Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Rejects Public Lands Initiative

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Rejects Public Lands Initiative
On December 31st, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition sent a formal letter (opens in PDF) to Utah Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, discontinuing discussions over including tribal objectives in the Congressmen’s Public Lands Initiative. The PLI is a process initiated in 2013 by Congressman Bishop to resolve long-standing disputes over conservation on federal public lands in Eastern Utah. The Hopi, Navajo, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni Tribes created the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition in July of this year with the mission to protect and preserve the Bears Ears region in Southern Utah. The sovereign-led proposal is formally supported by an additional 19 Tribes as well as the National Congress of American Indians. http://bit.ly/1P9AiQ4 – Bears Ears Coalition

Unhappy with Lip Service, Tribes Seek National Monument Designation
The multitribal coalition pushing the Bears Ears conservation initiative has cut off discussions with Utah’s congressional delegation after months of what it characterizes as inauthentic lip service to its interests, noncommittal assurances, refusal to engage its representatives and failures to meet deadlines. The five-tribe group is focusing its national monument case exclusively on the White House as President Barack Obama’s tenure enters its final year, according to a letter it sent Thursday to Republican Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz. http://bit.ly/1O49eSk – Salt Lake Tribune

Economic Diplomacy – A Community-Based Reaction to the Sagebrush Rebellion
On a chilly October day, as sheets of rain work their way down the slopes of the Abajo Mountains nearby, construction workers are putting the final touches on the Canyon Country Discovery Center, just north of Monticello, Utah. Even in its not-quite-finished state, the facility is striking, with an airy, kiva-esque center hall, and a sprawling map of the Colorado Plateau that’s incorporated into the concrete floor. The $10 million facility on a 48-acre plot of land will be a sort of visitor center and museum for the entire Colorado Plateau, a big chunk of which is visible from the huge windows of the structure. It will also serve as the new campus for the 30-year-old Four Corners School of Outdoor Education. It’s a big step up for the school, which until this winter was based out of a dingy, low-ceilinged old building on the other side of town. It’s also a potentially big leap for Monticello, the San Juan County seat, a place better known for its ongoing Sagebrush Rebellion than for education or science. http://bit.ly/1mYti1Y – High Country News

Archaeologist Steven Shackley Posits a New Perspective on the Hohokam
The Hohokam who built hundreds of miles of irrigation canals in Phoenix also created the most advanced civilization in the Southwest — a peaceful, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic economic system stretching from New Mexico to California that persisted for 600 years, according to a provocative new theory advanced by a University of California, Berkeley researcher. Archaeologist Steven Shackley, at UC Berkeley, based his conclusion on an exhaustive analysis of spear and arrow points found throughout the Hohokam region. He also chemically analyzed thousands of pieces of obsidian, to determine the origins of each piece of the bits of volcanic glass prized in the sprawling, Hohokam trade network. http://bit.ly/1OtX0WU – Payson Roundup

There Is Still Time to Register for the Southwest Symposium
The Southwest Symposium promotes new ideas and directions in the archaeology of the United States Southwest and the Mexican Northwest. The 2016 symposium focuses on Engaged Archaeology, showcasing collaborative and participatory work with descendant groups and local communities, public archaeology, and interdisciplinary work, in spoken and poster sessions. Presentations demonstrate how engaged archaeology results in new understandings of the past and broadens the relevance of archaeology. As of December 1, 2015 registration fees are $100 for regular attendees and $50 for students of accredited institutions and those outside the United States and Canada. Registration in advance of the conference helps to ensure shorter lines at registration and enough coffee in the mornings. http://bit.ly/1OEWkzK – SW Symposium – (Editor’s Note: Archaeology Southwest is always interested in hearing from the network of those who subscribe to Southwest Archaeology Today. If you have an idea of how Southwest Archaeology Today might be improved, or wish to express a critique or concern, please take a moment to stop the Archaeology Southwest table and share your thoughts!)

The Deadline for the AAHS Julian Hayden Paper Competition Is Fast Approaching
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society and Arizona Archaeological Council sponsor an annual Julian D. Hayden Student Paper Competition, named in honor of long-time southwestern scholar Julian Dodge Hayden. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $750 and publication of the paper in Kiva, The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. The competition is open to any bona fide undergraduate and graduate student at any recognized college or university. Co-authored papers will be accepted if all authors are students. Subject matter may include the anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, and ethnology of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, or any other topic appropriate for publication in Kiva. http://bit.ly/195IpaS – AAHS

Practice Ethnobotany in Your Own Garden – Or Musing upon Old and New Mexico
In the southwestern corner of “old” New Mexico are cliff dwellings of the Mogollon culture which flourished from circa 200 CE to about the 16th century. The Mogollon became expert farmers, using a variety of irrigation techniques to grow food in the harsh climate. Amazingly, seeds of some of their crops exist today, such as the aptly named Gila Cliff Dweller squash (Cucurbita mixta). This is a large, somewhat pear-shaped, white-skinned squash that can grow up to 20 or 30 pounds. The yellow to orange flesh is perfect for roasting as a main dish or adding sugar, eggs and milk and baking into pies. Like all squash they do well in rich soil with plenty of organic matter such as compost. Plant them in full sun after the ground has warmed up in the spring. A soil pH of 6 to 7.5 is ideal. Keep them well watered but not soggy. Once you pick the squash let them cure in a cool place for about a month to harden their skin. Once cured they will keep until spring. http://bit.ly/1OCVCwD – Cape Gazette.com

Congratulations to Preservationist Ruth Jordan Jackson Van Epps
Arizona teacher, author and historian Ruth Jordan Jackson Van Epps recently received two honors for her contributions from the Arizona White Tank Mountains Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Van Epps, a member of the chapter, received the Historic Preservation Medal for significant contributions over her lifetime and the National Certificate of Recognition for her current work to preserve Arizona history. http://bit.ly/1Su7gQC – Your West Valley.com

Lecture Opportunity – Phoenix
The Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix is hosting a lecture next month on a group of Hopi dancers who helped preserve the tribe’s dance traditions nearly a century ago. The Billingsley Hopi Dancers will be presented by Kenneth Zoll, executive director of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center in Camp Verde, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, at the museum, 4619 E. Washington Street. The event is free and open to the public. http://bit.ly/1JRNqYf – Arizona Highways

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. T. J. Ferguson, Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator, M.A. in Applied Archaeology and Editor, Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona; Chair, University Indian Ruins Preservation and Management Committee; and Co-Author ‘Bridging Archaeological Science and Traditional Knowledge’  who will give a lecture Zuni Origin and Migration: An Anthropological Perspective History on January 11 at 6pm at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe  (New Mexico Room) as part of the annual Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt tel. 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Taos
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Ron Barber, Explorer and Engineer, who will lecture on “Stone Calendars of the Southwest,” on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 7 pm at the Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. Contact Chris Riveles @ 575-776-1005 for questions or further information.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present R. Kyle Bocinsky on Monday, January 18^th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1500 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Can Pueblo Corn Save African Farms? Employing 1,400 Years of Agricultural Knowledge in Service of the Future.” Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
At 11 a.m. on January 23 archaeologist Allen Dart will present “Archaeology’s Deep Time Perspective on Environment and Social Sustainability” for Pima County Public Library at the Joel Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave. Tucson. In a program made possible by Arizona Humanities, Mr. Dart will discuss the “deep time” perspective that archaeology and related disciplines provide for making modern decisions about how to deal with natural hazards, environmental change, and human adaptation. This talk is free to the public. For more information contact Matt Landon, 520-594-5565, or matt.landon@pima.gov.

Thanks to Brian Kriemendahl for contributing to this week’s issue of Southwest Archaeology Today.