Bears Ears Monument Advisory Committee Meets as Judge Deliberates

Dear Friends, 

For two reasons, I am in a good—very good—mood. 

First, I am so grateful that I live in a county that knows how to do mail-in voting right. I am on my county’s permanent mail-in voter list, so my ballot automatically appeared in my home mailbox on October 8. I took the weekend to make sure I got every office and proposition filled in thoughtfully and correctly. And on Monday, October 12, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I crossed Stone Avenue from Archaeology Southwest’s offices and deposited my ballot in an official drop box. I’ve been able to track online that my signature on my ballot was verified October 13 and that my ballot is ready to count. Not worrying about my vote being counted sure boosts my mood. I hope that you are figuring out the best way to vote where you cast your vote. 

Second, I spent long hours in the field today (Tuesday) visiting some very impressive sites on the Tohono O’odham Nation with Samuel Fayuant of the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Cultural Affairs Office. This was part of preparing for the May 4, 2021, Archaeology Café session that Samuel and I will be presenting. We are also working with a team from Desert Archaeology to explore what a pottery type named Sells Red might have to say about Tohono O’odham identity in late precontact times. Today, we added a major new site—with abundant Sells Red pottery—to our inventory. It’s located in a place I hadn’t expected. This is the kind of surprise that makes me happy. 

Please do determine the best way to vote where you live. And make sure that you sign up for our May 4, 2021, Archaeology Café. Samuel and I have some interesting information to share with you.

How are you? We all hope you are OK. 

Bill Doelle
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest 

Continuing Coverage: Bears Ears Monument Advisory Committee Meets as Judge Deliberates
An advisory committee made up of San Juan County residents met Friday for the third time to discuss the management of Bears Ears National Monument. But the plans they’re making could be thrown out if Democrat Joe Biden wins the election or a federal judge rules against the Trump Administration’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears. https://bit.ly/37roCfE – KUER (NPR)

Commentary: Escalante Canyons National Park Would Be a Mistake
A bill was recently reintroduced to establish Utah’s sixth national park known as the Escalante Canyons National Park. The name suggests a possible increase in protections for a place full of unique biodiversity and sacred indigenous places, as well as world-class research opportunities for paleontology, archaeology, and climate change. But instead, this proposal strips away protections and establishes a “national park” that will essentially transfer public lands away from the public to special interests aimed at monetizing the [Grand Staircase-Escalante National] Monument. This misleading proposal will only serve to solidify President Trump’s illegal 45% reduction of GSENM’s original acreage. Instead of parceling the Monument into different units and allowing special interests to exert control over the excised lands, we need to restore the original boundaries of the contiguous Monument and focus on protecting the outstanding natural, scenic, and cultural resources of Grand Staircase. https://bit.ly/3dLE07B – Grand Staircase Escalante Partners

The legislation calls for the park’s boundaries to “fall within the Escalante Canyons Unit of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,” though they were not specifically outlined in the measure. The bill also “codifies three separate and distinct national designations, Grand Staircase National Monument, Escalante Canyons National Park, and Kaiparowits National Monument” from the remaining lands inside the Grand Staircase monument. https://bit.ly/37pI3VP – National Parks Traveler

Video: Uranium Mining and the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world and the ancestral home of Native peoples. But all of this is threatened by uranium mining. https://bit.ly/37vF6Dv – Grand Canyon Trust and Center for Western Priorities

Crow Canyon Releases New Image Database
As part of our mission to support public archaeology, we updated our research archives with a photo database that is user-friendly and accessible to everyone. Our staff and researchers gather a large number of photographs documenting excavations and the material culture of the Mesa Verde region. These images are an important feature to the research we conduct and a necessary part of the scientific archive. This new feature will allow descendant community members, researchers, citizen scientists, educators, and students to search for specific fields and locate relevant images. https://bit.ly/3jitq94 – Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Historical Treaties between Tribes and the United States Now Digitized
For many Native American tribes, historical treaties are a fraught reminder of promises made—and broken—by the United States government over centuries of colonial expansion and exploitation. The documents are also of paramount importance today, as tribes and activists point to them as binding agreements in legal battles for land and resources. Thanks to a newly completed digitization effort by the U.S. National Archives and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in Santa Fe, researchers and the public now have unprecedented access to hundreds of these critical agreements. https://bit.ly/3lRpNca – Smithsonian Magazine

Introducing the Tribal Archaeology Network
The Tribal Archaeology Network (TAN) is a grassroots organization by Indigenous archaeologists and those working with and serving Tribes and Native American communities. We foster networking, support, knowledge sharing, education, training, and mentorship. TAN strives to connect archaeologists in all aspects of the field including academia, cultural resource management, museums, Tribal governments, State/Federal agencies as well as Tribal Monitors, Traditional Cultural Specialists, students, and others. https://bit.ly/3dIZdPu – Tribal Archaeology Network (via Makoons Consulting and Oregon State University)

University of Minnesota Case Shows Complexities, Frustrations of Repatriation Process
The Mimbres Collection at the Weisman Art Museum has a long and complicated past. First excavated by anthropology professors and students in the 1920s, the collection of human remains and burial belongings was housed at the University of Minnesota before being transferred to the Weisman, where it remains today. …Despite repeated attempts by affiliated tribes to return the collection to New Mexico, the funerary objects remain at the Weisman. Under a 1990 federal law, institutions that receive federal funding must create an inventory of any Native American cultural objects or funerary remains as a part of the repatriation process. The University and the Weisman have come under fire by Native American communities, anthropologists and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) for their delay of inventory. https://bit.ly/3jglTrE – Minnesota Daily

Archaeology Café Welcomes Christopher Caseldine
Join us on November 10, 2020, when Preservation Archaeology Postdoc Christopher Caseldine will discuss “The Flow of Water and Time: Irrigation Longevity and Social Change among the Lower Salt River Hohokam.” Chris will share findings and insights from his recent dissertation research on these ancient irrigation systems. The Zoom presentation is free, but you must register in advance. https://bit.ly/3iiJR4P – Archaeology Southwest

Podcast: J. M. Adovasio: Meadowcroft and Beyond
In this special Legacy Series edition of the Seven Ages Audio Journal, we celebrate International Archaeology Month with one of the most influential American archaeologists today: J. M. Adovasio, who led cutting edge excavations at Pennsylvania’s Meadowcroft Rockshelter for several successive seasons beginning in the early 1970s. https://bit.ly/3m5VqyB – Seven Ages Audio Journal

Call for Participants: Mogollon Research Round Robin, October 24
In place of the now-postponed Biennial Mogollon Archaeology Conference, a Mogollon Archaeological Research Round Robin will take place October 24 via Zoom. We encourage interested archaeological researchers who wish to participate to contact the Organizing Committee Chair (mdiehl [at] desert.com) so they may be added to the cc list for announcements and invitations to the Research Round Robin. The University of Arizona will host the 21st Biennial Mogollon Archaeology Conference in October 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. https://www.mogollon2020.com/

Job Opportunity: Museum Administrator, Arizona Museum of Natural History, City of Mesa (Mesa AZ)
The Museum Administrator performs administrative work involving planning, developing, coordinating, and supervising the activities and facilities (example: museum buildings, historic home, and archaeological sites) of the Arizona Museum of Natural History, including: providing leadership for the Museum’s curatorial, educational, and preservation programs; overseeing the initiation and maintenance of exhibitions and management of research programs in the fields of natural history and social sciences; and overseeing the development of public programs, collections, educational and promotional materials, and fundraising and special events, in the fields of natural history and social sciences. Salary range: $80,882.83–$113,027.20. Deadline: November 2, 2020. https://bit.ly/3kfsDHy

Job Opportunity: Director, Office of Contract Archaeology, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
Under indirect supervision from the Director of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, the OCA Director (formal University administrative title Associate Director, Maxwell Museum) provides integrated management and professional leadership to the Office of Contract Archeology. Establishes and implements organizational goals and operating procedures for the OCA. Directs, coordinates and oversees multiple contract/grant funded research projects and programs, working with diverse clients, governmental agencies, community members and University programs, offices, and faculty and staff. Plans and manages annual budgets for the organization. Develops strategies for generating revenues and resources for the OCA. Provides professional and technical leadership and mentoring to a team of 8-12 full-time and 10+ part-time staff and student employees. Oversees and directs participation in professional conferences and publications, above and beyond the production of contract and grant deliverables. https://bit.ly/3kkioS4

Job Opportunity: Volunteer Program Associate, Grand Canyon Trust
The Volunteer Program associate will work with the community engagement director to help design and implement volunteer projects for the Grand Canyon Trust with an emphasis on citizen science, stewardship, and advocacy. The position requires excellent communication skills, collaboration with a dynamic team, excitement about field work, enthusiasm for engaging volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and skillsets, and a passion for conservation. Deadline: October 23, 2020. https://bit.ly/3jeMq8z

Publication Announcement: Behind the Bears Ears
Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape, by R. E. Burrillo, Torrey House Press. https://bit.ly/2IQZxAn

Online Resources, Events, and Opportunities to Help
Please keep sharing these with us, and we will keep helping to get the word out. Our inbox is sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org.

TODAY, October 21 at 5:00 p.m. PDT: From the Archaeological Institute of America, Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) Society: John Kantner will present “Chaco Canyon: From the Outside Looking In.” More information and direct link: https://bit.ly/2HkdXIs

From the Archaeological Institute of America, Tucson Society: On October 28 at 5:00 p.m. MST, Robert Schon will present “The Archaeology of Baseball in the (not so) Wild West.” Warren Ballpark, built in 1909, is the world’s oldest continuously used baseball stadium. It has hosted numerous baseball legends including Casey Stengel, Jim Thorpe, Earl Wilson, and Billy Martin, to name a few. More information and Zoom registration: https://bit.ly/37od50j

From the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center: On October 22 at 4:00 p.m. MDT, Robert Bischoff will present “San Juan Red Ware & Social Networks across the Southwest.” More information and Zoom registration: https://bit.ly/2FCM11Y

From the School for Advanced Research: On October 14, the School for Advanced Research hosted an online presentation with Leah Salgado, deputy director of IllumiNative: “Understanding How to Dismantle False Narratives Concerning Native Americans.” The event included a live Q&A with Salgado and SAR president Michael F. Brown, as well as associate professor of history and Latino studies, and vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, John Nieto-Phillips. https://youtu.be/U73YTF5Myu0 (opens at YouTube)

We’re happy to help get the word out. Please submit news, publication announcements, and other resources to this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org