Southwest Archaeology Today for July 19, 2005

Archaeology making the news – A service of the Center for Desert Archaeology.

– Wildfire Continues Burning near Mesa Verde, Sites in Ute Mountain Tribal Park at Risk: World-class archaeological sites were in peril Monday evening as the Dwelling Fire exploded to life south of Mesa Verde National Park. Federal fire managers said fire conditions are extremely dangerous at lower elevations, and they pleaded for help from the public to prevent more wildfires.
http://tinyurl.com/aw4fv – Durango Herald
http://tinyurl.com/df6j7 – KRQE News (with map)
http://tinyurl.com/d98wu – USA Today

– Kachina Lecture at Arkansas Museum: The featured speaker at the Rocky Ford Museum Thursday evening was Tina Wilcox, curator of the Koshare Museum in La Junta. Wilcox brought with her an armful of representative Kachina dolls to supplement her talk on the history of the Kachina.
http://tinyurl.com/bmvj9 – La Junta Tribune Democrat

Apache Television Reporter Creates Website for Young Native Americans: (Phoenix)
When television news reporter Mary Kim Titla, San Carlos Apache, began surfing the Web for sites to inspire Indian youths, including her three sons, she found a void. With deadlines always looming in the fast pace of television news, Titla created a Web magazine for Native youths that she hopes will not only inspire, but provide role models and give a lift to the downhearted. During its launch, Titla said: ”This Web site will become what Native youth want it to be. The goal is to show the world what our Native youth are capable of doing. Through their own stories they’ll be able to touch others and encourage their peers to become positive role models.”
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411258
http://www.nativeyouthmagazine.com

-Mesa Family Helps Preserve Apache Culture: The Mesa family is known throughout Arizona and beyond as the Yellow Bird Indian Dancers. Last year, they were recipients of the Culturekeepers award, given by the Arizona Historical Foundation and the Westin Kierland Resort, Spa & Villas, to 10 honorees each year. “We, as Apaches, speak Athapascan, and the people in the Arctic area also speak Athapascan,” albeit with a different dialect, Duncan said. “Long ago, we crossed the Bering Strait, and a lot of them settled there, but the ones that were the toughest continued on down, all the way down to Arizona. That’s how we ended up here.”
http://tinyurl.com/bzodq – Arizona Republic

-Historic Preservation (San Antonio):San Antonio’s historic preservation office is recommending that the Emil-Klear house and complex, along with more than 20 other ranch and farm homes dating to the 19th century, be designated historic landmarks.
http://tinyurl.com/am3g9 – San Antonio Express-News

-Native Americans get Short Shrift in Local History (Tucson): In trying to keep track of history, those in the mainstream of society sometimes manage – intentionally or otherwise – to ignore and lose sight of those citizens thought to rank lower on the social register. That could explain the scant mention of sizable populations of Native Americans in and around Tucson from the time that Europeans arrived. They included the Pimans/Papagos/Tohono O’odham who had been here for centuries, the so-called “mansos” (tame) Apaches, the Sobaipuri and the most recent arrivals, Pascua Yaqui.
http://tinyurl.com/cybnd – Tucson Citizen