Presented by the Chandler Museum, Chandler Historical Society and Chandler Library.  

May 6 – In Search of a Homeland: The story of a Pioneer Chinese Woman, Lai Ngan, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. @ Chandler Downtown Library

Historian Li Yang shares the story of a remarkable immigrant woman and her successful struggle to survive in the American Southwest at the turn of the 20th Century. Lai Ngan was smuggled into America at a tender age in the 1870s and sold into bondage.  While still a teenager, she was married off to a Chinese man who was 35 years her senior. She first journeyed from San Francisco to Sonora, Mexico, at the height of anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. Later, the family journeyed back to the U.S. on the eve of Mexican Revolution when anti-Chinese feelings there were brewing. They finally settled down in Tucson, Arizona, where the family prospered. Discover the story of a remarkable immigrant woman and her successful struggle to survive in the American Southwest at the turn of the 20th Century.

June 17 – A Brief History of the Gila River Indian Community, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. @ Chandler Hamilton Library

Billy Allen, a member of the Gila River Indian Community, will share how his O’odham people have endured as the world around them changed. Using slides, along with tribal and personal recollections, he will introduce you to our southern next-door neighbors, the Gila River Indian Community. Billy Allen was born and raised in the community of Casa Blanca on the Gila River Indian Reservation. He currently lives in Casa Grande after completing a 33-year teaching career.