Preservation Efforts are Underway at Tumacacori Mission (8/20/2017)

Preserving Tumacacori
A five-year project involving backbreaking, eyeball-bending work is underway to conserve Tumacacori National Historical Park’s valuable heritage. And at the end of it all, visitors shouldn’t notice a single change. That’s the whole idea. Frank Matero, a visiting professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, is overseeing a team of specialists on earthen architecture to conserve the original plasters and painted finishes inside San José de Tumacácori Mission Church south of Tubac. http://bit.ly/2uW2Oq6 – Green Valley News

The Violent History of the Southwestern Borderlands
“With a bright sun and an azure sky, or with every detail brought out by the intense light of the moon, this valley has seemed a paradise,” Raphael Pumpelly wrote, describing his 1860s sojourn into a mostly uninhabited valley in the US-Mexico borderlands; “and again, under circumstances of intense anxiety, it has been a very prison of hell.” Pumpelly—a geologist, explorer, and mining engineer—had been sent west to take charge of the Santa Rita silver mines, south of Tucson. For an Easterner, the landscape was alien, and the journey near unbearable—reaching the end of the railroad in Missouri, Pumpelly undertook 16 days travel by stagecoach that provoked in him and the other passengers what he described as “a condition bordering on insanity.” Arriving in Tucson, he found “an extremely dry and transparent atmosphere,” as well as the desert that would be both his paradise and “prison of hell.” http://bit.ly/2uW4ujA – The Nation

Zinke vs. Zinke on National Monuments
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will soon offer recommendations to President Trump on whether to eliminate national monuments around the country. In the months since President Trump’s executive order, it has become increasingly clear that the result of Secretary Zinke’s review is predetermined. Instead of meticulously reviewing national monuments, Zinke’s process has been arbitrary and devoid of any rigorous analysis. A quick look at Secretary Zinke’s comments shows he can’t even keep his own story straight, often using identical reasoning to argue for maintaining protections at some monuments, while eliminating monument acreage from other sites. http://bit.ly/2uW4csO – Westwise

Editorial: The Antiquities Act Was Intended to Protect the History of Native Americans
Bureaucrats and politicians currently threaten the heritage of Native Americans — the groups whose histories the Antiquities Act of 1906 was intended to protect. Earlier this year, President Trump ordered Secretary of the Interior Zinke to review whether 27 national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations are “too big.” If Trump’s concern is one of scale, he should take the time to listen to Native communities — something Secretary Zinke continuously fails to do — and perhaps his narrow vision could grow to be more inclusive. http://bit.ly/2uVFgSg – Aaron Wright and Lorey Cachora via Salt Lake Tribune

How 11,000-Year-Old Potato Residue Could Teach the Nation about the Importance of National Monuments
Who could imagine that a potato might be one of the most compelling reasons to validate and protect Utah’s two threatened national monuments? A native potato recently discovered by two university researchers is showcasing just how much value and potential there is in listening to Native wisdom as we grapple with the environmental, social, and economic challenges of our times. This native potato tied to indigenous farming practices dating back 11,000 years is a celebration of, and a plea to keep intact Utah’s two national monuments, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears. Both are under review by the Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. This potato illustrates in scientific and indigenous terms how important Bears Ears is to Native people, and it also helps us understand how important traditional knowledge is to the stewardship of public lands. http://bit.ly/2uVJXvz – Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Tribal Nations Push for Protecting the Chaco Landscape
This year, the All Pueblo Council of Governors, a body composed of 19 sovereign Pueblo nations, hosted a historic summit between the Pueblo governors and the president and vice-president of the Navajo Nation to focus attention on how all tribal nations in the Southwest can work together to protect sacred sites in the Greater Chaco Canyon region. In the 400-year history of the council, this is the first time the Navajo Nation was represented. This historic meeting, held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, was convened to facilitate further government-to-government consultation with federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Park Service, over actions or management plans that may affect Chaco Canyon, traditional cultural properties and sacred sites in the Greater Chaco landscape. http://bit.ly/2uVIQMp – Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and All Pueblo Council Of Governors Chairman Edward Paul Torres via Albuquerque Journal

Opportunity to Help Arizona Plan 2018 Archaeology and Heritage Month
Please join us on Tuesday, August 29 at 10 am for the kick-off meeting of the 2018 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month (AAHAM). The kickoff meeting will be held in  Room 250 of the ADEQ Building which is directly behind the Evan’s House [SHPO Office], located at 1110 W. Washington Street in Phoenix. We will be brainstorming to develop a fresh new theme appropriate for the 2018 AAHAM festivities. All are invited to attend. There will be teleconferencing options for those who cannot attend in person. Contact Kris Powell at 602-542-7141 with questions about this, or any other program relating to the AAHAM.

New Mexico and Tribal Nations to Share in Historic Preservation Grants
New Mexico and nearly a dozen tribes in the state will share more than $660,000 in federal grants for historic preservation projects. The funding is being awarded by the National Park Service to help communities protect historic places, traditions and cultures. http://bit.ly/2uVMgys – Sacramento Bee

Audio Interview with Nine-Year-Old National Monument Preservation Hero
Robbie Bond has spent his summer touring national parks and monuments in the U.S. But the 9-year-old isn’t just on an extended vacation. He’s trying to save the 27 national monuments that are under review by the Trump administration – including Gold Butte and Basin and Range here in Nevada. We talked to him as he was between hikes Thursday. He had just visited Gold Butte and was heading to Basin and Range. http://bit.ly/2uVYBmn – Nevada Public Radio

Lecture Opportunity -Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Kurt Dongoske on Monday, September 18th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Zuni Heritage and Cultural Landscape Documentation through Film: Zuni and the Grand Canyon.” 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 john.hall@terracon.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.