remember at the Moab Museum
by Moab Museum Staff

The Dine’Tah Navajo Dancers perform at the Red Rock Arts Festival on Saturday, September 28th at 12:30 pm, led by Shawn Price.

Friends of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks celebrates Canyonlands’ 60th Anniversary.
On Friday, September 13th, celebrate Canyonlands’ 60th anniversary with the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks at the Moab Museum! NPS Ranger Jessi Carver will present the remarkable story of the first non-native woman to navigate the Colorado River. This historical narrative will provide insights into the pioneering spirit that continues to inspire park enthusiasts today.
This free public program begins at 4:00 pm; stop by the Moab Museum early to explore the gallery and learn more about Moab’s National Parks stories. Then stop by the Moab Information Center (MIC) for an Ice Cream Social with the SAR (Search and Rescue) Truck!

Dine’Tah Navajo Dancers at Red Rock Arts Festival
Join the Moab Museum at the Red Rock Arts Festival on Saturday, September 28 at 12:30 pm for a performance by the Dine’Tah Navajo Dancers, under the direction of Shawn Price. As performing ambassadors to the Great Navajo Nation, the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers, are considered an outstanding group of young, talented, and disciplined individuals who continue to excel their cultural program having received many accolades; their unique program offers the finest in traditional and semi-contemporary performances. They have performed at many distinguished events and premiere venues throughout the country.

In the evening, Navajo tradition keeper and historian Shawn Price will present his research on General William Tecumseh Sherman and his role in tribal relations in the post-Civil War era. His lecture, “William Tecumseh Sherman: War Maker —Peacemaker” will begin at 6:00pm in the museum gallery. The talk will briefly highlight Sherman’s early life and known Civil War exploits. Emphasis will be given to General Sherman’s role in the post-Civil War era on the 1867-68 Peace Commission. A total of six Nation to Nation agreements would be secured by this commission, of which Sherman is the signatory for four. The Navajo Treaty was the final Treaty endorsed by Sherman on June 1, 1868.

Utah State Historical Records Advisory Board Awards Moab Museum Grant (Part II)
to Digitize Channel 6 News Archive
by Moab Museum Staff

Visitors engage with “A Moab Prison camp: Japanese American Incarceration in Grand County” at the exhibition opening in February 2024. This September, the exhibition expands the focus across Utah, incorporating stories from Topaz, UT incarceration camp survivors.

“A Moab Prison Camp” Exhibition Returns to the Museum
This fall, the Moab Museum displays A Moab Prison Camp: Japanese American Incarceration in Utah, an exhibition curated by the team to explore the stories of the 55 individuals incarcerated at Dalton Wells near Moab. We are proud to simultaneously display Topaz Stories: Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, an exhibition that was developed by the Friends of the Topaz Museum to capture the personal stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated at Topaz. The Topaz Stories project has gathered stories from Topaz survivors and their descendants, from which these stories were selected for the Utah Division of Arts & Museums’ Traveling Exhibition Program.

A Moab Prison Camp: Japanese American Incarceration in Utah with the addition of stories gathered from survivors and descendants of the Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Central Utah Relocation Center, referred to as the Topaz Camp or Topaz Relocation Center, located sixteen miles northwest of Delta, Utah. Together, A Moab Prison Camp and Topaz Stories contrast the vastly different experiences of the Japanese Americans relocated to Topaz from California, and the Japanese Americans in other camps imprisoned at the Moab Prison Camp.

A Moab Prison Camp introduces the local and national story of Japanese American incarceration Jim Mattingly of Omni Productions, Inc. during WWII following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 authorized the incarceration of 120,000+ Japanese Americans, most of whom were US Citizens, in detention facilities across the country. The Moab Isolation Center, located north of Moab at Dalton Wells was a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp transformed into a temporary prison camp for so-called “troublemakers” from other camps.

The Utah Division of Arts & Museums enriches the quality of life for the people of Utah by creating, preserving, and promoting Utah’s Heritage and Arts. The Traveling Exhibit Program is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.