Tribal Governor Rebuilding Ancient Ceramic Traditions of Jemez Pueblo

Tribal Governor Rebuilding Ancient Ceramic Traditions of Jemez Pueblo
Joshua Madalena believes that Jemez black-on-white pottery is the original art form of the Jemez Pueblo people. This unique form of ceramic pottery is tempered with volcanic tuff or rock, slipped with white clay, painted with carbon (vegetable) paint, and fired in an oxygen-free atmosphere. The pottery was used, based on archaeological findings, from about 1300 to 1700 AD throughout the Jemez (pronounced hey-mess) Mountain range and surrounding areas, before being extinguished by Spanish occupation of modern day New Mexico. http://bit.ly/1puuVlr – Indian Country Today

Director of the Autry Discusses Native Voice in 21st-Century Museums
Native Americans have a far greater geographical reach than the American West, W. Richard West said in the Amphitheater on Wednesday. But they have served as an “undeniably potent originating element” in the canvas of the West, making their history, art and culture a dynamic and complicated subject for museums to represent. West, himself a citizen and peace chief of the Southern Cheyenne, should know. He was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian for nearly two decades, and currently serves as the president and CEO of the Autry National Center, a Los Angeles museum dedicated to “[exploring] the stories of the diverse peoples of the American West.” http://bit.ly/1qi3eJ4 – The Chautauquan Daily

Arizona Daily Sun Celebrates the Historic Colton House
Less than a mile from the Museum of Northern Arizona stands the Colton House, once the home of museum founders Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton and her husband Dr. Harold Colton.  Much like the museum, the house became a testament to the couple’s passions and attraction to the Colorado Plateau. Colton House has become a gathering place of minds and ideas — and a place for celebrations. Relocating from eastern Pennsylvania, the Coltons came to northern Arizona with their own passions. Mary-Russell was a trained artist. Harold was a zoologist. Together they fell in love with the Colorado Plateau’s abundance of natural science, archeology and indigenous cultures. http://bit.ly/1v5z406 – Arizona Daily Sun

Public Access to Yucca House Threatened
Visitors must follow Park Service directions that include details like “head toward the white ranch house with red roof on the west horizon.” They must get out of their vehicles to open and close cattle gates as they pass through private property before they reach the modest entrance that is not much more than a fence with a sign fronting the buried remains of one of the largest archaeological sites in the state. Getting to Yucca House could become even more difficult if the owners of the neighboring Box Bar Ranch get their way. They have asked Montezuma County to close off access on the county road that cuts through their property and leads to the 95-year-old monument. http://dpo.st/YmjthM – Denver Post

Sea Level Rise Creating Archaeological Emergency on Santa Cruz Island
Archaeologist Torben Rick watched with frustration as pounding surf clawed at one of North America’s oldest homesteads, a massive heap of village foundations, cutting tools, beads and kitchen discards left behind over the last 13,000 years. Here, seafaring tribal members cast fishing nets from canoes made of redwood planks, prepared dinners on stone griddles, and painstakingly chipped out tiny shell beads prized as currency. But unless something is done, this rich trove of Native American history and several others on the island will almost certainly be destroyed by rising seas and strong storm surges along beaches that will soon no longer exist. http://lat.ms/1p3jTEa – Los Angeles Times

Target Shooters Responsible for Rock Art Vandalism in Utah
Vandals spray-painted more than a dozen silhouette targets on rocks near Native American rock art at Utah County’s Lake Mountain and then engaged in practice shooting with a large-caliber firearm. The Bureau of Land Management’s Salt Lake Field Office is offering a reward of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those involved in the incident, which happened in the Lake Mountains area west of Utah Lake. http://bit.ly/1m9odg2 – Deseret News

Ancient Cultures along the Sea of Cortez Featured on the Archaeology Channel
In addition to a feature on shipwrecks in Biscayne National Park, the current episode from the Archaeology Channel features a segment upon the   The Erl King had three masts, but also a steam engine.  She fatally ran aground in 1891. Comca’ac Indians of Mexico, who live along the shore of the Sea of Cortez. Traditionally a hunting and gathering culture subsisting on the green sea turtle–or “Moosni”–the Comca’ac now are threatened by development and the turtles face possible extinction. http://bit.ly/1rK33s7 – The Archaeology Channel.Org

Spanish Colonial Skills Class – Tucson
Want to learn about Spanish Colonial Children’s Games? The Tucson Presidio Trust is sponsoring a workshop to teach this topic, as well as Getting to Know Cotton and Wool Fibers and Understanding Colonial Foods. Attendees will spin cotton into thread, grind maize using a mano and metate, and get an intimate look at the recreated northeast corner of the Spanish and Mexican period fortress. Trust members can attend the class for free. Annual membership in the Trust is $30 a year (family membership is $40). The class will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 9 to 11:30 AM at the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, 196 N. Court Street in Tucson. For more information, contact Amy Hartmann-Gordon at amyhg@TucsonPresidio.com or visit our website http://www.tucsonpresidio.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Glendale
The public is invited to a free lecture on Ancient Agriculture at Agua Fria National Monument offered by the Agua Fria Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society at 7:00 PM on Monday, September 8, 2014 at the West Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 5904 W. Cholla St., Glendale, AZ (off 59th Avenue, south of Cactus). Membership in the Society is not required. Andrew Salyon and Wendy Hodgson, senior botanists at the Desert Botanical Garden, will present a program on the archaeological evidence of plants cultivated by Hohokam Indians on the Agua Fria National Monument. Of primary importance to this group was the agave, a significant source of both food and fiber. Join us for this enlightening PowerPoint and question-and-answer session. For more information contact Tim Cullison, 602-863-9744, tcullisonaz@gmail.com.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents John Haworth who will give a lecture Indigeneity: Transformation of Native Peoples Museums Over the Last Quarter Century on Aug 18 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Native Culture Matters Lecture Series held to acknowledge the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). No reservations are necessary and admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. Refreshments are served and seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo who will give a lecture Native Peoples and Sovereignty on Aug. 25 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Native Culture Matters Lecture Series held to acknowledge the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). No reservations are necessary and admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. Refreshments are served and seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Springerville
On Monday, August 18th (today) at the regular meeting of the Little Colorado Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, (7:00 pm at the Springerville Heritage Center, 418 E. Main Street,) Speaker Connie Stone, Ph.D will be giving a presentation entitled The Cultural Resources of the Agua Fria National Monument. For most of her career, Connie worked as an archaeologist for the BLM, based in Phoenix.  From 2002 through 2008, she served as the archaeologist for the Agua Fria National Monument.  Connie retired from the BLM in 2012 and is currently completing a term as the chair of the Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission. The chapter also plans a dinner at 5:00 P.M. at Avery’s, 262 W. Main Street in Springerville.

Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl for contributing to this week’s newsletter.