Mounting Concerns Over the Firing of State Archaeologists in Utah

Mounting Concerns Over the Firing of State Archaeologists in Utah
The Utah Department of Community and Culture on Tuesday laid off the state archaeologist and two assistants, leaving the Antiquities section with just two employees: those responsible for maintaining a database necessary for development of roads, railways, buildings and other projects. Department acting Director Mike Hansen said he was simply carrying out budget cuts ordered by the Legislature to eliminate programs that receive state funds and that do not carry out requirements of state or federal law. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52048298-90/state-utah-station-archaeology.html.csp

Southwestern Archaeological Community Deeply Concerned over the State’s Apparent Lack of Commitment to Archaeological Preservation
Kristin Kuckelman, senior research director for the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Colorado, questioned whether the downsized Utah antiquities office will be able to adequately carry out all its required duties, which include overseeing permits for archaeological sites as well as the remains-repatriation program and outreach. She wonders if the state is being “penny wise and maybe resource foolish” and taking a big risk that archaeological resources are lost forever because of under-staffing and poor management. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52058934-90/antiquities-archaeological-archaeologist-archaeology.html.csp

New Mexico Archaeology Council Posts a Response to Utah’s Decision to Terminate State Archaeology Positions
We believe that this is a serious mistake that will negatively impact Utah’s ability to preserve, study, and interpret the over 12,000 years of history that is represented by the thousands of archaeological sites present in the state. One of the most important roles the Antiquities Section plays is to ensure that the probable effects of development projects on archaeological sites are adequately and professionally evaluated in advance of publicly funded or permitted construction. http://www.nmacweb.org/My_Homepage_Files/Download/NMAC_Herbert_Final_letter.pdf

American Association for the Advancement of Science Notes Utah Firings with Alarm
The Utah archaeological community is in an uproar over the abrupt firing earlier this week of Kevin Jones, Utah’s state archaeologist, and two of his colleagues. State officials have said that the layoffs came because of budgetary cutbacks mandated by the legislature, but many preservationists and archaeologists believe that the dismissals were targeted on an office that has been an outspoken champion of archaeological sites threatened by high-profile development projects. http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/06/firing-of-utah-archaeologists.html

Utah Governor Claims Firings were not Retaliation for Controversial Projects
Gov. Gary Herbert defended the firing of three state archaeologists Thursday, saying their dismissal was due solely to government downsizing and not controversial projects the archaeologists had been drawn into. “The fact that these people were let go has nothing to do with anything they’ve ever done,” Herbert said during a news conference at KUED. “It has to do with the direction we got from the Legislature and the budget cutting process.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/52063793-90/advice-archaeologists-budget-department.html.csp

Salt Lake Tribune Suggests that Utah Firings “Smack of Ugly Payback”
To an archaeologist, context is everything… Puzzling out the real reason why the state archaeologist and his two assistants were fired Tuesday, supposedly for budget reasons alone, is also a matter of setting the event in context. But it doesn’t take a lot of digging to see that the lamentable action had very little to do with payroll and everything to do with payback. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52057599-82/state-context-utah-archaeologist.html.csp

Editorial Cartoon: Archaeologist vs. Neanderthal
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52057383-82/bagley-cartoon-archaeologist-facebook.html.csp

Employment Opportunity (Utah)
This position manages the Human Remains program for the Division of State History. Incumbent is tasked with the recovery, analysis, and determination of cultural affiliation of ancient human remains recovered from private and state lands in Utah (UC 9-8-309 and UAC R212-4). The incumbent works closely with medical examiner and law enforcement personnel on discoveries of human remains. https://statejobs.utah.gov/JobAnnouncement.jsp?rid=23925

Annual Hopi Arts Festival Starts July 2 at the Musuem of Northern Arizona
In 1930, a group of Hopi people came to Flagstaff on the Fourth of July weekend to showcase their culture and sell goods. That tradition will continue at the 78th annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture on July 2-3 at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Artists will showcase their items in 75 booths. Works will include quilts, rattles, pottery, kachina dolls, paintings and baskets. A consignment area will feature pieces by artists who did not make the trip to the festival. There also will be storytellers, singers and dancers. http://www.azcentral.com/travel/articles/2011/06/23/20110623flagstaff-hopi-arts-festival-museum-northern-arizona.html

Park near Prescott, AZ, Offers a Unique Glimpse of Ancient Homes in the Southwest
The exposed remains of several of the pit-houses are open for public viewing in the park that fronts Willow Lake – a feature that local archaeologist Fred Kraps says offers keen insight into the lives of the people of different cultures that once populated the Prescott area. “This one is really interesting; it is basically a Hohokam design,” Kraps said, pointing to the largest of the preserved ruins. He added: “This area is pretty unique; there were two cultures, possibly more, living side by side.”  http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=95261

Humble Beginnings of Modern Phoenix
Hungry horses. That is why Phoenix is here. Horses and hungry soldiers and miners and mules. It is 1865, and there is one man leading a small crew of Mexicans, cutting the hay that grows wild along the banks of the Salt River. He is John Y.T. (“Yours Truly”) Smith, and he’s here because horses need to be fed. They are the cavalry horses stationed at Fort McDowell, built that year in the northeast of the Valley, where the Salt and Verde rivers meet. http://www.azcentral.com/centennial/ent/articles/2011/06/24/20110624architecture-phoenix-buildings-ramadas-canals-farming.html#ixzz1QPTnJZTj

Lecture Opportunity (Cortez)
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society is pleased to present Cliff Spencer, Superintendent of Mesa Verde National Park, to discuss the current status of the Park in a talk entitled “An Inside View of Mesa Verde” on Tuesday, July 5 at 7:00 PM at the Cortez Cultural Center, 25 North Market Street, Cortez, CO.  In his discussion, Superintendent Spencer touch on present projects at the park, 2010 accomplishments and an update on the new Visitor and research center being built at the park entrance. Your questions will be welcome. For questions about this or other lectures, please call Bob Bernhart at 739-6772.

Employment Opportunity (Northern Rio Grande Region)
The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area seeks a new Executive Director. Our mission is to sustain the communities, heritages, languages, cultures, traditions, and environment of Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos Counties through partnerships, education and interpretation. Our vision  is community and economic viability rooted in the heritage and the environment of  Northern New Mexico. http://www.riograndenha.com/images/stories/NRGNHA_Position_Description.pdf