Dear Friends,
Archaeology Southwest practices preservation archaeology in all its manifestations—from minimally invasive and nondestructive scientific research to landscape and site preservation, from Tribal collaboration and co-management to advocacy for site and landscape protections. At any given time, we are engaged in a breathtaking array of projects and programs that includes something for everyone.
This week, I want to call your attention to a recent blog post by Skylar Begay, our Director of Tribal Collaboration in Outreach and Advocacy, which highlights three recent outreach events we led for Indigenous youth programs in southern Arizona. I particularly like Sky’s post because it includes not only his thoughts and reactions to those events, but also those of several other fantastic Archaeology Southwest employees. You will hear from our Director of Outreach Sara Anderson, Bureau of Indian Affairs Collaboration Director and Preservation Archaeologist Shannon Cowell, and recently hired Preservation Archaeologist Anastasia Walhovd, whom we are all excited to get to know better! And in the background is Preservation Archaeologist Allen Denoyer, who does all of our experimental/experiential archaeology and is often the star of such events.
Until next week, enjoy!
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. from Kate: Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers who caught our error in last week’s note. Western New Mexico University Museum is indeed in Silver City (face-palm). You can tell Steve and I were both tired from our respective travels!
Banner image: A landscape in the Great Bend of the Gila, by Andy Laurenzi
Grijalva Introduces Legislation to Create Great Bend of the Gila National Monument
“The Great Bend of the Gila is a sacred place rich with history and deeply significant to all the communities connected to it,” U.S. Rep Raúl M. Grijalva said in a press release. Grijalva, a ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument Establishment Act this month to protect the cultural, historical, archeological, and natural resources across the Great Bend of the Gila and Sonoran Desert. The proposed monument consists of 376,963 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona. The act will permanently ban the withdrawal of mineral extraction from lands within the monument. Existing grazing leases and permits will not be affected. Shondiin Silversmith for the Arizona Mirror | Read more »
Happy 1st Anniversary to Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni!
Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument turns 1 today, yet it’s been a cultural homeland to Native peoples since time immemorial. Celebrate by getting to know the new monument through maps, videos, insights from tribal leaders, and more. Grand Canyon Trust | Check out this multimedia experience »
Continuing Coverage: Tower Plans Scrapped
A controversial proposal for a lofty communications tower in Bears Ears National Monument has been withdrawn, days after opponents asked for a fuller review of its potential environmental impacts. The tower would have stood taller than the Astra Tower in Salt Lake City, which will be 449 feet tall and the state’s tallest building when it’s completed. The Bears Ears tower was slated for a site on land owned by the Utah Trust Lands Administration, a state agency that sells and leases land to generate revenue for Utah public schools. The tower’s adversaries objected to its potential harms to wildlife and the monument’s natural and cultural landscape, and a lack of consultation with tribes about the plan. Anastasia Hufham for the Salt Lake Tribune | Read more »
Audio: Frustration and Skepticism over Slow Repatriation Efforts
The American Museum of Natural History in New York just announced it’s repatriating remains of 124 relatives and almost 100 Native cultural items from its collection. The museum continues to hold onto remains of some 12,000 other individuals from North America and beyond. It’s among institutions re-examining practices after new rules enacted this year forced museums to consider tribal views more seriously when it comes to remains and public displays. While some tribes are seeing progress, others are expressing frustration over institutions’ lack of compliance with federal law. With guests Shannon O’Loughlin (Choctaw), chief executive and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs; Beth Wright (Laguna Pueblo), staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund; and Duane Reid (member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians), NAGPRA and tribal historic preservation officer. Native America Calling | Listen now »
Publication Announcement: American Indian Treaty Rights in Arizona
John R. Welch and Robert Alan Hershey, “American Indian Treaty Rights in Arizona,” Arizona Attorney (July/August 2024), pp. 18–24. Read now »
Position Announcement: NAGPRA Assistance Program Coordinator
The NAGPRA Assistance Program Coordinator will oversee, manage, and provide technical and logistical assistance to BIA in the identification, inventory, and repatriation or appropriate disposition of BIA-controlled Native American cultural items, including Ancestral human remains, held in at least 10 museums and repositories across the American West and Great Plains. This role requires extensive knowledge of NAGPRA regulations, strong project and data management skills, experience with Tribal consultation, and the ability to lead and collaborate within a diverse team of specialists. Archaeology Southwest | Learn more »
August Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
8/12, Robert S. Weiner, Great Houses for Whom?; 8/19, Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History; 8/26, Hampton Sides, The Wide Wide Sea. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe, $20 at the door or $75 for the series of 4 lectures. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
Aug. 15 Online Event: Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Land Grant Institutions: A Forgotten Debt
With Michael Charles. In 2020, High Country News published a report called “Land-grab Universities” (Lee and Ahtone, 2020). This work brought visibility to the Morrill Act of 1862, the source and scale of distributed “public domain lands” to endow land grant institutions and connected these parcels of land with named Indigenous communities who were initially displaced from these areas. This dataset offered an opportunity for the Charles Research Group to expand on the role that Indigenous Dispossession plays in the endowments of Land Grant Universities and explore the impacts that the Morrill Act continues to play on Indigenous food systems. Utilizing national datasets on food security, temperature, precipitation, and food productivity indices, we aim to quantitatively contribute to the story of Indigenous displacement and Land Grant Institutions through a lens on Indigenous food systems. The team has developed a tool that enables users to explore and map out the effects of dispossession on food system-related metrics, comparing metrics associated with the 11-million acres distributed to 52 institutions and today’s federally-recognized Tribal lands. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: Aug. 15 Online Event: An Embarrassment of Riches: Tree-Ring Dating and the (Mis-) Interpretation of Southwestern Archaeology
With Steve Nash. Nash will examine the history of Southwestern archaeological tree-ring dating to explore what might, or might not, be reasonable to infer from large sets of tree-ring dates. In so doing, he will weave a tapestry of fascinating historical vignettes from the activities of big-name archaeologists and other scientists, many of whom were based at the University of Arizona. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Aug. 24 In-Person Event: 13th Annual Hopi Arts & Cultural Festival
The Hopi Arts & Cultural Festival began in 2010 to assist artisans in selling their arts and crafts following a major recession. It was also an avenue to help introduce their artistic ability and Native culture to the public. The Hopi Festival brings to Flagstaff public education by way of art, traditional social dances and information on Hopi culture. The event is a bridge that allows the City of Flagstaff and surrounding communities to come together and learn from one another through unity, happiness, and stewardship of the earth from all people of different walks of life. HAEA/Hopi Tribe Economic Development Council | Learn more »
Sept. 4–Dec. 11 Online Class: The Hohokam Culture of Southern Arizona
With Allen Dart. Wednesdays (skipping Oct 23) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Arizona time (same as Pacific Daylight Time through October). Topics include Hohokam origins, artifacts and architecture, interactions with other cultures, subsistence, settlement, social and organizational systems, and ideas on religion and trade. Arizona Archaeological Society Certification available. Reservations and $109 donation prepayment due by 5:00 p.m. Sept. 2: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Learn more »
Sept. 5 Livestream: Telling the American Story on Our Public Lands
With Secretary Haaland. Our vast and stunning public lands are not only celebrated for their natural beauty and natural resources—they also play a prominent part in conveying the American Story to visitors from across the country and around the globe. How can we ensure that we meet the need to more accurately and inclusively tell American history in these public spaces, and to preserve and expand access to the voices and stories they hold for future generations? US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland joins Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander for a discussion about the reparative work Haaland leads on our public lands, the charge of stewardship for racial and environmental justice, and the role of Interior in telling the American Story. Mellon Foundation | Learn more and register (free) »
Sept. 7 In-Person Class (Tucson AZ): How Did People Make Dart Points & Arrowheads?
With Allen Denoyer. You will use traditional techniques using deer antlers and rocks to create stone projectile points. Learn about the history of stone tools and their uses. Each class lasts approximately 3 hours. Beginners are welcome! Open to individuals 18 years and older. $50 registration fee for nonmembers. Hands-On Archaeology (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
Sept. 10 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Tucson Chinese History Revealed
Take a self-guided tour of Chinese history in downtown Tucson revealed through four augmented reality (AR) experiences. You’ll discover how some of the stories of Chinese life and markets have been hidden, or completely built over, due to urban development. After the tour, we will convene at Screwbean Brewery (the site of a former Chinese market) for discussion, drinks, light fare, and another AR experience about contemporary Chinese culture in Tucson. A map with a suggested route will be emailed to each registrant. Bring your smartphone! Someone will be at each site to aid you with the AR, if needed. 5–7 p.m. self-guided tour at your own pace; 7–8:30 p.m. discussion and presentation at Screwbean Brewery (food and drinks are at your own expense). Arizona State Museum | Learn more and register (free) »
Sept. 19 Online Event: Archaeology on the Rocks
With Kelly Jenks. She will discuss New Mexico State University’s archaeological investigations of a Spanish colonial land-grant settlement established east of Albuquerque in 1763 and abandoned in 1770 after an Apache attack. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Remember to send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!