Are We About to Forget America’s Best Idea?

Are We About to Forget America’s Best Idea?
Since President Trump assumed office, the government has taken what some historians are calling an “unprecedented” approach to the protection of U.S. land. This summer, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reviewed and suggested modifying 10 national monuments; Trump reportedly said that he planned to shrink at least two, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante; a House bill was introduced that would limit the president’s power to protect land; and a Senate budget resolution could open a wildlife refuge to drilling. http://theatln.tc/2zDiMrD – The Atlantic

The Best Idea vs. The Worst Plans
President Trump has stated he plans to begin a prolonged legal battle with five Native American tribes next month by eliminating large swaths of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. He should rethink this plan, given our evolving legacy of our national parks and continued mistreatment of the 567 sovereign tribes. The United States rightfully claimed what Wallace Stegner called “America’s best idea,” the first national parks, with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872. http://bit.ly/2zEShST – San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial: Native Americans Re-Wrote the Playbook on Preserving Public Lands, the President is Trying to Throw that Book away
Near the summit of Comb Ridge, in a high-desert region of dancing shadow and red rock splendor, serrated peaks form one of southeast Utah’s most recognizable landmarks. It is hallowed ground for the Navajo and other Native American tribes whose ancestors scaled cliffs to build stone settlements on ledges and alcoves beneath trackless mesas. Eleven months ago, descendants of these ancient people notched one of the great political achievements in Native American history. Following 14 months of government-to-government negotiation between the United States and five Native American tribes, President Obama signed Proclamation 9558. http://lat.ms/2zGNiko – Los Angeles Times

Respecting Anthems a Complicated Issue in Native America
As fierce debate rages about “taking a knee” during the national anthem to protest social injustice, Native Americans have a unique take on the issue as the ethnic group with the highest military-service rate, and an enduring regard for warriors. Supporters of the movement say it’s not intended as a criticism of the military. But such a protest would be unthinkable for many at tribal events because the flag and veterans are so deeply intertwined – and revered. http://nyti.ms/2zG6rmA – Associated Press via NY Times

Archaeology Café (Tucson): 700 Years Ago in Tucson
On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, at 6:00 p.m., archaeologist Mark Elson will explore “700 years ago in Tucson: Making a Living in the Hohokam Classic Period.” Thanks to archaeological investigations at a number of Classic period sites across the Tucson basin, archaeologists have a better idea of what life was like 700 years ago here in Tucson. Elson will summarize some new knowledge and share his views on what it all might mean. Why did building practices and other aspects of material culture seem to change during this time period? Archaeology Café is held at The Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd). While seating is open and unreserved, we are limited to 98 attendees. The Loft Cinema will issue free tickets on the day of the Café. You can pick up tickets from the box office anytime that day. (Limit two tickets per person.) http://bit.ly/2zFgsAC – Archaeology Southwest

Intriguing Studies in Archaeoacoustics
In caves and rock walls of the southern Utah desert, pictographs have been painted, added to the backs of clamshell-shaped sandstone enclosures. Many are noted to have acoustic properties, meaning these ancient, Indigenous images seem to be correlated with the way sound reflects around them. I’ve spoken in a normal voice back and forth from one sheltered rock art panel to another an eighth of a mile down canyon. The way sound spreads and is refocused, we could hear each other’s every word. http://bit.ly/2zDWqX3 – Craig Childs via Last Word on Nothing

The Archaeology of Santa Fe’s Museum
A wealth of artifacts, both historic and prehistoric, were unearthed in excavations prior to the construction of what is today known as the New Mexico Museum of Art. The digs, performed to create the museum basement after demolition of the Old Barracks building, were reported in The Santa Fe New Mexican in the spring of 1916. Fifty pounds of “curious pieces of glass and Spanish crockery” and Indian potsherds bearing “typical Santo Domingo designs” were recovered three to five feet below ground level. http://bit.ly/2n5fNT8 – Santa Fe New Mexican

Human Remains and Exhibition in the Bad ‘Ole Days
Nearly a century ago, an amateur archaeologist and showman named Ralph Glidden dug up Native American burial sites on Catalina and other Channel Islands off Southern California’s coast. To him, the human remains and relics were treasures to be displayed in the so-called Indian Museum he opened as a tourist attraction overlooking Avalon Harbor. It was a macabre place — and to Native Americans, highly offensive — with windows edged with toe, ankle, wrist and finger bones, shelves lined with skulls held up by leg and arm bones, and ceilings decorated with vertebrae and rosettes of shoulder blades. http://bit.ly/2zELsAG – Los Angeles Times

What’s at Stake at Oak Flat
Wendsler Nosie Sr., the former chairman of the San Carlos Apache tribe, mimed shutting off a giant water valve. “If I could go wherever you live … and shut the water off. You’re gonna ask, ‘What happened?’ Well,” he answered himself, “you gave all the water to Resolution Copper.” “Water,” Nosie said, “is one hundred percent of life.”  Resolution Copper is the latest international conglomerate to darken the door of the copper triangle—the copper-toned corridor in central and southern Arizona. In 2013, Resolution submitted a general plan of operations for a nearly 7,000-acre copper mine that would dig 1.3 miles straight into the earth outside of Superior—a plan that has been met with resistance from the Apache, environmentalists, rock climbers, birders, and other groups. http://ediblebajaarizona.com/whats-stake-oak-flat

Legendary New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos
Each of the 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico are a sovereign nation. At one time Pueblos tribes reached into what now is Colorado and Arizona where they established dwelling and trade centers similar to those located at Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico and Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado. http://bit.ly/2n3M0tM – Legendary New Mexico via KRQE

Editorial: The Hohokam Inspire the Future of the Phoenix Basin
Classical Rome lasted 500 years. Hohokam civilization survived at least 1,000. As Phoenix faces new ecological challenges, the Hohokam are hardly our allegory of doom. They’re our inspiration. And, on this day, a blessing. http://bit.ly/2zFHY0G – Arizona Republic

Flintknapping Workshop – Tucson
On Saturday December 16 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. flintknapper Sam Greenleaf teaches 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 p.m. Thursday December 14: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Don J. Usner, Cultural Geographer, Photographer, and Co-Author, New Mexico Route 66 on Tour: Legendary Architecture from Glen Rio to Gallup; Valles Caldera: A Vision for New Mexico’s National Preserve; Author, Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico; Chasing Benigna’s Chimayo: Cuentos from the Old Plaza; and Board Member, Chimayo Historic Museum who will present a lecture Lowriders I Have Loved on December 4 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Mother Earth Father Sky Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge the work of The New Mexico Environmental Law Center. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary; Refreshments are served; Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; http://www.southwestseminars.org

Thanks again to Cherie Freeman and Brian Kreimendahl for contributions to this week’s newsletter.