Acoma Protests Publication of Private Cultural Heritage

Acoma Protests Publication of Private Cultural Heritage
While a manuscript of The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo was submitted to Acoma Pueblo at the pueblo’s insistence upon discovering Nabokov’s planned publication, and was being reviewed by traditional leaders, Nabokov did not follow through on any of his other promises prior to publication. Nabokov holds himself out as a scholar and “friend” of Indian tribes. His actions suggest otherwise, as he does not exhibit basic respect for tribal beliefs and practices. http://bit.ly/1KDIKHV – Santa Fe New Mexican

Political Struggle over Alamo Artifacts
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas won a legal battle this week in an ongoing dispute over control of historical items in an Alamo research library. The General Land Office has taken over administering the Alamo buildings, grounds, and operations, but the Daughters, a historical preservation group, is claiming that the state wants to seize their items from the Alamo Research Center, a library. This week, District Judge Larry Noll in Bexar County temporarily blocked the General Land Office from taking items. http://bit.ly/1VjL9uf – San Angelo Standard Times

Evidence for Mass Graves Presents Dark Chapter in Southern Utah
ST. GEORGE, Utah — An archaeologist from California believes he may have found the two mass grave sites that hold the bodies of men, women, and children murdered in the Mountain Meadows Massacre in southwest Utah in 1857. However, the graves aren’t on land the Mormon church purchased in order to memorialize the victims in one of the darkest chapters in Utah’s pioneer history.  http://usat.ly/1O36OI2 – USA Today

Architect Utilizes Lessons from the Past in Building for the Southwest
When building a home in the Southwest, listen to the experts for a millennium: the Sinagua, Anasazi, and Hohokam people. That’s the recommendation from New York City architect Michael Szerbaty, who visited and studied ancient Arizona communities when designing his getaway home for him and his wife, Janet Twyman, in Cottonwood. http://bit.ly/1KDLBk3 – Arizona Republic

Travelogue – Canyon de Chelly
Death has put its heavy hand on this place. Heartbreak and woe have echoed through this canyon. Baffled hatred and mindless prejudice have haunted these sandstone walls. But I cannot feel it, not really. I can only feel this great brimming. I can only feel this great welling up of peace. I can only hear the whisper of wind across the cliff face, coming fragrant up out of this ancient canyon, where 5,000 years of hope and striving have come now in the end to this aching silence. http://bit.ly/1LHLEgI – Payson Roundup

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Desert Foothills Chapter of the  Arizona Archaeological Society presents on October 14, from 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m., at no charge, Dr. Kerry Thompson, a member of the Navajo Nation primarily interested in the inclusion of Native American perspectives and participation in archaeological practice. Folklore and oral tradition are lines of evidence for establishing cultural affiliation, but there is no clear picture of the ways in which oral histories are being brought into archaeological practice. The meetings are held in the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). http://bit.ly/1aYMEY2 -Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society

Lecture Opportunity – Grand Junction
Wednesday, October 7, the Grand Junction chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS-GJ) and KAFM Radio will welcome Dr. David Batten to make a presentation, Bringing the Field into the Office: The Use of GIS in Archaeological Research. The 6:00 p.m. event is free and open to the public. The nonprofit radio station will kindly accept donations. The presentation will be held at the KAFM Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave., in Grand Junction. For  more information see http://bit.ly/1PHPeXo.

Lecture Opportunity – Phoenix
The Phoenix Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society invites you to come join us in the Pueblo Grande Museum on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7:00 p.m., when Dr. Todd Bostwick will present Life and Death at a Hohokam Ballcourt Village in the Northern Tucson Basin. Attendance is free and the public is welcome. Pueblo Grande Museum is located at 4619 E. Washington Street, Phoenix. Join us for light refreshments before the meeting, followed by an interesting talk and a short Q&A period. Contact Ellie Large at 480-461-0563 for more information.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
As part of the Western Parks and Monuments Association’s Emil Haury lecture series, on Tuesday, October 13, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Patricia L. Crown will present Old Sites, New Insights: Returning to Snaketown and Pueblo Bonito. The talk will be held in the Center for English as a Second Language, Room 103 on the University of Arizona campus. For more information visit wnpa.org, or call Susan at 520-789-7405.

Archaeological Learning Opportunity – Tucson
On Friday evenings, October 2-December 11, archaeologist Allen Dart offers a 10-session Prehistory of the Southwest Class: The Hohokam Culture of Southern Arizona at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson. Class explores the archaeology of southern Arizona’s ancient Hohokam culture, covering its origins, material culture (ceramics, other artifacts, architecture, etc.), subsistence and settlement systems, social and organizational systems, interaction within and beyond the region, and ideas on religion and trade. $95 fee (Old Pueblo and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members $80) excludes cost of textbook. Reservations and payment required by 5:00 p.m. September 29; 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Flintknapping Workshop -Tucson
On Saturday, October 3, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., flintknapper Sam Greenleaf leads an arrowhead-making and flintknapping workshop at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson. Participants will learn how to make arrowheads, spear points, and other flaked stone artifacts from obsidian and other stone like ancient peoples did. The class is designed to foster understanding of how prehistoric peoples made essential tools, not to make artwork for sale. $35 fee ($28 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members) includes all materials and equipment. Reservations required by 5:00 p.m. October 1st: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.