Southwest Archaeology Today for Sept 26, 2005

Archaeology Making the News – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

– Hopi View of the Expanded Development of the San Francisco Peaks: The Hopi Way may vanish so skiers can play. Since ancient times Hopi people have regarded the San Francisco Peaks as “Nuvatukyaovi,” which in the Hopi language means “place of snow on the peaks.” The Forest Service last March ruled that wastewater can be piped to Nuvatukyaovi for the purpose of making artificial snow, so more people can ski the Peaks. The decision was devastating to my people. Hopi clans and religious societies have shrines on the Peaks. We visit the area to deposit prayer offerings and collect herbs and plants for ceremonies. Our attorneys will argue in U.S. District Court on Oct. 6 that the Forest Service did not consider the psychological and cultural impact using wastewater to make snow would have on Native Americans who worship the Peaks.
Http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0923taylor,wayne.html

– Trail of the Ancients Designated “National Scenic Byway” (Cortez): The Trail of the Ancients, including 116 miles of scenic highway in and around Cortez flanked by mountainous beauty and archaeological wonders, garnered National Scenic Byway designation Thursday. Also designated were 364 miles of culturally rich roadways in Utah linked to the Southwest Colorado path. The route’s elevation from state-designated byways to a regionally significant attraction makes it the nation’s first and only archaeological byway, said Lynn Dyer, director of Mesa Verde Country Information Bureau in Cortez.
http://tinyurl.com/an9by – Cortez Journal

– Ethical Problems with Getty Collections: Attorneys for the J. Paul Getty Museum have determined that half the masterpieces in its antiquities collection were purchased from dealers now under investigation for allegedly selling artifacts looted from ruins in Italy. Italian authorities have identified dozens of objects in the Getty collection as looted, including ancient urns, vases and a 5-foot marble statue of Apollo.
http://tinyurl.com/8k7xj – Los Angeles Times/Yahoo News
http://tinyurl.com/8b99h – KTLA News

– Contemporary Native American Art Showcased at the New York Museum of Arts and Design: It was originally meant to be one show _ a survey of contemporary Native American artists from around the country, showcased at the Museum of Arts and Design. It took about six weeks for the organizers to realize there was no way they could fit all the work they were finding into one exhibit. So the one show was broken into three, divided by geography. The first show, which opened in 2002, focused on the Southwest, the four states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. “Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2: Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest & Pacific” opened this week and runs through Jan. 22. A third show, focusing on art from the area east of the Mississippi, is planned for 2008 or 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/8t674 – New York Newsday

– Travelogue – Lots of Room for History at Tucson’s Congress Hotel: The Hotel Congress is as enlightening as the landscape that surrounds it. The 86-year-old stucco hotel was built in downtown Tucson for rail passengers and the growing cattle industry of the Southern Pacific line.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/travel/tra-news-detours25.html