Dear Friends,
The Statewide Historic Preservation Conference (Preserve AZ) was held in Phoenix last week, and Archaeology Southwest showed up in force: Preservation Anthropologist Aaron Wright, Preservation Archaeologist Karen Schollmeyer, Vice President of Preservation and Collaboration John Welch, President Emeritus and Senior Advisor Bill Doelle, and Director of Tribal Collaboration Skylar Begay all attended. Most of them gave presentations on our work, and all of them engaged in the networking these conferences make possible.
They also attended the Tribal Listening Session in which the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), Kathryn Leonard, told the masses that her office may have to shut down in August unless federal funding gets reinstated. Sky provided the following account, which I have edited for length and clarity, and added my commentary to provide additional details.
Based on the AZ SHPO’s current projections, there will no longer be federal funding available to pay for 10 of their 12 (83%) employees. In the White House’s press release on “skinny budget” for FY 2026 budgets, the administration proposes cutting ALL of the Historic Preservation Fund. How ironic is it that these cuts are coming on the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation?
For more information about this deeply troubling situation, the Arizona SHPO’s alert is here. A fact sheet from the National Council of SHPOs may be found here. And here is a news release from the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
SHPO offices work closely with all manner of small and large historic preservation organizations. They work in deep collaboration with Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs). The Arizona SHPO oversees a vast network of volunteers who protect archaeological resources through their award-winning Site Steward Program.
Please join us in contacting your state and federal representatives to urge them to demand funding for SHPOs. The impacts to Tribes, and our current collaborations with them, were SHPOs and THPOs to essentially cease to exist, are mind boggling.
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, R. E. Burrillo
Continuing Coverage and Commentary: Threats to Our Public Lands
House Republicans voted Thursday morning to approve the budget reconciliation bill, after removing provisions for a major public land sell off that had created a broad uproar.
But the bill, passed without a single Democratic vote, still contains several unprecedented measures to roll back public land protections, boost the pace of leasing for energy development, and sidestep key laws.
“Unfortunately, even without selling off public lands outright, this budget reconciliation proposal remains the most extreme legislative attack on public lands in our nation’s history,” Lydia Weiss, senior director for government relations at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. “We call on Congress to reject this mass giveaway to powerful corporate interests.” Roque Planas and Chris D’Angelo for Public Domain | Read more »
Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society, made the following statement about the news:
“We appreciate Rep. Zinke’s work to prevent the House from selling our public lands to pay for tax cuts for the rich. But even without selling off public lands, the so-called ‘one big beautiful bill’ is just one big giveaway. By opening hundreds of millions of acres to drilling, mining and logging to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, this bill harms the tens of millions of people who like to hike, recreate or find solace in the outdoors. We now call on the Senate to protect our public lands for future generations and reject this massive giveaway to powerful corporate interests.” The Wilderness Society (press release) | Read more »
On Saturday, June 7, we’re showing up across the country to say: HANDS OFF NATIONAL MONUMENTS. These places belong to the people—not billionaires, developers, or corporate polluters. Join a gathering at your nearest monument or public land and raise your voice. Bring a sign. Take and share photos on social media. Be part of the movement. Friends Grassroots Network (Conservation Lands Foundation) | Find your nearest Friends group to learn more »
Local Kids Achieve Jr. Ranger Status at Bears Ears
On April 29th, the Bureau of Land Management’s Monticello Field Office [which manages Bears Ears National Monument, among other public lands in the region] partnered with Montezuma Creek Elementary School to host its second annual Junior Ranger Day—an exciting event that welcomed approximately 250 students from kindergarten through sixth grade for a day of learning, exploration, and fun. Throughout the day, students rotated through a variety of hands-on learning stations led by experts in recreation, range, archaeology, paleontology, and wildlife. Diana Galindo-Sherrock for the Bureau of Land Management | Read more »
Healthy Land, Healthy People: Benefits of Tribal Co-Stewardship
Following the successful inclusion of Indigenous voices in the establishment of Bears Ears National Monument, the call for consultation with associated Tribes went out in rewriting the new resource management plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, with the eventual goal of forming a formal co-stewardship agreement written into the final version of the document. Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, the non-profit friends group of the national monument, was charged with facilitating government-to-government talks between Tribal Leaders and the Bureau of Land Management. They subsequently hired [Autumn] Gillard [Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah], Davina Smith of the Navajo Nation and Georgie Pongyesva, a Hopi woman and Tribal consultant, to act as their cultural advisors in opening the door for talks. Ian Marynowski for Corner Post: Colorado Plateau Journalism | Read more »
Mud Party at Terrenate
In May 2025, the “Mud Party” returned to Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate, a historic Spanish mission nestled along the San Pedro River within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area near Sierra Vista.
Under the guidance of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) archaeologists Clint Dalton and Ralph Burrillo, along with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) archaeologist Chris Schrager, more than 20 participants came together to apply a fresh layer of mud to the remaining adobe walls. Participants included individuals from the BLM, National Park Service, USFS, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Friends of the San Pedro River, and public volunteers.
This “sacrificial cap” plays a crucial role in protecting the structure, shielding it from erosion caused by wind and rain over the coming months or even years, while ensuring the underlying historic elements remain intact. As the top layer gradually wears away, a new coating is added annually during the Terrenate Mud Party, a tradition that was paused in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. R. E. Burrillo for the Bureau of Land Management | Read more »
More pictures here via Facebook »
Publication Announcement: “A case study in Tribal collaboration from the North American Southwest in the interest of advancing an Indigenous archaeology of rock imagery”
Wright, Aaron M. 2025. Indigenous Archaeology, Collaborative Practice, and Rock Imagery: An Example from the North American Southwest. Arts 14, no. 3: 53. Read now (open access) »
Late May and June In-Person Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
May 26, Deborah C. Slaney, Leekyuse: Zuni Family of Fetish Carvers; June 2, Matthew Liebmann; Echoes of Conquest: Bells, First Contacts & New Mexico Resistance, 1539–1680; June 9, Kelsey E. Hanson, Painting for Rain: Technologies of Chromatic Prayer in Chaco Canyon; June 16, Steve Simms, First Peoples of Great Salt Lake: A Cultural Landscape from Nevada to Wyoming; June 23, John R. Welch, Fortresses of the Upper Salt River, Arizona; June 30, Philippe S. Cohen, Our Global Backyards: Field Stations and Marine Labs. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. $20 at the door. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: May 29 Online Event: Save History: How to Protect Archaeological Sites from Looting and Vandalism
With Anastasia Walhovd and Shannon Cowell. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Archaeology Southwest are partners in a multi-year Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) agreement to provide Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) assistance. The team collaborates with Tribal Nations to prevent, detect, and respond to archaeological resource crimes. The presenters will discuss the ARPA Assistance Initiative, the website SaveHistory.org, historical trends and current issues in ARPA investigations and prosecutions, and how members of the public can respond when they encounter looting and vandalism on the ground or online. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: May 30 Online Event: Great Houses for Whom?
With Robert S. Weiner. What were Great Houses, how were they used, and what do they tell us about the Indigenous history of the Four Corners from 800-1200 CE? In this talk Dr. Robert Weiner will offer a new interpretation of Great Houses as temples, drawing on diverse lines of evidence of cognitive science, cross-cultural comparison, and oral traditions of Diné and Pueblo people. Dr. Weiner is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Dartmouth College, where he is also a Lecturer in the Department of Religion. 8:00 p.m. EDT. Aztlander Magazine of the Americas | Zoom link »
June 19 Online Event: Beyond Any One Scholar’s Expertise: The Story of the Safford Valley Grids Archaeology Project
With William Doolittle and James Neely. They headed a project that investigated expansive tracts of rock-bordered grids north of the Gila River in the Safford Valley that had mystified archaeologists and others for nearly a century. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Video Channel Roundup
NEW! A-Dae Romero-Briones on Domestication: The Beginning or the End of Community Relationships (1:07:02) Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Watch now »
NEW! Kenneth Feder on Archaeological Humbugs: Exposing Frauds, Busting Myths, and Solving Mysteries (1:38) Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Watch now »
NEW! An oral history interview with the one and only Shurban (50:52) Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Watch now »
Catch up on some presentations not highlighted above that we might’ve missed, too! A simple click on any of the links to the YouTube channels of our Partners and Friends should catch you up. (And please do let us know if your channel isn’t in this list but should be.)
Albuquerque Archaeological Society
American Rock Art Research Association
Amerind Foundation
Archaeology Southwest
Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society
Arizona State Museum
Aztlander
Bears Ears Partnership
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Grand Canyon Trust
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners
Mesa Prieta Petroglyphs Project
Mission Garden (Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace)
Museum of Indian Arts and Cultures
Museum of Northern Arizona
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
Pacific Coast Archaeological Society
San Diego Archaeological Center
School for Advanced Research
SHUMLA Archaeological Center
Southwest Seminars
The Archaeological Conservancy
Verde Valley Archaeology Center
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!