Continuing Coverage: Protecting the Chaco Protection Zone

Dear Friends,

A short edition today.

First, some sad news. We have learned that legendary ethnobotanist and archaeologist Suzanne K. “Suzy” Fish passed away last week. We have no other information at present. Here is an oral history interview with Suzy produced by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. Our sincerest condolences go out to Paul, her partner in life and learning, and to her family, friends, former students, and colleagues.

Next, a reminder that on Tuesday, December 2, Archaeology Southwest will welcome author and explorer Morgan Sjogren to Archaeology Café, which will be held in-person and broadcast over Zoom. Morgan is an incredible storyteller, and the story of Charles Bernheimer’s 1920s expeditions in the Four Corners is near and dear to her heart, having been urged to follow that path by her late friend, none other than Bill Lipe.

Something different: We changed up our usual formatting for today’s continuing coverage on the Chaco protection zone and went with clickable headlines. Our idea was to present the many and most recent news and views as simply as possible. Let us know what you think.

Finally, and recognizing that this coming Thursday represents light and darkness across American history and human experiences, we wish you a time of rest and reflection, (chosen) family and feasting, and celebration of the bright blessings in our lives.

In gratitude,

Kate & the Preservation Archaeology Today team

Kate Sarther, VP of Communications & Outreach, Archaeology Southwest

Banner image: Andy Laurenzi

Continuing Coverage: Protecting the Chaco Protection Zone

Pueblo governors unite to defend Chaco Canyon as Interior weighs rollback of protections | KOAT TV

New Mexico delegation and Pueblo leaders ask Interior Secretary to protect Chaco Canyon | KUNM

New Mexico delegation, Pueblo leaders ask Interior Secretary to protect Chaco Canyon | Source NM

N.M. senators, Stansbury push for Chaco Canyon protections, highlight job cuts | Santa Fe New Mexican

Pueblo leaders want in-person consultation as BLM reconsiders Chaco oil ban | Albuquerque Journal

Heinrich, Luján, Stansbury Meet With Pueblo Leaders On Next Steps To Permanently Protect Chaco Canyon | Los Alamos Daily Post

Commentary: Preserve Public Lands, Says Hopi Tribal Councilmember

Hopi Tribal Councilman Cliff Balenquah is among tribal leaders as well as county and city officials in several states who oppose a Trump administration proposal to gut Bureau of Land Management rules that would allow more mining and oil and gas leases on federal land.

Councilman Balenquah, who is one of the representatives from Bacavi, said the BLM rule gutting is not supported by the public and is especially concerned after Trump cut funding to the national parks. …

“Public lands need to be preserved and all Trump sees is dollar signs. Seriously, we need more consultations with the tribes,” he said. Stan Bindell for the Navajo-Hopi Observer | Read more »

Interview: Diné Weaver and Anthropologist Venancio Aragón

From researching historic twill patterns in museum collections to dyeing wool with Kool-Aid, Diné (Navajo) weaver and instructor Venancio Aragón interlocks research and experimentation to expand the visual and technical vocabularies of Diné weaving. Working on the Diné upright loom, Aragón is part of a generation of Diné weavers who reinterpret ancestral knowledge through experimentation, carrying the medium forward on their own terms. As he stated in our interview with him, “I am not a purist.” Sháńdíín Brown and Zach Feuer in Hyperallergic | Read more »

Fellowship Opportunity: 2026–2028 Red Natural History Fellowship

In a time when critical and creative inquiry are under attack, The Natural History Museum is inviting applications for the 2026-2028 Red Natural History Fellowship, a two-year program dedicated to co-creating a “natural history for a world in crisis”—one that confronts the systems that reproduce colonial and ecological harm, supports communities leading struggles for justice, and honors life in all its forms.

With support from our research, curation, and production staff—as well as the growing network of Red Natural History Alumni—Fellows have opportunities to connect, amplify, and develop their work. The program brings together researchers, practitioners, and campaigners advancing Indigenous knowledge, public history, geography, cultural and ecological stewardship, water protection, land defense, and other liberatory forms of inquiry and practice. The Natural History Museum | Learn more »

December In-Person Lectures (Santa Fe NM)

Dec. 1, Tierra Adentro Charter School Performance, Raíces (Roots): Flamenco’s Passion, Rhythm & Tradition (held at Santa Fe Women’s Club, 1616 Old Pecos Trail); Dec. 8, Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers, Ascendancy of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico; Dec. 15, Sarah Oas, Foodways and Archaeology: What Histories of Flavor and Cuisine Tell us about the Past. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. $20 at the door or $55 for the series of 3 programs. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »

Dec. 2 Online and In-Person (Tucson AZ) Event: Path of Light: Retracing the Expeditions of Charles L. Bernheimer

With Morgan Sjogren. In 1929, explorer Charles L. Bernheimer dreamed up a National Park proposal that may have prevented Glen Canyon Dam and protected the surrounding landscape. Inspired by a decade of expeditions in the Four Corners region, Bernheimer wanted to “do more than be a sightseeing tourist.” To contextualize past and present efforts to protect Glen Canyon, author Morgan Sjogren retraced Bernheimer’s more than 300-day-long Glen Canyon expedition, guided by historic journals and photographs. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Register to attend in person (free) » | Register to attend online (free) »

Dec. 4 Online Event: Sonic Landscapes: Sounds of Labor in Lowell

With Sarah Buchmeier. Buchmeier’s project, The Measure of Work: Sounds of Labor in Lowell, uses sound and music to rethink dominant narratives of the American Industrial Revolution. It asks audiences to consider how, over more than two centuries, industrialization has transformed Lowell’s sonic landscapes— and what that can reveal about work, labor, and sense of place. Living Landscape Observer | Learn more and register (free) »

Dec. 5 Online Event: Macaws for Metal?

With Michael Mathiowetz. After AD 900, scarlet macaws from tropical Mesoamerica became significant in ritualism of Mogollon and Puebloan societies in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest. A cross-continental “Aztatlán-Huasteca Network” may have connected Aztatlán societies in west Mexico to the Gulf Coast during the Postclassic period, thereby facilitating the eastward transmission of metals and metallurgy to the Huasteca with scarlet macaws moving along the Gulf Coast westward to Aztatlán societies and northward to the SW/NW. Mathiowetz will explore the evidence and logistics of these ritual economies in northern Mesoamerica. Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC | Learn more and register (free) »

Dec. 18 Online Event: Inhabitants of an Archaeological and International “Frontier”

With Hunter Claypatch. Speaking on the Precolonial History of the Santa Cruz Valley and the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands, Claypatch will share howHohokam and Trincheras culture inhabitants of this contact zone were shaped by regional cultural interactions yet flourished and had unique forms of expression from 700 to 1300 CE. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »

Remember to send us notice of upcoming events and webinars, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!