All Pueblo Council of Governors Takes Case for Chaco Protection to DC

Commentary: All Pueblo Council of Governors Takes Case for Chaco Protection to DC
Whether it is through the BLM and BIA management plan, the proposed federal legislation, or both, we want decision makers in D.C. to know that just as the United States takes great care to preserve churches, we would hope they would do the same for our sacred places. Chaco Canyon is, and always will be, a part of who we are. It is where our ancestors lived and where they continue to reside and it should be preserved for future generations. http://bit.ly/2E7G5MZ – High Country News

A Feast for the Future
The Four Corners potato may be small – no bigger than a copper penny – but this starchy, edible tuber is mighty, having survived in the wild landscapes of southern Utah for nearly 11,000 years. On Monday, the timeline for the Four Corners potato extends into the 21st century as modern-day diners in Utah will get to sample, for the first time, this piece of ancient history during the second annual Indigenous Dinner at the Natural History Museum of Utah. http://bit.ly/2Eb2zg4 – Salt Lake Tribune

Commentaries: Healing Foodways
We are at a critical juncture for restoring our natural human connections to the land, water and soil through conservation and the protection of sacred and spiritual sites. Collectively we are restoring ecological resiliency through improved management and habitat restoration and by growing and eating indigenous and endemic foods of the land. Bears Ears National Monument is a visionary model for reclaiming traditional, cultural knowledge as we highlight and practice these fundamental relationships and move toward our goal of healing. http://bit.ly/2zZAnbH – Salt Lake Tribune

Perhaps, if we start sharing meals together, we can begin the healing process between tribes and our communities that displaced them from these lands. Let’s find out for ourselves if sego lily soup can teach us how to actually be friends and create the kind of community we want our grandchildren to grow up in. http://bit.ly/2E7BD0Q – Deseret News

More Abominable Auctions in Paris
A nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of Native Americans sent out a call for action this week over dozens of items from U.S. tribes, including several in New Mexico, that were up for sale Thursday in a Paris auction without any notification to the tribes. Several international auctions scheduled in November also list Native American cultural items, the Association on American Indian Affairs said in a news release, adding that the commercialization of such artifacts is largely the result of looting and illegal trafficking. http://bit.ly/2EdeJF9 – Santa Fe New Mexican

Updates on Efforts and Reasons to Renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund
U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet released separate statements this week supporting legislation that will permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund after the bill advanced out of committee. The Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act will make funding from offshore oil leases permanent, which will then go to protecting parks, forests, cultural sites and water resources. The $900 million program was cut earlier this year by the Trump administration, but Gardner and Bennet aim to renew the program to fund more Colorado projects. http://bit.ly/2E93bmh – The Cortez Journal

Similar issues riddle national parks across the country. Additionally, across the West, 9.52 million acres of publicly owned land are “landlocked” by private owners, according to a study by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has already unlocked more than 5 million acres. http://bit.ly/2Eb2h8Y – Backpacker

Challenges and Recommendations for Conserving Cultural Landscapes
There is a growing recognition that cultural resources should be viewed as part of the larger landscape. The concept that there is a unity of nature and culture has created a significant opportunity for cultural resource practitioners to contribute to the new field of landscape scale conservation. And there are compelling reasons to partner up with this emerging movement. The nature conservation field has long recognized that threats to natural resources occur at multiple and much larger spatial scales than those usually addressed in cultural resource preservation. http://bit.ly/2E7Dv9G – Living Landscape Observer

Concern over New Science Policy at the Department of the Interior
The Interior Department has implemented a new policy that it says is meant to boost transparency and integrity of the science that its agencies use to make decisions. The policy, outlined in an order issued last week by Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, mandates that officials only use scientific studies or findings whose underlying data are publicly available and reproducible, with few exceptions. Like a similar policy that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed, critics say the new “Promoting Open Science” policy is meant to restrict Interior’s ability to write regulations or make other decisions, by putting unnecessary restrictions on officials’ ability to use sound science. http://bit.ly/2EbQBCR – The Hill

Repatriation News
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on September 27 requiring the UC system to facilitate the timely return of indigenous remains to their respective tribes. Because repatriation of remains is slow under current UC policy, Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) wrote Assembly Bill (AB) 2836 to have the UC system create a system-wide committee and individual campus committees that will formulate new policy speeding up the repatriation process. http://bit.ly/2EbRBXD – The Triton

The University of California will adapt its repatriation policies for Native American cultural property found on UC campuses to increase transparency and communication. Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2836, which aims to improve the UC’s repatriation procedures, into law Thursday. Repatriation describes the process of returning the remains and belongings of Native Americans to their original communities. The bill will create a systemwide repatriation oversight committee, require greater consultation of the Native American Heritage Commission and implement two future audits to ensure compliance. The NAHC identifies and catalogs Native American cultural resources, including important objects and sites. http://bit.ly/2EbTZ0r – Daily Bruin

Western New Mexico University’s Museum Reopens
The Western New Mexico University Museum in Fleming Hall will reopen on Monday, October 8, 2018. It will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The WNMU Museum’s new exhibits are being installed through this winter and next spring, so lower floor rooms will open in phases over the next few months. The date when the WNMU Museum’s collections will reopen to research, loans and tours will be determined as the transformation progresses. Find more details here: https://wnmu.edu/wnmu-museum-reopening-monday-october-8/

Upcoming Conference: Save the Date
21^st Biennial Jornada Mogollon Archaeology Conference, October 11-12, 2019. Call for papers in January 2019. El Paso Museum of Archaeology.

REMINDER: Book Lovers’ Opportunity, Tucson AZ
On Friday, October 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, October 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. hundreds of used books will be on sale in the Arizona State Museum Lobby. Many hard to find archaeology books along with history, Native American crafts, anthropology and art. Most are priced under $5.00. The sale benefits the Arizona State Museum Library and is sponsored by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org

Archaeology Café (Phoenix): Life before AD 1500 on the Upper Gila River
On November 6, 2018, at 6:00 p.m., Archaeology Café returns to Changing Hands Books (300 W Camelback Rd.) for a new season of programs exploring the deep and diverse history of Phoenix and the greater Southwest in a jargon-free zone. Dr. Karen Schollmeyer will encourage participants to look east up the Gila River as she explores how Residents of the upper reaches of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico found successful ways of farming, hunting, and living together for over a millennium. http://bit.ly/2EaF5aW – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity, Albuquerque NM
On Tuesday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Rd. NW, the Albuquerque Archaeological Society will welcome Ron Barber to discuss Ringing Rocks of the Southwest. The Stone Calendar Project has been studying rock art sites throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico identifying glyphs that mark specific times of the year using unique light and shadow interactions. Many of the rock art sites exhibit evidence of additional cultural rituals that occurred at the calendar sites. One of the interesting findings is the presence of “ringing rocks,” sometimes referred to as gong rocks in other parts of the world. https://abqarchaeology.com/2016/05/20/next-lecture/

Lecture Opportunity, Metro San Diego CA
At the 4th annual Ancient Indulgences lecture, Dr. Philip Goscienski will present Salt: A Mineral That Shaped the World. Join us from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, for history, wine, and inspired food. Adults 21 and up only. Ticket prices: General Audiences, $30; SDAC Members $20. San Diego Archaeological Center, 16666 San Pasqual Valley Rd., Escondido CA. https://sandiegoarchaeology.org/ancient-indulgences-salt/ , sjsandoval@sandiegoarchaeology.org

Flintknapping Workshop, Metro San Diego CA
On Saturday, November 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., James Bowden will lead a flintknapping workshop. Parts I and II $60; Members/Students $50. Space is limited. Part I of the two-part workshop will focus on the components that make up the Native American stone toolkit. Participants will observe, learn, and recreate stone beads using traditional techniques. In part II of the workshop, participants will receive instruction on intermediate flintknapping techniques and will learn to pressure flake their own tool. Adults only. San Diego Archaeological Center, 16666 San Pasqual Valley Rd., Escondido CA. https://sandiegoarchaeology.org/flintknapping/

Editors’ note:
Thank you to all who have submitted comments to the Bureau of Land Management regarding the new draft management plans for the drastically reduced Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. If you haven’t yet, there is still time.

The deadline for Bears Ears is November 15, 2018. Learn more from our friends at the Friends of Cedar Mesa here: https://www.friendsofcedarmesa.org/defendbearsears/.

The deadline for Grand Staircase-Escalante is November 30, 2018. Learn more from our friends at Grand Staircase Escalante Partners here: http://gsenm.org/blm-accepting-comments-on-grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument/.

It is important that your comments be substantive and specific. An example of a comment that likely would be tabulated would be one that urges greater protections from resource extraction; an example of a comment that might not be coded or might be regarded as opinion might simply urge officials to listen to taxpayers. Here are two guides on writing substantive comments from the Winter Wildlands Alliance (http://bit.ly/2EbUVBZ) and the Wilderness Society (http://bit.ly/2E7EA1e).

Thanks to R. E. Burrillo and Morgan Sjogren for contributions to today’s edition.

Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org