In an extraordinary year, you made an extraordinary difference.

2020 was a year of unknowns. Crow Canyon staff gathered in our “virtual meeting room” at the end of every week to review our goals, discuss the latest challenges to meeting them, and decide on next steps. Our motto became “when in doubt, find a way to do good in the world at this moment.” We didn’t need to search far. Students, parents, and teachers needed distance learning. Our Native American partners needed support and supplies. Our professional communities needed us to publish and share the results of our research. Nearly everyone needed a way to safely connect with the shared human experience through virtual means.

While the conditions brought upon us by the pandemic did not stop us from delivering our mission to the world, they did prevent us from doing something we believe is deeply meaningful: physically sharing the landscape of the central Mesa Verde region with you.

Your extraordinary generosity supported us in 2020 even though you couldn’t gaze in person across the plateau, walk on trails and discuss the human past with us, smell the junipers and the approaching rain, feel the sun warm your face, and run the soil between your fingers. In fact, hundreds of you who have never once been to Crow Canyon supported us and learned about our mission through webinars, Zooms, and calls.

Over the past 37 years, this remarkable landscape has traditionally been what drew people to Crow Canyon. The stunning Colorado Plateau encircled by mountain ranges, the mesa tops and canyons, the well-preserved archaeological sites and the often-surprisingly strong emotions they evoke. The timeless importance of this sacred landscape to Indigenous people affects visitors from all over the world. Many visitors to Crow Canyon have touched the earth beneath their feet and felt a visceral connection between themselves and its ancient inhabitants.

We are deeply humbled by the magnitude of your support in a year when we weren’t able to see our old friends and greet new ones in person. Your support has inspired us to new heights of creativity, fueled by the desire to reach you even more deeply from a distance. Our landscape will continue to whisper in your ears and tug at your hearts, and we dearly hope to see you here soon as we continue to honor your generosity with our work and live up to your faith in the value of our mission in the world.

With sincerest love and gratitude,

Liz