When
Where
Sunday, February 15, 2026 - 1 pm
Free event - RSVP HERE
Includes reception with food and musical performance
ENR2 Building, University of Arizona Campus
Join us for a special screening and a panel discussion featuring the filmmaker Jeff Spitz and Navajo elders who appeared in this landmark documentary about the effects of uranium mining, the film industry, off-reservation adoption, and the legacy of nuclear colonialism on the Navajo Nation.
The Return of Navajo Boy is an intimate Navajo-centered story focused on one family’s incredible history in pictures. Pictures voiced suddenly by the photo subjects break stereotypes and reveal a hidden history of abandoned uranium mines, radioactive contamination, and the haunting mystery of a long-lost child taken by missionaries in the 1950s.
The event is co-sponsored by the Southwest Center, the Indigenous Resilience Center, the School of Theater, Film, and Television, and the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Arizona.
A Chicago-based Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and Associate Film Professor Emeritus Jeff Spitz leads workshops in storytelling, documentary, film history and social impact media. He has developed innovative media arts programs with funders, non-profits and academic departments ranging from environmental science and Native American studies to dance and fashion.
The Return of Navajo Boy official website
RSVP HERE
Directions to ENR2 Building
Watch the trailer: