High Desert Treasure

A Navajo grandmother provides her restless grandsons a map to a treasure hidden deep in the high desert - a treasure only few can see. On their journey, the boys traverse the high desert landscape, collecting traditional plants for their grandmother along the way. The boys are guided by natural landmarks that hold place-based knowledge, including petrified wood, a boulder with pictographs, and fossilized footprints. It's in the land that the brothers discover the beauty of the high desert and a deeper appreciation for life and family.

High Desert Treasure is commissioned by Navajo Technical University under NASA's Minority University and Research Education Project for American Indian and Alaskan Native STEM Engagement (MAIANSE) program. The story introduces geology concepts to K-8 students and includes back matter that details the rock cycle, geological time, and the interconnectedness of Earth's environment. Back matter also emphasizes the importance of language as it relates to place-based knowledge and the interaction of life and land.