Hi Folks,
Paul Reed here, filling in for Steve this week.
One of our most beloved places—Chaco Culture National Historical Park—is once again threatened. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving quickly revoke the mineral withdrawal in the 10-mile zone of protection around Chaco Park.
Susan Montoya Bryan reported on this for the Associated Press Monday afternoon.
Archaeology Southwest and our Greater Chaco coalition partners strongly advise Secretary Burgum to reconsider this egregious action.
In 2022, our Indigenous partners and colleagues made the case for protecting the 10-mile zone around Chaco in our film, “Protecting Chaco’s 10-Mile Zone” (produced by filmmaker David Wallace), featuring Pueblo governors and cultural leaders, as well as Navajo cultural leaders.
I will be discussing this disastrous move by Interior Secretary Burgum and the BLM on Scott Michlin’s Morning Show on KSJE, San Juan College, tomorrow, Thursday, November 6, at 8:10 a.m. MST. You can watch live on YouTube, catch the podcast, or click on a link to the resulting video here next week.
Kate has included an additional story on this travesty below, and more are certain to follow. We’ll keep you informed.
More soon,
Paul F. Reed, New Mexico Director & Preservation Archaeologist, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: Andy Laurenzi
A Case for Permanent Protection: Chaco Zone in Jeopardy, Again
[The administration] says it will be initiating formal meetings with Native American tribes in the southwestern U.S. as it considers revoking a 20-year ban on oil and gas development across of hundreds of square miles of federal land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
The Bureau of Land Management made the announcement in a letter sent to tribal leaders last Thursday, saying the agency will conduct an environmental assessment of the proposal to put the federal parcels back on the board for future leasing. A public comment period will follow. Susan Montoya Bryan for AP | Read more »
Note from Paul: The comment period is shockingly brief, 14 days, and the invitation to Tribes to enter into consultation coincides with a busy ceremonial season for the Pueblos. More on that soon.
In a statement to New Mexico Political Report, Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Ben Ray Lujan, along with Reps. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03) stated that the Greater Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with great historical, cultural and spiritual significance for tribes and pueblos.
“To deface and destroy this irreplaceable and sacred landscape is not only morally wrong: It is utterly disrespectful to the Pueblos, Tribal Nations, and New Mexicans who have called for permanent protection of the Chaco landscape,” the delegation said in the statement. Alex Ross for New Mexico Political Report | Read more »
Continuing Coverage: Yup’ik Community Races to Save Its History
The recovered objects are soaked with a preservative and carefully dried before being cataloged and stored in the town’s museum, a simple room stacked to the brim with boxes and drawers.
The promise to keep the artifacts in town was the main reason Grace Hill, an elder in Quinhagak and president of the tribal corporation’s board, supported the dig. “Before, many of our objects were taken and not returned to us because there was no way to preserve them here,” Ms. Hill said. Now, Quinhagak residents are deeply involved with every step of the process. “That’s the best part,” she said. Sachi Kitajima Mulkey for the New York Times | Read more »
Note from Kate: The article features Katie Basile’s wonderful photographs of community members with their ancestors’ belongings.
Also: The Quinhagak community created an awesome digital museum. Check it out »
Ask a Professor: Anthropological Archaeologist Amy V. Margaris
This month we interviewed Amy V. Margaris, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Oberlin College. Margaris is an anthropological archaeologist whose fieldwork has taken her to such destinations as Turkey, Israel, Denmark, the US Southwest, and Alaska. Her primary areas of study are hunter-gather societies, technological change, and human-material interactions most broadly. Her recent projects emphasize the collaborative nature of archaeology and show the value of including community members and other specialists outside the academy in research and curation teams. Currently, she’s researching the Oberlin College Ethnographic Collection and re-connecting its contents with the original communities from which the items were gathered, from Alaska to Micronesia. [Interview follows.] JSTOR Daily | Read more »
Continuing Coverage and Photo Essay: Why Compliance Matters, SunZia Edition
John Welch presents disturbing imagery and blistering commentary on what’s been done to the San Pedro Valley by Pattern Energy (the SunZia developer) with permission from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Arizona Corporation Commission. Archaeology Southwest | See now »
Position Announcement: Middle San Pedro River Preserve Manager (AZ)
Working with the Lower San Pedro Program Manager, the Middle San Pedro Preserve Manager is responsible for overseeing the preserve and implementing conservation strategies that will positively influence the larger San Pedro River watershed. The Manager will represent TNC interests with neighbors, within the community, and with partners and agency representatives. The Manager ensures the maintenance of preserve vehicles, equipment, buildings and infrastructure, and may contract and coordinate multiple construction and maintenance projects from concept to completion. They are responsible for hydrological, fee land, and conservation easement monitoring and data management, and general support for the Stewardship Program and preserve system. The Nature Conservancy | Learn more »
Publication Announcement: Ladders and Axes of the American Southwest’s Pueblo Region
Richard V. N. Ahlstrom, Ladders and Axes of the American Southwest’s Pueblo Region, 400–1900 CE. BAR International Series 3236, 2025. Learn more »
November In-Person Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Nov. 10, Sean Dolan, Ashes across the Desert: Mimbres & Hohokam Cremations, 750–1450 CE; Nov. 17, Brian Vallo (Pueblo of Acoma), Pathways and Intersections: A Journey of Leadership and Opportunity; Nov. 24, Wayne Yazza Jr. and Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello (Picuris Pueblo), Picuris Pueblo: Looking Forward while Looking Back. $20, 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
Nov. 6 Online Event: Indigenous Education: Elevating the Genius of Indigenous Communities
With Ben Calabaza and Nena Lopez. In 2015, The Native American Community Academy Inspired Schools Network (NISN) created an environment for systemic transformation of education systems for Indigenous youth by supporting Indigenous leadership and the creation of community-led schools. Today, NISN supports a network of 18 schools across 7 states in implementing their own community-led vision of education—one that is centered in identity, holistic wellness and academic relevance. Kwiyagat Community Academy in Towaoc, Colorado, is an NISN school who is seeking to reimagine an education where the Ute Mountain Ute language and culture is central to students’ learning. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Nov. 7 Online and In-Person Event (Phoenix AZ): Ancestral O’Odham (Hohokam) Irrigation along the Lower Salt River and Broader Understanding of Ancient Irrigation
With Chris Caseldine. Irrigation has been the foundation of life in the Phoenix Basin for thousands of years. The Ancestral O’Odham, commonly known as the Hohokam, developed one of the most expansive and sophisticated irrigation systems in the ancient world. Contrary to popular beliefs, the Hohokam did not disappear, but live on through O’Odham communities today. In this talk, Caseldine will discuss the history of irrigation along the lower Salt River through the present day. 11:00 a.m. MST. Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve (Arizona State University) | Learn more and get Zoom link (free) »
REMINDER: Nov. 11 In-Person Event (Scottsdale AZ): Southwest Rock Imagery
With Aaron Wright. Instead of just asking what the petroglyphs mean, Dr. Wright will look at how they were used by the people who created them hundreds of years ago. This free Sonoran Speaker Series talk will explore the common threads and unique regional qualities of petroglyphs throughout the Southwest. Come discover how these amazing artworks were important to their creators and what they can teach us about our desert’s past. 6:00 p.m., Valley of the Sun J, 12701 N Scottsdale Rd. Desert Foothills Land Trust and Valley of the Sun J | Learn more and register (registration free but required) »
REMINDER: Nov. 12 In-Person (Queen Creek AZ) and Online Event: The Origin of the Yavapai People
With Douglass R. Newton. Their creation story explains that Yavapai people originated in the beginning, or many years ago, when either a tree or a maize plant sprouted from the ground in what is now Montezuma Well, bringing the Yavapai into the world. We gather at 6:00 p.m. with the presentation at 6:30. We meet at The San Tan Historical Society Museum, 20425 S. Old Ellsworth Rd. Arizona Archaeological Society, San Tan Chapter | Website » | Zoom link »
Nov. 12 Online and In-Person Event (Durango CO): The End of the Mimbres Culture in Regional and Historical Context
With Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers. By approximately AD 1150, the production of Mimbres Black-on-white fully and irreparably ceased, with all major settlements in the valley extensively to completely depopulated. … “In this talk, I advocate moving beyond a comparative assessment of if there is change or not and instead focus on what the termination of the Mimbres tradition tells us about the inhabitants themselves as well as the impacts on adjacent communities in a larger, historical narrative.” 7:00 p.m., Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College and by Zoom. San Juan Basin Archaeological Society | Learn more and get Zoom link »
Nov. 12 Online Event: The People’s Arena
With Alison Futrell. Mass events in the Colosseum were highly visible performances of Rome’s imperial power. But how did the arena impact the lives of ordinary individuals? This talk explores evidence for the experiences of those in the sands, the seats, and the substructures—beyond the emperor’s box. Archaeological Institute of America, Tucson Society | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: Nov. 14–15 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): AAHS Used Book Sale
The book sale supports the Arizona State Museum library and is one of their primary sources of funding. This year, we have received a large collection of books from retiring University of Arizona professors, including many on archaeozoology, human evolution, animal behavior, and Neolithic Europe. As always, we have a great selection of Southwest and world archaeology, Native American ethnology and culture, as well as books of general interest. Please join us and support the ASM library while enhancing your reading. Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the lawn in front of the Arizona State Museum (1013 E. University Ave). All remaining stock will be 1/2 price on Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) | Learn more »
Nov. 15 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): The Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona’s Past
With Jan Cleere. History books record scant contributions women made in settling and developing the new Territory of Arizona. Yet women were an integral part of civilizing the rough, rowdy, often dangerous land. The famous, infamous, and those not so well known are featured, each with a compelling story of surviving and thriving under less-than-ideal circumstances. Discover just a handful of these women who made a difference as the territory emerged and flourished into an amazing and diverse state unlike any other in the nation. 2:00 p.m., Monsoon Room at JoJo’s Restaurant, 201 N Court Ave, $5 per person. Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Museum | Learn more »
Nov. 17 Online Event: Early First Millennium CE Farmers of the Southwestern Colorado Plateau
With Reuven Sinensky. For much of the past century archaeologists have endorsed a unidirectional model in which Ancestral Pueblo communities became increasingly invested in maize agriculture and more sedentary through time, and eventually, social, economic, and political differentiation between communities emerged. Few in-depth studies, however, have explored the foodways, material culture, or settlement patterns of contemporaneous, well-dated communities within a spatially restricted area during the early first millennium CE. In this presentation, Sinensky will discuss the results of recent fieldwork and collections-based research focused on 200–550 CE communities of the far southwestern Colorado Plateau. Results suggest that communities of this era were more dynamic than often portrayed and that key material and social changes adopted during the late 6th and 7th centuries have roots in earlier, diverse communities. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more and register (free) »
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