Isleta Pueblo Regains 140 Square Miles of Traditional Lands

Isleta Pueblo Regains 140 Square Miles of Traditional Lands
A Native American pueblo at the edge of New Mexico’s largest city added 140 square miles of its historic homelands to its jurisdiction Friday under a deal the U.S. Interior Department says represents the single largest transfer of land back to a tribe’s control. Under the agreement, the Pueblo of Isleta south of Albuquerque will place a 90,000-acre ranch into federal trust — a move that transfers governmental oversight of the land back to the tribe. http://bit.ly/1OYdAhP – US News and World Report

Robert Powers Passes
Robert P. Powers, 63, died quietly at home in Santa Fe on January 2, 2016. Bob grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and as a child enjoyed spending time on his grandparents’ ranch. He studied archaeology at the Universities of Arizona and New Mexico and began his career by working on excavations at Arroyo Hondo Pueblo, near Santa Fe, for the School for Advanced Research in the early 1970s. http://bit.ly/1OzARmx – Santa Fe New Mexican

Building The Sun-Zia Transmission Line Will Impact Ancient Places along the San Pedro River Valley
Drive through the Lower San Pedro River Valley, and a well-graded dirt road will take you past homes, organic farms, ranches and other structures where fewer than 200 people live. The only other signs of human presence are a handful of lesser dirt roads and an underground natural-gas power line. They coexist with prickly pear, agave, saguaro and other cacti, and Sonoran desert trees and shrubs. Cows graze on leased, state-owned or Pima County-owned property. Now this tranquil valley is the final battleground in a decade-old conflict over a two-state power line. http://bit.ly/1SXfbWN – Arizona Daily Star

Fallout Continues Over Nabokov’s Publications on Acoma Culture
Last summer, Penguin and its related imprint Viking published two books on the history and traditional Native American religion of New Mexico’s Pueblo of Acoma: How the World Moves: The Odyssey of an American Indian Family and The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo. Both were projects of Peter Nabokov, a professor in the Dept. of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, and author of many scholarly works on Native American history and architecture. Three days after the books were reviewed in Pasatiempo on Sept. 18, 2015, Ray Rivera, editor of The Santa Fe New Mexican, received a letter of protest from Hon. Fred S. Vallo Sr., then governor of Acoma Pueblo. When Nabokov appeared for a reading at Albuquerque’s Bookworks on Sept. 23, he was confronted by members of Acoma Pueblo and others who demanded to know what right he had to publish the Pueblo’s sacred narratives. http://bit.ly/1U5HO2p – Santa Fe New Mexican

Reminder: Archaeology Café (Phoenix): Canal Irrigation Studies on the Gila River Indian Community and Modern Water-Rights Issues
On January 19, 2016, Kyle Woodson and Wesley Miles (Gila River Indian Community) will discuss the Gila River Indian Community’s long-term cultural resource management study of Hohokam canal irrigation along the middle Gila River. The study was facilitated by archival and ethnographic research, intensive archaeological survey and excavation projects, as well as oral history interviews.We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave. Presentations begin after6:00 p.m. Archaeology Café is free, but guests may order from the menu. http://bit.ly/1kYLC9p – Archaeology Southwest

Great Things Afoot at the Verde Valley Archaeology Center
Enthusiastic volunteers are vital to the Verde Valley Archaeology Center in Camp Verde, Arizona. They complement, support and expand successful wide-ranging programs and events. Reciprocally, the Center strives to provide people of all ages and backgrounds with an interesting and rewarding learning experience. http://bit.ly/1V0kT8R – The Sedona Eye

Lecture Opportunity – Sedona
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. David Edward Stuart, Professor of Anthropology, University of New Mexico and Author, Anasazi America: Seventeen Centuries on the Road from Center Place; Pueblo Peoples on the Pajarito Plateau: Archaeology and Efficiency; and The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier and Mesa Verde who will give a lecture Chacoan Aftershocks: 1120-1450 AD on January 25 at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Ancient Sites and Ancient Stories Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door.  No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars