Happy New Year, Friends!
I hope your holiday season was all you hoped it would be—full of laughs with family and friends, (too much) good food, safe and easy travels, and some psychological rejuvenation with rest and resets, however you might achieve those Rs.
Here at Archaeology Southwest, we are looking forward to a fun and productive 2026. I really AM optimistic, and you can read more about that here.
This week, our entire staff, including those based in Denver, Farmington, Las Cruces, Phoenix, and Taos, gathered in Tucson to kick off our strategic planning process, led by VP of Finance & Operations Lyrae Williams. We even took a staff photo wearing our wonderful new Archaeology Southwest “Respect the Land You Stand Upon” t-shirts! (Thanks again to our friend and collaborator Lyle Balenquah for letting us quote his impactful imperative.) If you haven’t yet, please order yours today.
Now, given how difficult 2025 was, and how chaos and uncertainty continue to reign in the federal government, I know it’s prudent to remain cautiously optimistic. Land, place, and ecosystem conservation programs remain under threat. Tolerance for cultural, social, and individual diversity continues to be attacked. Sovereignty, impugned, and even violated. The fundamental principle of free speech, which undergirds all other rights and responsibilities we have in the US, including the pursuit of our organization’s mission, remains under assault across the board.
We at Archaeology Southwest will continue to fight for all that we stand for and believe in—actively respecting, learning, sharing, and honoring people’s and communities’ connections to places.
With sincere gratitude for your attention and support,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image © Paul Vanderveen
Continuing Coverage: The Smithsonian in Crisis
After a monthslong lull in tensions, the Smithsonian is facing an ultimatum from the White House to comply next week with a comprehensive review of the institution’s content and plans—or risk potential cuts to its budget. …
But the institution, which has long been regarded as independent from the executive branch, has produced only part of the lengthy list of requested documents. Now the administration is demanding all of the outstanding materials by Tuesday.
In a strongly worded Dec. 18 letter to the Smithsonian’s secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, White House officials said the Smithsonian had fallen far short of meeting their deadlines or fulfilling their requests. The letter made a pointed reference to the fact that the Smithsonian’s $1 billion budget is largely dependent on federal funds. Graham Bowley and Robin Pogrebin for the New York Times | Read more »
“The Land Can’t Wait”: A Window on Bears Ears Partnership’s Awesome Work
“As a Diné woman, ‘the land can’t wait’ means honoring my ancestors (and) protecting the places that raised me, like Bears Ears and Monument Valley,” Davina Smith has said.
Smith, an appointed member of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, is on the board of directors of the nonprofit Bears Ears Partnership (BEP), an organization instrumental in founding the Bears Ears Conservation Partnership, a coalition of Tribal Nations, federal and state agencies and conservation groups whose mission is to restore watersheds and canyons. Leslie Vreeland in the Telluride Times | Read more »
The Promise of Grand Staircase-Escalante
Geologists say that no other terrestrial record of this time period is as complete. Wind and water have whittled the cliffs and terraces that expose its various chapters, creating an open book for scientists to explore. …
But according to scientists, the national monument, which is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, has yet to fully deliver on its mission. Insufficient resources and the federal government’s shifting priorities—including the administration’s recurring threats to downsize the monument—have kept it from reaching its full scientific potential.
“It is the most famous storybook of the history of our planet,” said Colorado State University geoscientist Joel Pederson. But “the research that could be done in Grand Staircase has not yet come to fruition.” Shi En Kim for High Country News | Read more »
How Macaws and Parrots Lived in Chaco Canyon
In a recent study, Dr. Katelyn Bishop conducted a zooarchaeological and archival data reanalysis of macaws and parrots recovered from Chaco Canyon to better understand their depositional contexts, material associations, and the human-bird relationship of the ancient Puebloans.
The study, published in the journal KIVA, reveals that most parrots were likely restricted to great houses, where they were intentionally deposited in rooms with plastered walls and thermal features, where they likely served important cultural and ceremonial roles. Sandee Oster for Phys.org | Read more »
Land Back News: Taos Pueblo
Officials at Taos Pueblo conducted a quiet ceremony Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 23) to accept a gift of land from part-time resident Dr. Stephen Becker, an Austin, Texas economist.
As tribal members prepared to conduct the traditional Matachines Dances over the following days, their administrative leaders met with Becker to sign documents outlining the return of property considered of significant cultural value back to Taos Pueblo. Its location is undisclosed to protect its pristine nature. Rick Romancito for the Taos News | Read more »
Rock Imagery and Climate Lessons in Chad
As the African Humid Period began to wane some 6,000 years ago, northern Africa shifted toward drier conditions, with major changes in vegetation, water availability, and habitable space. Sedimentary and pollen records confirm a broad retreat of lakes and grasslands. And in the Ennedi rock art record, this climatic shift is reflected in the changing emphasis of motifs: depictions of wild fauna become less frequent while pastoral scenes and cattle dominance increase; the appearance of horses suggests interactions with populations to the north; and the appearance of camels hints at increasing reliance on an animal adapted to drying conditions.
Today, despite its remoteness and the persistent political fragility of northern Chad and neighboring border regions, much of the Ennedi rock art endures as evidence—painted on or literally etched into stone—of how human societies reorganized themselves in the face of changing environments. Matjaz Krivic for Undark | Read (and see) more »
Memorial Gathering for Suzanne K. Fish
From the family: As many of you know Suzy Fish passed away in November after a brief and unexpected illness. There will be a memorial gathering in her honor on Sunday, February 15, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Mission Gardens in Tucson, Arizona, with a reception to follow at our family home between 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. Please save the date and feel free to let others know. An invitation with further details will follow in January. We are working on setting up a Zoom link for those unable to attend.
In Memoriam: Cherie Freeman
Major Freeman travelled the world during her time in the Air Force and in retirement settled back into hospital nursing in Tucson, AZ. Cherie had a true love for the Arizona desert and also discovered archaeology—originally taking classes at Pima Community College and then later volunteering with several archaeological organizations. Cherie worked with archaeology PhD students, was an Arizona Site Steward and volunteered at the Arizona State Museum for over 20 years. Cherie’s love of the outdoors, particularly the Sonoran Desert, and her participation in archaeological fieldwork was apparent to everyone she knew, and she even received several awards for her efforts. …
Cherie was a true character, teller of stories and lived her life voraciously. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. On Feb. 12, 1:00 p.m., there will be a service at the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Marana, 15950 N Luckett Road. Learn more about Cherie »
Exhibition Announcement (Santa Fe NM): Màatakuyma: Now It Is Becoming Clearer to Me
Renowned Hopi photographer and filmmaker Duwawisioma (Victor Masayesva Jr.), was born in the Hopi community of Hotevilla, Arizona, in 1951. His current exhibition, “Màatakuyma: Now It Is Becoming Clearer to Me,” at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, features digital photomontages and films from his four-decade-plus career. It runs through April 19.
“It’s really a retrospective of his work,” Elisa Phelps, museum curator, said. “He gathered the photographic work together in a couple of series that have a narrative surrounding them. … The work explores ideas of existence and being in terms of Hopi ancestral traditions.” Logan Royce Beitman in the Albuquerque Journal | Read more »
January Educational Workshops (Bisbee AZ)
In partnership with Copper Queen Library, Naco Heritage Alliance is excited to present this free, three-part educational series on the history of the Borderlands with Becky Orozco, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Cochise College. Jan. 16: The Archaeology of Cochise County; Jan. 23, La Frontera: A History of Our Border Region; Jan. 30, A History of Conflict: Camp Naco, the Bisbee Deportation, and World War I. Copper Queen Library, 6 Main Street, 2:00 p.m. Naco Heritage Alliance | Learn more »
January Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Jan. 12, Sean Dolan, Birds, Animals & Other Pueblo Creatures; Jan. 19, Tom Chavez, Ancient Societies, Migration, Chaco Canyon, & Mesoamerica; Jan. 26, Tom Chavez, Adobe Cities, Columbian Dream, A Missionary Field, Spanish Explorations, Settlement. Mondays at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe. $20 at the door or $75 for the series of 4 lectures. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
Jan. 11 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Winter Party and Silent Auction
AAHS’s Winter party and Silent auction will be held on January 11, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the San Pedro Chapel, 5230 Ft. Lowell, Tucson. Join us for light refreshments, a silent auction, and socializing with colleagues. In addition to the auction, there will be two short talks: Linda Gregonis on the Hardy Site at Fort Lowell and Robert Schon on Bisbee’s Warren Park. Bid on a wide range of items, including: artwork, Native American jewelry, classic archaeological volumes signed by Emil Haury, and more! Proceeds go to the AAHS Research and Travel Grants fund, an important source of support for archaeological and historical research in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico and for travel to present that research. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more »
Jan. 14 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future
With Joe Watkins and Carol Ellick. How does the Ainu experience in Hokkaido, Japan, relate to other Indigenous people in the context of global colonialism? Watkins’ earlier anthropology work with Indigenous communities in the United States allows him to answer this question. He will talk about his new book, Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future, which investigates the rich history and cultural resilience of the Ainu, tracing their journey from ancient times to their contemporary struggles for recognition.
As a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Watkins’ interests concern the ethical practice of anthropology and anthropology’s relationships with descendant communities and populations on a global scale. 5:30 p.m., Tumamoc Hill Boathouse, 1675 W. Anklam Rd. (at the base of the hill). Desert Laboratory (University of Arizona) | Learn more and register (free) »
Jan. 14 Online and In-Person Event (Santa Fe NM): Petrosovereignty and Native Nations
With Angela Kay Parker. Parker will explore how Native nations have navigated oil extraction across the twentieth century. Moving from Osage and Creek territories to Blackfeet, Crow, Alaska Native communities, Southern Ute, Jicarilla Apache, Fort Berthold, and Standing Rock, Parker places Native sovereignty at the center of the story of American oil. She will examine how tribal governments have faced complicated decisions about land, authority, and resource use over time. Parker invites attendees to rethink familiar narratives of “progress” and energy development by foregrounding the communities that have borne the greatest costs—and that are actively shaping more just futures. School for Advanced Research | Learn more »
Jan. 15 Online Event: Petroglyphs, Pottery, and Painting in the Ancient Southwest
With Kelley Hays-Gilpin. She will illustrate and discuss visual imagery (aka “art”) in pottery, petroglyphs and pictographs, and textiles in the Southwest’s archaeological record and what these images may tell us about ancient community organization and interactions. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Jan. 31 Tour: Tucson and Marana Yoeme (Yaqui Indian) Communities
With Yaqui historian Felipe Molina. car-caravan cultural sites tour starting at the Santa Cruz River Park ramada, 1317 W Irvington Rd, Tucson. The tour will visit places in Tucson and Marana settled historically by the Yoeme including the 39th Street Community (Barrio Libre), Pascua, Yoem Pueblo, and former settlements. Reservations and $45 donation prepayment are due by 5:00 p.m. on January 28. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Learn more »
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!