Charles Augustus Lummis

Biography

Charles Augustus Lummis was born in 1849 and became a passionate writer, historian, and advocate for the American Southwest. His work celebrated the region’s cultures, languages, and landscapes, and he tirelessly promoted its heritage through journalism, books, and the founding of cultural institutions, striving to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and to nurture a broader appreciation of the land.

After decades of energetic travel and scholarship, he settled near New York and passed in 1919; Woodlawn Cemetery now holds the remains of a man who inspired many to look upon the Southwest with wonder and respect.