Widow of Alleged Blanding Looter Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Widow of Alleged Blanding Looter Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The widow of a Blanding doctor who killed himself after his arrest in a Utah ancient artifacts theft case has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two federal agencies. The lawsuit, which Jeanne Redd filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, claims the Bureau of Land Management and the FBI pushed her husband, James Redd, to suicide through “excessive, overreaching and abusive treatment” of him, the Deseret News of Salt Lake City reported. http://www.heraldextra.com/news/state-and-regional/utah/article_dcc6d25d-2287-5d37-bd51-04a53eb8ca95.html

New Blog Follows Preservation Archaeology Field School at Mule Creek
Follow along with Center For Desert Archaeology Preservation Fellow Robert Jones and the staff and students of the Center for Desert Archaeology and University of Arizona School of Anthropology’s Preservation Archaeology Field School as they conduct a fourth season of fieldwork in the Mule Creek region of western New Mexico. https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/what-we-do/investigations/mule-creek/mule-creek-underground/

Southern Utah’s Danger and Jukebox Caves Providing a 12,000 Year View of the Past
Utah’s Danger and Jukebox caves are remarkable archaeological sites for several reasons. Both provided shelter for ancient groups of people as far back as 12,000 years ago and have clues hidden in the strata that tell valuable stories to research teams. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/outdoors/51651032-117/cave-utah-danger-caves.html.csp

Nominations Announced for the Arizona Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards
Since 1982, the Arizona Preservation Foundation and Arizona State Historic Preservation Office/Arizona State Parks have collaborated to present the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards. These awards recognize people, organizations, and projects that represent outstanding achievements in preserving Arizona’s prehistoric and historic resources. This years honorees: Randy Oden, Oden Contruction & Michael Sellers, Sellers & Sons, Modern Architecture Preservation Project (MAPP) of Tucson, Douglas Mansion Rehabilitation Project, Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix 1945-1975, El Tiradito & La Pilita Museum Rehabilitation, Florence Townsite Preservation Design Guidelines, Florida Station Adaptive Re-Use & Rehabilitation Project, Tovrea Castle Rehabilitation Project, Poster Frost Mirto – Fort Lowell Master Plan & Preservation Plan, and John Madsen – Lifetime Achievement. The Grand Award winner will be announced at the Arizona Preservation Conference Awards Luncheon on June 24th.
http://www.azpreservation.com/_docs/2011_Historic_Preservation_Conference_Awards_Announcement.pdf

Tours and other Historic Preservation Gatherings During Arizona Preservation Foundation Conference are Open to All
Visit http://www.azpreservation.com for more event details and registration information. Information about Tucson events happening in conjunction with the conference are listed at  https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/pdf/azhpc_community_events_poster.pdf

15th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration Starts on the 20th of June
The 15^th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration will be held Monday through Saturday, 20 – 25 June 2011, at the Diné College Rodeo Arena on the Tsailé Campus in the Navajo Nation.  Sheep is Life is co-sponsored by Diné be’ iiná, Inc. and the Diné College Land Grant Program, with support from the USDA Risk Management Agency and the Arizona Humanities Council. http://www.navajolifeway.org/

13th Annual Meetings of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers to be Hosted by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
The meetings have been scheduled for September 19-21, 2011 and will be held at the Talking Stick Resort.  http://www.nathpo.org/mainpage.html

3D Scanning Project Images Texas Pictographs
Panther Cave, among the best known of several hundred prehistoric pictograph sites that dot the rugged canyons along the US-Mexico border, is being scanned with lasers to produce a high-resolution 3-D image in efforts to gauge the mural’s deterioration and detect images long ago erased by Mother Nature. They hope the project will help them preserve and decipher one of the oldest stories in North America.  http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/West-Texas-prehistoric-paintings-get-laser-study-1400797.php

Travelogue: Working with a Knowledgeable Guide is One of the Best Ways to Tour the Hopi Mesas
I was able to book a small group tour with Micah Loma’omvaya’s Hopi Tours, an experience so engaging and enlightening that I booked another when I returned last year. Loma’omvaya, a Hopi anthropologist, is able to move between the Western secular and traditional Hopi worlds. He is passionate about sharing his history and culture, delivering it with a healthy dose of pride. “Hopi is a way of life,’’ he says. “It’s the ideal of human patience and diligence.’’ http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/articles/2011/05/29/seeing_hopi_culture_through_the_lens_of_a_hopi_guide/

Lecture Opportunity – Phoenix
Mr. Barnaby Lewis, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Gila River Indian Community, will be the guest speaker at the Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary meeting on Wednesday, June 1st.  The event takes place at Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E. Washington Street in Phoenix, at 6:30 PM.  Mr. Lewis will provide O’odham perspectives associated with archaeological investigations in southern Arizona as well as cultural connections with other significant places within the landscape such as petroglyph sites. Barnaby V. Lewis has been the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) since February 2009 and was previously the GRIC Cultural Resource Specialist for 10 years with the GRIC Cultural Resource Management Program.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars is hosting Dr. Matt Schmader, City of Albuquerque Archaeologist and Superintendent, who will present “Vazquez de Coronado in the Tiguex Province, Albuquerque Rio Grande Valley: 1540-42” Monday night, 6:00 pm, June 6th at the Hotel Santa Fe.  http://www.southwestseminars.org/SouthwestSeminars.org/Voices_From_the_Past_2011.html

Hiking Opportunity – El Malpais
June 25th, near Grants, NM. This BLM El Malpais ranger-led hike will observe the solstice at the Lobo Canyon Petroglyphs Easy 15min. hike plus optional 5hr. hike. A citizen scientist like you on a BLM hike like this recorded a sun event a year ago down this canyon. Help cover the rock walls of the Lobo Canyon Petroglyphs with vigilance. Hike up canyon in the cool morning air and watch for active animals. If the conditions are right there may be many flowers. Consider the people here in the 1200s. Is this canyon still lush due to efforts then? How many people could it feed? Sun markers happen. We will return to the panels at local high noon and re-examine them. 505.280.2918

Thanks to Gerald Kelso for contributing to this week’s issue of Southwestern Archaeology Today.