A legendary expedition comes to life--history and technology merge in innovate multimedia experiences The collaboration proposed by RBMVE-Onward! RBMVE-Onward!
Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition (RBMVE), 1933-38 – The Last Great Expedition: A reunion and a look forward to an exciting, large-scale collaborative venture. The RBMVE was a multi-disciplinary scientific expedition that worked in Arizona and Utah during the heart of the Depression and remains a primary example of the power behind corporate support, an innovation pursued by the director o
r RBMVE, Ansel Hall. Archaeologists, biologists, geologists and other scientists worked with college students and Navajo residents to gather information on a larger scale than ever before and over a vast area of previously unmapped, isolated canyons and mesas that was just beginning to be the focus of national attention through tourism and the movies. The Expedition not only made significant contributions to science but also had a lasting effect upon the lives of the participants. The output included thousands of feet of film, thousands of photographs, glass lantern slides, the material from over 600 sites, and much more. It is spread amongst numerous institutions and individuals, as are the stories there are yet to tell. This inaugural conference, organized by the new non-profit, RBMVE-Onward!, was held at the Center for Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College, in Durango, Colorado, during the weekend of October 10-12. The gathering of sixty represented the unique perspectives informed by the many and varied interests and backgrounds of the original participants--with some contemporary additions. The aim of the meeting was to share collective resources related to RBMVE, discuss the approach for a multi-venue exhibition, and talk about the application of innovative and relevant new technologies for exhibit presentation. Presentations related to content were given by a range of RBMVE content holders, stakeholders, collaborators, scientists, archaeologists, historians, native community representatives, and families of original participants introducing the extraordinary breadth and impact of the Expedition, its history, and its archives. There are many layers of stories to tell and rich data to mine from multiple archives as well as the many studies undertaken through the decades utilizing RBMVE material since the original Expedition took place in the 1930’s. Discussions following the sessions encouraged the connections we can make and the powerful potential that is possible with collaboration on a grand scale. The extraordinary breadth of material output by the Expedition has made it difficult to synthesize into a single project--until now. The afternoon sessions were devoted to digital frontiers and how we can harness the power of cutting-edge digital technologies to advance the mission of RBMVE-Onward! to bridge the divide between advanced landscape modeling and popular visualization technologies to help museum audiences and scholars understand the multidimensionality and multivocality of the RBMVE. The conference achieved its primary goal of obtaining commitments from a core group of institutions and individuals to participate in an unparalleled sharing of time, information, data and other resources as a primary step towards a very large cooperative venture. The result of this collaboration is intended to be unprecedented access to the depth and of the information and stories about the subject matter of the Expedition. It is believed that this process will also allow for the identification of previously uncharted aspects of this history. is intrinsically suitable for the large-scale collaboration that the original Expedition represented. It will allow for the natural reunification of these many fragmented and isolated segments of the Expedition’s output to come back together into one robust, deep and whole consideration of the history of the place and events. It is anticipated that the value of each individual collection will be greatly enhanced by the context provided by the collaboration. intends that the digital component we create will have multiple educational applications and new opportunities for scholarship far beyond the life of the exhibition program. We aim to provide an ease of access to a wide range of the subject matter representing a significant piece of history in the American Southwest through the narratives held in the Rainbow-Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition.
07/11/2025
We are so excited to share our latest graphic biography website, featuring the inspiring story of Gertie Austin.
Gertie was the wife of Max Littlesalt, the guide and interpreter for the historic Rainbow Bridge–Monument Valley Expedition. Her story—often overlooked—reveals the essential role that women played not only in the success of the Expedition but also in everyday life across the Southwest during the 1930s and beyond.
The idea for this project was first sparked years ago by our dear friend and collaborator Louise Denetso. With her encouragement—and the enthusiasm of her family—we’ve been able to bring Gertie’s story to life. Louise’s daughter, Lithuania Denetso, a close friend and researcher, contributed a moving foreword describing the words she wishes she could have said to her grandmother, Gertie. Click the link below to read it and experience our latest website!
In the 1930s, aerial photography was used for the first time to study the landscapes of Northern Arizona. In 2019, The ONWARD Project returned to photograph the same region from the air. Our new website lets you compare historic and contemporary aerial images — we hope you enjoy the different perspectives.
We remain aware that the land that we and the Expedition members flew over is Navajo, Paiute, Hopi and Zuni and as such hold many personal and community histories that belong to these places. The aerial viewpoint gives us the ability to travel over this wider region to focus solely on topography and geographical relationships as did the Expedition fliers and photographers in the 1930’s. In the tradition of many Native Peoples, maps they create of specific landscapes often represent a bird’s eye viewpoint.
04/14/2025
Native Artist Spotlight: Lithuania Denetso
Over the past year, Lithuania Denetso, Collaborator with The ONWARD Project, undertook the study of ceramic making in the tradition of Southwest historic pottery. She was inspired to learn these methods in order to originate shapes and designs using the natural clays and pigments available in the canyons of the Four Corners region of the Southwest where her family history lies. In talking with elderly relatives she discovered that her great grandmother Mary Austin (John Austin’s wife, and parents of Gertie Austin, Max Littlesalt’s wife) was a potter in the late 19th and early 20th century. The ONWARD Project is excited to follow Lithuania’s path as she hones her skills.
01/30/2025
We can't move ONWARD without you!
12/27/2024
Let’s finish the year with a bang!
We’re thrilled to announce that The ONWARD Project has received an incredible $10,000 matching gift. That means every dollar you donate between TODAY and DECEMBER 31 will be DOUBLED, making twice the impact!
Your donation will directly support bringing our Immersive Experience to institutions dedicated to Native American history and cultural heritage in the Southwest.
Together, we can make a meaningful impact, reaching diverse audiences with this vital work. Thank you for your generosity as we continue to move ONWARD!
Aerial Website
We have been working with website designer Ben Benjamin on a special website comparing the many breathtaking aerial photographs from the 1930's with images from the present. The RBMVExpedition aerial survey was one of the first in association with a large-scale study and was part of the impressive in depth surveys of the Northern Arizona region undertaken by the Expedition. Inspired by these early aerial surveys, in 2018 we hired two small planes and flew with four photographers from The ONWARD Project to recreate some of these images. The website will launch in the new year. Stay tuned!
12/13/2024
Our latest update newsletter is live! Check out a few key pieces here:
Disseminating ONWARD's Immersive Experience and Digital Assets
We are actively planning the dissemination of our Immersive Experience along with our many other digital assets to multiple institutions in 2025. We have been working behind the scenes for many years to nurture collaborative relationships with a number of Southwest institutions including, Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado; the Museum of Indigenous People in Prescott, Arizona and the Navajo Nation Museum in Windowrock, Arizona and are now discussing each institutions particular audiences and display needs. The Denetso Family has generously offered to fund the purchase of multiple wireless headsets to be donated to each institution to serve the public and educators. We can't wait to tell you more about our plans soon!
Future Events and Newsletter:
- We are gearing up to present our final Immersive Experience and accompanying art pieces alongside other digital artists in Los Angeles in the Spring. Look for a save the date!
- Our upcoming newsletters focus on Expedition member Watson Smith, Lithuania's journey through learning traditional ceramic arts and a fascinating lecture about a Navajo man in the 1900's by our friend and historian Harvey Leake.
12/04/2024
This , help The ONWARD Project bring history to life! We are so grateful for your support ❤️
Madi specifically created all of these drawings and design pieces by hand, because she wanted the graphic biography to feel textural and like a real scrapbook would feel from the early 1900's. She then scanned these design elements and was able to move the components around the different parts of the graphic biography digitally to see where they would fit best. She particularly likes how you can see some shadows, creases and imperfections with the scanned items, that you wouldn't normally see with digitally created designs. The illustrated numbers pictured above were also created by Madi. She is using them to create dates for each page. Because this story begins in the early 1900's she felt it was important to really emphasize how long ago the story took place.
As you make your way through this latest graphic biography— anticipated in the new year—we hope you will appreciate the detailed work that went into it. Stay tuned—you'll be reading it very soon!
11/22/2024
One of the first steps in creating the biography was gathering together of all of the information we had about Gertie from her family. Lithuania Denetso has been our fantastic source for family history and has shared with us hours of audio, video and photographs to help us get a clearer picture of who Gertie was. Part of the challenges with this are that many of Gertie's children are late in life and do not have many clear memories of her. It is also Navajo tradition not to speak of those who have passed away, and many people still abide by this tradition.
Photographed above was the next step after gathering all the information we could. Madi set out to create a rough storyboard with important information and sketches of what each page would look like. This is also where she brainstormed ideas on how to make this biography visually interesting and special. As you can probably guess, the final outcome will look only partially like the original storyboard.
Madi really wanted this graphic biography to feel like an old scrapbook and did a couple of things to get this affect. She chose watercolors that reminded her of desert sunsets and sunrises and painted these colors onto watercolor paper. She then drew little scalloped frames and cut them out by hand; once scanned they could be used throughout the book in different ways.
Madi also tested out many n**e and beige watercolors to find the perfect aged parchment color. After painting a full piece of paper this color, she scanned it and then used it as the background for each page. This gives a consistent feel and adds to the texture of each page.
11/19/2024
In today's newsletter we are excited to share with you some behind the scenes moments during the designing and creation of our forthcoming graphic biography about Gertie Austin, Max Littlesalt’s wife. So much work and energy goes into the making of the biographies from the many family members, writers, editors, artists, beta testers, website developers and more. We thought we would share some pieces of this process with you while we finalize the website. The process of creation began with Madi Fair who, in addition to heading up all of our Production and Social Media, is also a photographer and illustrator. We asked her to write, design, and create this latest online graphic biography website.
Above is Madi Fair's breakfast nook which doubled as an art table for the past 6 months. She borrowed her mother's light box, upgraded her watercolor set and made sure she had fresh drawing pens ready to go.
Madi created many of the drawings in the graphic biography by tracing over an image using the light box and making the simple image more visually appealing by adding crosshatching and detailed linework.
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