Southwest Archaeology Today for March 15, 2007

Archaeology Making the News – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

– The White Mountain Apache Tribe’s Struggle for Historic Preservation: It was almost a story that never got written, only coming about through persistency. Seeking a way to rehabilitate the crumbling facilities, attorneys for the White Mountain Apache Tribe brought a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. government had ”breached its trust with respect to certain properties and improvements,” ergo, the fort buildings themselves.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414653

– Archaeological Research on San Diego’s Cemeteries: San Diego has a diverse range of burial sites that include people such as Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccination. But according to San Diego State anthropology and archaeology professor, Seth Mallios, Ph.D., and his research, many of San Diego’s old cemeteries have been either trampled on or developed over, dating back as early as the 1970s
http://www.cdarc.org/page/848e – The Daily Aztec

– Southwestern Pottery Tile Exhibit Opening at the Arizona State Museum:Opening Celebration for CLAY-sqaured: Southwestern Indian Pottery Tiles In the Paths of Life Gallery. Free and open to the public. In the late eighteenth-century, Hopi potters began producing decorated tiles for sale to visitors arriving via the railroad. Other tribes, inspired by the Hopi’s success experimented with this form and created their own interpretations, a tradition which continues to the present. This exhibition showcases more than 75 different tiles, including works from early twentieth-century Hopi artists Fanni Nampeyo and Sadie Adams, and Zia Pueblo artist Harvianna Toribio. The tiles on display reflect not only the traditional approaches from the earliest days of tile-making, but also contemporary and innovative designs that push the envelope of the materials and form. This exhibition will run through October 14, 2007.

– Old Pueblo Archaeology’s Third Thursday Presents Lecture Tonight on Kokopelli (Tucson): Time 7:30 p.m. Place: Old Pueblo auditorium, 5100 W. Ina Road Bldg. 8. Kokopelli, that flute-playing fellow in southwestern Native American culture and archaeology, represents numerous stories of Arizona, from traders to the south to the magical ceremonies of the Hopi. Kokopelli represents the importance of music to the well-being of our ancient cultures, including the Ancestral Pueblo and Hohokam cultures. In this presentation Dr. Jay Cravath explains the Kokopelli myths and takes the audience on a journey through the magic, iconography and story of the famous southwestern hump-backed flute-player.

– Arizona Archaeology Month Lectures (Tucson): Monday, March 19: The Wetherills-Friends of Mesa Verde, Fred Blackburn. A special feature of the regular monthly meeting of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society at Duval Auditorium, University Medical Center, 7:30 p.m., Free. Books available for purchase.

Tuesday, March 20: The Davis Ranch Site and Ancestral Hopi Diaspora, Patrick Lyons. Arizona State Museum, North building room 309, 7p.m., Free.

Thursday, March 22: The Sierra Ancha Cliff Dwellings Then and Now, Rich Lange. Arizona State Museum, South building, 6:30 p.m., Free.

Tuesday, March 27: A Century of Preserving Mesa Verde, Kathleen Fiero. Arizona State Museum, North building room 309, 7 p.m., Free. Books available for purchase.

– Commentary on San Francisco Peaks Ruling: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a ski resort which has leased sacred Native American land from the Forest Service cannot dump treated sewage on the land as part of its snow making operations. The ruling, in a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and six Native American tribes, of the thirteen for whom the San Francisco Peaks are sacred land, established a strong new precedent of respect for the religious rights of indigenous people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/a-victory-for-the-sacred_b_43412.html

– Tribal Views of the San Francisco Peaks: Some tribal members object to any snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks, regardless of whether wastewater or other water is used. Others sometimes support snowmaking, depending on the source of water used. But this case hinged on spiritual beliefs. Different tribes of the 13 that consider the Peaks sacred have different stories about the mountains. Here are a few.
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/03/13/news/20070313_news_16.txt

– Volunteer Board Member Needed: The Friends of Ironwood Forest (FIF) has a unique opportunity for a volunteer board member who is an archaeologist or a student of archaeology. Ironwood Forest National Monument is a new monument, designated by President Clinton on June 9, 2000 under the authority Congress provided the President in Section 2 of the 1906 Antiquities Act. The monument contains 129,000 of federals lands within a boundary encompassing an additional 60,000 acres of state and private in holdings. Our Friends group has recently been formed with the cooperation of Bureau of Land Management, Sierra Club, and Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. Our new website is http://www.IronwoodForest.org which includes more information. Interested parties should contact FIF President Murray Bolesta at phone 520-207-8452 or murray@ironwoodforest.org.
Http://www.IronwoodForest.org