Join us, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, August 31,
at the Wonder Valley Community Center, Wonder Valley, CA 92277
In the Desert: Stories of Willie Boy
The Willie Boy manhunt of 1909 is the stuff of legend. Occurring in the areas adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs, the real-life tale - termed a "watershed" event for our region's Chemehuevi Indian people by Native scholar Clifford Trafzer - has captivated, to this day, more than a century of scholars, writers, storytellers, artists, filmmakers and desert Indian residents who have endeavored to shed understanding, truth, and portray the real-life events, and the long-lasting impacts on this region, in an accurate way.
In this presentation, College of the Desert professor, scholar, author, and former wildland firefighter Ruth Nolan, M.F.A., M.A. explores the body of scholarly and artistic works dedicated to the event and discusses reasons why the event continues to spawn interest, inquiry, discussion and a considerable archive of scholarship and art.
Ruth Nolan is editor of the critically-acclaimed No Place for a Puritan: the Literature of California's Deserts (Heyday Books, 2009); author of Ruby Mountain (Finishing Line Press 2016) and coeditor of Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California (Scarlet Tanager Books 2018).
We request a $2 donation at the door, but if you cannot afford this, please be our guest. The modest donation helps us produce more events.
Please contact Teresa Sitz at (760)367-9880 for more information.
News Coverage:
Story of Willie Boy haunts the West more than a century after his death
By Kurt Schauppner The Desert Trail Sep 4, 2019
