Dear Friends,
A former politician and current television pundit, who shall not be named here, recently stated that America owes little to Native Americans.
Among the extensive bodies of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and information said pundit is ignorant of, he sure missed our lead article from last week by Robin Wall Kimmerer (and her seminal book, Braiding Sweetgrass). If you missed Dr. Kimmerer’s article last week, please take the time to savor it soon.
Moving beyond the pundit ugliness and some other low points, this past week still highlights some strong positive directions.
In an info-packed, blockbuster article in the Arizona Republic, Anton Delgado addresses three places where Archaeology Southwest and our partners and friends have invested great effort advocating for landscape-scale preservation: Great Bend of the Gila, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, and Bears Ears National Monument. It was a pleasure to share our part in this work with Mr. Delgado.
The Women of Bears Ears essay, an opinion-prose-poetry piece that ran in Sunday’s New York Times, is stunning. A must-read that, again, provides context for what Bears Ears means and is.
The desecration and setbacks we share in today’s edition are reminders that healing takes time. More to the point, mainstream attitudes must change. I still screw up, and Archaeology Southwest makes mistakes. Throughout, we listen and learn—and we keep going, and changing.
Let’s all keep working on this painful listening, learning, and healing process. It’s more than worth the effort. It is just.
Thanks, Friends,
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: Benjamin Bellorado
Protecting Cultural Landscapes on Federal Lands in the Southwest
Before committing to the motion, Zion White cautiously checks where he plans to place his hand, trying to avoid the Native American petroglyphs he’s there to document. “When I see these petroglyphs, I think about how someone spent the time to peck out that image, put it on this rock and tell our history,” said White, a member of the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe. “Now, I’m here doing the exact same thing to preserve our history.” Anton L. Delgado in the Arizona Republic (azcentral dot com) | Read More >>
A short documentary video is also featured at the top of the article.
Essay: Women of Bears Ears
We are among the Women of Bears Ears—Indigenous women who support our families and communities in the protections of ancestral lands. We come from Diné, Nuche, Pueblo and other allied Native Nations. From these Southwestern lands, twin buttes rise; they are known as Bears Ears. We have been birthed into these lands. The umbilical cords of our ancestors are buried here. Elouise Wilson, Mary R. Benally, Ahjani Yepa, and Cynthia Wilson in the New York Times | Read More >>
Continuing Coverage: Secretary Haaland’s Visit to Utah
The Trust was fortunate to attend the conservation stakeholder listening session in Blanding. Collectively, the group focused on support for expanding Bears Ears to the full 1.9 million acres originally proposed by tribes. Individually, I used my three minutes to urge restoration for Grand Staircase-Escalante and expansion of Bears Ears and restoration of our landmark deal limiting cattle grazing in the Escalante River canyons. I showed photos of areas that were proposed by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition but not included in the 2016 Bears Ears designation, and spoke to the importance of collaborative management. I also emphasized that everyone has a story to tell about Bears Ears, even those who may consider themselves opponents. Tim Peterson at the blog of the Grand Canyon Trust | Read More >>
Continuing Coverage: Management and Funding Challenges for Bears Ears
More funding certainly would help the BLM adjust to the growing throngs, but protecting the often-remote and fragile archaeology of Bears Ears will require a mix of land management planning, visitor outreach, careful actions on the part of hikers, and, perhaps, a recognition on the part of non-Indigenous recreationists that it may be best to leave some sacred sites unvisited. Zak Podmore in the Salt Lake Tribune | Read More >>
Another Moab-Area Petroglyph Panel Desecrated
Federal officials said Tuesday that they are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who was responsible for damaging a famous petroglyph in Grand County. … Pictures of the damage that emerged on social media showed that the petroglyphs were defaced with scribbling in addition to vulgar phrases and imagery and the term “white power.” … Judging from photos, Elizabeth Hora, an archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, said it appeared most of the damage was to petroglyphs left by people from the Fremont Culture. Carter Williams for KSL dot com | Read More >>
Reminder: Take Action on Behalf of Our National Conservation Lands
Today’s the last day to ask your U.S. Representatives to sign a House letter supporting proper funding in the 2022 budget to manage public lands that hold the largest and most scientifically important body of cultural and paleontological resources. Conservation Lands Foundation | Act Now >>
First Inter-Tribal Cultural Heritage Site to Open at Grand Canyon National Park
The iconic Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park will soon be the home of the Park Service’s first Inter-Tribal Cultural Heritage Site. The project is a collaboration between the Park, the Grand Canyon Conservancy, and 11 tribes with historical, cultural and spiritual links to the Canyon, including the Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai and Hualapai. For thousands of years, Indigenous people have lived on what are now Grand Canyon National Park lands. Ryan Heinsius for KNAU (NPR) | Read More >>
Audio is also available at that link.
Shivwits Band Contributes to Tortoise Study
Sarah Thomas, with Conserve Southwest Utah, said it’s “ground breaking” to be conducting research like this in Washington County. “It’s a holistic look because it includes scientific data, but also stories and language and songs, if they’re shared, from the Shivwits band,” she said. “Anything that they want to share about the desert tortoise is seen as equally valuable to the data that’s collected on field sheets.” Lexi Peery for KUER (NPR) | Read More >>
Forthcoming Publication: Engaged Archaeology
Engaged Archaeology in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico, edited by Kelley A. Hays-Gilpin, Sarah A. Herr, and Patrick D. Lyons. Proceedings of the Southwest Symposium Series. University Press of Colorado, 2021. Learn More >>
Video: SAR Press Book Talk: Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan
A book talk with Theresa Pasqual, Paul F. Reed, and Gary M. Brown, on Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan (SAR Press, 2018). This conversation shares more on the history and ongoing importance of several Chaco Canyon outlier sites across the Southwest’s Middle San Juan region. School for Advanced Research | Watch Now >>
Video: Chat with Lewis Borck
Join us the second Friday of each month for our chats with the archaeologist, hosted by Dr. Chester Liwosz. This episode of MPPP welcomes our first guest archaeologist speaker, Professor Lewis Borck. Lewis Borck is an assistant professor at New Mexico Highlands University a founding member of the Black Trowel Collective and a founder for non-profit, The History Underground. He is particularly interested in how social movements and contentious politics shaped religion and politics through time as well as how modern politics and worldviews shape the histories and archaeologies we construct, and recreate the histories and ideals of the “West” in the deep past. Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project | Watch Now >>
April 29 Webinar: Beyond Maize, Beans, and Squash
“Beyond Maize, Beans and Squash: Identifying the Source and Nature of Mesoamerican Influence on US Southwest/Northwest Mexican Dynamics after the Origin of Agriculture” with Dr. Michael Mathiowetz. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
REMINDER: May 4 Webinar: Was Sells Red Pottery a Marker of Tohono O’odham Identity in Late Precontact Times?
Bill Doelle and Samuel Fayuant (Tohono O’odham Nation) will discuss “Was Sells Red Pottery a Marker of Tohono O’odham Identity in Late Precontact Times? Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives.” From Bill and Samuel: “Over the past eight months, we have been meeting to explore the significance of a distinctive redware pottery called Sells Red. The pottery was first named based on an excavation at Jackrabbit Ruin, a site that dated to the late 1200s through the early or mid-1400s. … We also talked with interested Tohono O’odham elders and others to hear their perspectives on this pottery. We’ll share our process of discovery, our current thinking, and some of our unresolved questions.” Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
May 5 Webinar: Graffiti Bustin’!
The Wasatch Graffiti Busters are a volunteer organization that is working to keep our public spaces—especially our natural and historic places—free of vandalism and other damage. Join us in this special one-hour, lunchtime Zoom event as the core members discuss their efforts to keep Little Cottonwood and the Black Rock clean of graffiti, with a broad overview of their efforts. Utah Division of State History | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
May 6 Webinar: Sophisticated Rebels
“Sophisticated Rebels: Insurgent Archaeologies in the American Southwest” with Dr. Lewis Borck. For this talk, Dr. Borck will discuss the Gallina region and the Salado phenomenon of the Indigenous period of the North American Southwest to understand issues of violence as well as resistance to the increasingly hierarchical religious and political situations arising in both the northern and southern Southwest. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
May 12 Webinar: A Globalized Past? Long-Distance Exchange in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest
Dr. Christopher Schwartz will explore the long-distance trade relations and interaction between the US Southwest, Mexican Northwest, and Mesoamerica. Join the Desert Foothills Chapter of Arizona Archaeological Society for a zoom talk with Dr. Christopher Schwartz. Priority given to DFC/AAS members. For link and more information contact Mary Kearney at Maryk92 at aol dot com.
May 13 Webinar: Fancy in Utah
“Fancy in Utah: Precious & Exotic Artifacts from the Bluff & Edge of the Cedars Great House Sites” with Jonathan Till. This presentation considers ornaments and nonlocal items from two great house sites in Utah. These “preciousities” reflect connectivity with the wider world during the fluorescence of the Chaco Phenomenon in the 11th, 12th, and early 13th centuries into the Mesa Verde region. Bureau of Land Management, Monticello Field Office and Bears Ears National Monument, in partnership with Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
Job Opportunity: Anthropology One-Year-Only Faculty
This is a short-term benefits-eligible position opportunity for academic year 21/22. Teaches introductory anthropology courses, primarily courses in cultural anthropology. Instructs a diverse student population of various ages and backgrounds. Works with current faculty to offer a full range of introductory courses and to offer student engagement opportunities such as field trips and student clubs. Mesa Community College | Learn More >>
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