Rogue Government Agencies Ignore Environmental & Preservation Law

Rogue Government Agencies Ignore Environmental & Preservation Law
A lawsuit filed October 2015 by the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Round Valley Indian Tribes claims California Department of Transportation officials flouted historic preservation laws while building the $210 million, 5.9-mile Willits Bypass straight through Northern Pomo ancestral territory in Northern California. The alleged litany of misdeeds includes but is not limited to: Circumventing the tribal consultation process, Establishing unprecedented high standards for cultural sites to be eligible of National Register of Historic Places and worthy of protection. Damaging ancestral village sites they should have known were there and failing to protect sites they had already discovered. http://bit.ly/1PviFec – Indian Country Today

A Rogue Congress and the Oak Flat Travesty
No one would accuse John McCain of being a “happy warrior.” But even by his standards, the senior senator from Arizona seemed unusually testy when he sat down before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on a chilly February morning in 2012.“If we show a little frustration,” he began in a clipped voice, “I think it would may be understandable, because we have been at this issue for some time.” For seven years, in fact, McCain had been trying to pass some version of the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, which would swap 2,422 acres of the Tonto National Forest to the Resolution Copper mining company in exchange for a patchwork of privately owned conservation lands. But despite his best efforts, McCain’s 2012 attempt failed, too. http://bit.ly/1nRd76C – High Country News

National Park Service Reports $11,930,000,000 in Deferred Maintenance
The cost of repairing roads, bridges, trails and buildings has increased to $11.93 billion across the National Park Service’s 409 units. That marks a $440 million increase from the previous year, according to the agency’s own estimate released this week. The mounting costs associated with deferred maintenance has long been an issue for the Park Service in Colorado and across the country. The Park Service reports that locations across Colorado require $203 million in repairs. http://bit.ly/1Pu96fI – Colorado Public Radio

Digital Archaeology and the Digital Humanities up for the Next Phoenix Archaeology Café
On February 16, 2016, Douglas Gann (Archaeology Southwest) will present “From Data to Digital Humanities Content.” Doug will be speaking about the digital revolution taking place in archaeology today, specifically exploring the use of automated reality capture systems such as laser scanning and photogrammetry to document and share places of the past. We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, near the Indian School light rail stop. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive at about 5:30 p.m. in order to get settled, as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Archaeology Café is free, but guests are encouraged to order their own refreshments from the menu. http://bit.ly/20DcnDU – Archaeology Southwest

Historic Preservation in More Than a Celebration of the Wild West
It’s really up to us, the people of the city, to push for the preservation of places in Denver that mean something to us; after all, who knows a city better than the people who live in it? We don’t get to have the final say in whether a building is important enough to be saved; after we make the nomination, the final decision is up to Denver City Council — but we elect those people. So it’s ultimately our decision if we want to save buildings through landmark preservation or let the past disappear. If you choose to use this power as a citizen to get involved in the process of saving our built environment, challenge yourself to look a little closer. The historic preservation of Denver isn’t just about saving the Victorian mansions and vestiges of the Wild West; it’s about unearthing thewhole picture and seeing this story truly told, so that future Denver can remember the people who made us who we are. http://bit.ly/1nWc6Le – Westword

Researching a Place of the Past Beneath Arizona State University
When Kostalena Michelaki came to Arizona State University, she wondered about the history of this sprawling campus in central Tempe. “When I first arrived here, I read of ASU’s New American University mission to ‘leverage our place,’ and wondered what this meant,” said the anthropological archaeologist in ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change. Michelaki, who is originally from Greece, also wondered what — or who — was here before ASU existed. She was amazed to learn that the Tempe campus sits right on top of expansive Huhugam (Hohokam) ruins that were here long before the university. Yet, that history is invisible to most of the ASU community. http://bit.ly/1Q1QbrT – ASU Now

Announcing Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona’s Preservation Archaeology Field School
Join Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona this summer for the 2016 season of our Preservation Archaeology Field School!  Learn excavation, survey, lab analysis, and experimental archaeology techniques while investigating how ancient communities formed during an era of migration and social change in beautiful southwest New Mexico. Funding opportunities are available for qualified undergraduate students. Applications due March 18; for more information, see http://www.www.archaeologysouthwest.org/field-school/.

Internship Opportunity – Crow Canyon
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is currently accepting applications (application deadline is March 1^st, 2016) for archaeology, education and American Indian Initiatives internships. We are seeking advanced undergraduate or graduate students in archaeology, anthropology, Native American studies, or other related fields to assist with archaeological field or lab work or educational programming related to archaeology of the Southwest. More information and application materials can be found at: http://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/internships

Lecture Opportunity – Grand Junction
Grand Junction chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society has a lecture Tuesday, February 16 7-9 PM. Dr. Douglas O’Rourke of Colorado Mesa University will talk and show slides on the Archaeology of Greece. Meet at Houston Hall, Room 138 on CMU campus. Free and open to the public. For more information visit http://bit.ly/1NYqp6G or call 970-433-4312.

Lecture Opportunity – Grand Junction
Grand Junction chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society has a lecture Thursday, February 18 7-9 PM. David Sucec, founder and director of the Barrier Canyon Art Project will talk and show slides about Barrier Canyon style rock art. The best known of 250 sites of this style rock art is in Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National Park. Meet at Grand Junction City Council Chambers, 250 N 5th St. Free and open to the public. Small donation is appreciated. For more information visit http://bit.ly/1NYqp6G or call 970-433-4312.

Lecture Opportunity – Montrose, CO
On Wednesday February 16th at 7pm, the Chipeta Archaeology Club will present In Plain View: Considerations of Style in Prehistoric Barrier Canyon Rock Art by David Sucec.  The talk will be held at the First Methodist Church on Park and South 1st. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Jason Shapiro, Anthropologist, Itinerant Scholar and Author, A Space Syntax Analysis of Arroyo Hondo Pueblo, New Mexico: Community Formation in the Northern Rio Grande and Before Santa Fe: The Archaeology of the City Different; Former Chair, and Member, City of Santa Fe Archaeological Review Committee, who will give a lecture Agency, Resistance and Collective Memory in the Context of the Great Pueblo Revolt on February 15 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites 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 at tel: 505 466-2775 email: southwest seminar@aol.com website: http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On February 18 archaeologist Barbara Roth presents “Kiva Rituals, Powerful People, and Community Development in the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico” for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 6-8:30 p.m. “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner at ULike Asian Buffet Restaurant, 330 S. Wilmot Rd., Tucson. Her excavations at the Mimbres Valley’s Harris archaeological site suggest that kiva rituals kept that community together and allowed certain individuals to gain power by sponsoring and participating in ceremonies and feasts. She also explores why these phenomena apparently did not occur at other Mimbres Valley sites. Reservations required at 520-798-1201 before 5 p.m. Wednesday February 17.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
8th Annual “My Arizona” Lecture on Friday, February 19, 3:30–4:45. Professor Thomas Sheridan will present “Moquis and Kastiilam: Hopis, Spaniards, and the Trauma of History” as part of the series, which is co-sponsored by the School of Geography and Development and the Southwest Center. The lecture will take place at the ENR2 Building, Rm. S107 (directly west of the 6th St. parking garage on the south side of the University of Arizona campus) and will be followed by a reception. For more information, contact Amanda Percy,amandab@email.arizona.edu, or call 520 621-1652.

Thanks to Adrianne Rankin for Contributing to this week’s newsletter.