Public Lands and Repatriation in the News

Congress Passes Major Public Lands Package
“This robust, landmark package illustrates that it is possible for political agreement when it comes to caring for the country’s public lands that have natural, cultural and historic significance. The conservation gains in the bill are substantial, providing new or additional safeguards for more than 4 million acres of National Conservation Lands managed by Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The National Conservation Lands are likely to see more benefit from this legislation than any other U.S. public lands system. These are places that hold diverse cultural histories and lifestyles for millions of Americans, the remaining migration corridors for wildlife, and recreation-based economies for rural communities.” http://bit.ly/2SZLY5T – Brian Sybert, Conservation Lands Foundation (statement)

Grand Canyon National Park at 100: Changes and Challenges
Eleven tribes consider the Grand Canyon part of their cultural and spiritual traditions, including Havasupai, Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and Paiute. Pongyesva is part of an initiative called Intertribal Centennial Conversations. He says, “It’s basically an opportunity for natives to reclaim their ancestral homelands, using the centennial—which marks the anniversary of 100 years of being excluded from the national park, for natives—and flipping it into a way to integrate native presence back into the park.” The first step is to add native names onto park signs and maps. Many visitors hike the Bright Angel Trail, but Kaska says they don’t know it’s an old Havasupai path. http://bit.ly/2Eed8eZ – KNAU (NPR)

Today the National Park Service is required to consult with the 11 tribes traditionally associated with the canyon when making changes that might have an impact on them. But only in the last decade have tribal leaders been willing to sit down with park staff. In those meetings they’ve asked the park for an opportunity to tell their stories. They hope to do so at a new Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site being designed by the National Park Service to mark the occasion of the park’s centennial. https://n.pr/2EimK8r – KJZZ (NPR)

On Feb. 26 the Grand Canyon celebrates 100 years since it became a national park. With that status came many federal protections. Still over the last century the National Park Service has had to contend with many threats including dams, mines, climate change and development. “The most important thing to fight for is our public lands because once we lose these places—no matter what happens with the laws—once we lose these places to extraction, roads, dams, drilling, whatever we don’t get them back in our lifetimes,” said Christa Sadler, guide and educator. http://bit.ly/2Eec8HL – KJZZ (NPR)

Society for American Archaeology to BLM: End Lease Sales in Chaco Canyon Region
In a February 15, 2019, letter to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) New Mexico State Office, the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) called on the BLM to halt all land lease sales in the BLM-Farmington Field Office area, which encompasses the increasingly threatened lands surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. SAA has asked BLM to complete resource and environmental reviews currently underway and to increase consultation with Tribal stakeholders before any further lease sales take place. Despite the deferral of some lease sales, a sale is still planned for areas in the Greater Chaco Region on March 28, 2019. http://bit.ly/2EdhTpe – Society for American Archaeology

New Mexico State Land Commissioner Plans to End Oil-Gas Leasing on State Trust Lands near Chaco
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced plans Wednesday to issue a moratorium on oil and gas leases on state trust land near Chaco Culture National Historical Park in the upcoming weeks. There are about 900,000 acres of land within the 10-mile federal buffer zone surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. About 10 percent of that land is state trust land, according to the State Land Office. http://bit.ly/2EgGB8g – Farmington Daily Times

Significant Opposition to Chaco-Area Leasing
Thousands of protests have been lodged with U.S. land managers in opposition of next month’s oil and natural gas lease sale despite a decision to remove from the offering several parcels near a national park in northwestern New Mexico. Environmentalists said they turned in 33,000 protests to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday, the last day of the protest period. http://bit.ly/2EiFDbB – Santa Fe New Mexican

New San Juan County Commission Condemns Reduction of Bears Ears
The county commission of Utah’s San Juan County—home of Bears Ears National Monument, which President Donald Trump vastly reduced in 2017—has historically opposed the designation of the land as a national monument. But it has now changed its tune: On Tuesday, the commission voted two-to-one in favor of a resolution that rescinds the county’s previous opposition to the monument and condemns its reduction. The vote does not signal a change of heart, but rather reflects a major shift in the county commission’s make-up: Thanks to recent redistricting, it is now Utah’s first-ever majority-Navajo county commission. http://bit.ly/2T4aC5s – Pacific Standard

BLM Proposes Changes to Some ACECs with Archaeology in Southwest Colorado
The Bureau of Land Management seeks comment on a preliminary environmental assessment of 17 areas of public lands in Southwest Colorado proposed for designation as areas of critical environmental concern. ACECs are not well-known to the public, said BLM communication director Steven Hall, and are mainly a management tool to protect ecological or cultural areas. http://bit.ly/2SYOHwt – Durango Herald

McManamon Appointed to NAGPRA’s Federal Advisory Committee
Frank McManamon is an archaeologist who has devoted his career to guiding policy in a way that balances concerns about sensitive tribal cultural resources and the public benefits of historical and scientific scholarship and research. In recognition of this work, he was recently appointed as a member of Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act’s federal advisory committee. http://bit.ly/2T0PKMs – Arizona State University

Major Heritage Crime Case Leads to Massive Repatriation Effort
Experts determined the remains found at Miller’s residence likely came from Native American tribes including the Arikara. In North Dakota, tribal official Pete Coffey is working with the FBI to bring them home. “All too often here we have been treated as curiosities rather than a people here,” Coffey said. “They could very well be my own great, great, great, great grandfather, or grandmother, you know, that had been—I characterize it as being ripped out of the earth, you know.” https://cbsn.ws/2EjiLsf – CBS Morning News

Commentary: Represent Native American Peoples and Histories Accurately and Respectfully
I was suddenly brought to tears, both by the thought of pre-colonization and by the concept that this is how Indian people are still showcased: as primal, exotic attractions. These people, my people, continue to be talked about like far-off legends who lived in the past and no longer exist. http://bit.ly/2Ek5oZc – Somáh Haaland in Teen Vogue

Commentary: Our National Monuments Tell Our National Story
At first glance, the administration’s efforts to wall off immigrants and asylum seekers may seem unrelated to its efforts to curtail protections for national monuments. But a coherent ideology underlies both policy goals. Like Trump’s pursuit of a border wall, his shrinking of monuments is not merely about enforcing the boundaries of a physical landscape. It’s also about controlling the narrative of that landscape—about determining who is included and who is excluded. By reducing and eliminating monuments, he is erasing artifacts and people from our national story. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-dominguez-antiquities-act-trump-monuments-20190222-story.html – Laura Dominguez in the Los Angeles Times

Video: An Architectural History of Awatovi Pueblo
Dennis Gilpin (PaleoWest Archaeology) gave this presentation to the Verde Valley Archaeology Center. https://youtu.be/Ps1YQF8VSN0 (opens at YouTube)

Book Announcement: People and Culture in Ice Age Americas
People and Culture in Ice Age Americas: New Dimensions in Paleoamerican Archaeology, edited by Rafael Suarez and Ciprian F. Ardelean, the University of Utah Press. https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/people-and-culture-in-ice-age-americas/

Casas Grandes Volumes Needed: Appeal to Our Readers from Gloria Fenner
“When I was last at Paquimé in November, I learned that there doesn’t seem to be any copy of the Amerind’s eight-volume Casas Grandes report in all of Chihuahua. In view of the new INAH archaeology school in Cd Chihuahua, this seems especially unfortunate. What do the students do? So we’re joining the search for sets for the offices of the two INAH archaeologists (Eduardo Gamboa, who is in charge of the site/museum, and Rafael Cruz, whose office is in Cd Chih.). If anyone has a set on their shelves that could use a new home, please contact Linda Pierce (lpierce@archaeologysouthwest.org) at Archaeology Southwest, and we’ll see if we can’t help our colleagues to the south.”

Call for Nominations: Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society welcomes nominations for three annual awards: the Byron Cummings Award, Victor R. Stoner Award, and the Alexander J. Lindsay, Jr. Unsung Heroes Award. Nomination letters, and Curriculum Vitae (if appropriate), should be emailed to Ron Towner (rht@email.arizona.edu) no later than April 15, 2019. Awardees will be selected by the Awards Committee and approved by the AAHS Board of Directors. Awards will be presented at the Pecos Conference in August. For more information, visit http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/awards/.

Job Opportunity, Ak-Chin Indian Community, AZ
The Ak-Chin Indian Community seeks an Archaeologist. Under general supervision of the Him-Dak Museum Director, the Archaeologist assists the Cultural Resources Program by overseeing a full range of archaeology services include performing data management, analysis and reporting, site monitoring and overseeing archaeological surveys in order to maintain the archaeological management program. The position also provides general supervision to the Cultural Resource Technicians and Monitors. More information: http://bit.ly/2EfdcuZ

Internship Opportunity, Petrified Forest National Park, AZ
This summer the park is hosting an archaeological internship from May 20 through August 9, 2019, for archaeology undergraduate and graduate students or recent graduates who are interested in gaining further experience in collections management and archaeological assessment. Interns will primarily focus on assisting in the inventory, curation, and management of archaeological and historic collections in the park’s museum. The intern is also expected to assist park archaeologists in field work to inventory and assess archaeological and historic resources on park lands. The intern will also have the chance to work on an independent park-focused research project. Interns will receive housing in the park free of cost, as well as a weekly stipend of $150. Travel costs to the park are not included. Please provide a letter of interest along with a copy of your CV and the contact information for three professional references by March 11, 2019 to: Melyssa Johnson, Melyssa_Huston@nps.gov.

Tour Opportunity, San Diego CA
The San Diego Archaeological Center announces “Submerged Prehistory,” the second tour in the San Diego’s First Peoples series, on Saturday, March 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The event will start at the parking lot of La Jolla Shores Beach and features a visit to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This event will take place regardless of the weather. Space is limited to 25 people. Registration for this tour only is $25, $20 for members. Please register at https://sandiegoarchaeology.org/san-diegos-first-peoples/

Lecture Opportunity, Cortez CO
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Kate Magargal on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church, 515 Park Street, Cortez CO, to discuss “The Ecology of Contemporary and Prehistoric Use of Wood Fuel in the Four Corners Region.” Kate, a postdoc in Anthropology at University of Utah, will focus on how the ecology of the Four Corners region today is structured by thousands of years of past human decisions. She will explore this ecological legacy through interactions between people and the fuels they use for cooking, heating, and ceremony.

Lecture Opportunity, Cave Creek AZ
Dr. Jaime Awe’s discoveries serve to demonstrate that despite being the focus of explorations for more than a century, the site of Xunantunich continues to provide us with intriguing new information on the significant roles played by Belize Valley as the focal point of the socio-political landscape in the Late Classic Maya lowlands. The March 13 meeting of the Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society will be held at the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). http://www.azarchsoc.wildapricot.org/desertfoothills

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Scott Thompson on Monday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Banner-University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Historical-Period Ranching on the Barry M. Goldwater Range, Arizona.” 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 or 520-205-2553 with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Reminder: 2019 Preservation Archaeology Field School Applications Due March 4
Join us for the Preservation Archaeology Field School in southwestern New Mexico, May 27 through July 5, 2019. Offered by Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona, this unique six-week program provides students with an opportunity to learn excavation, survey, experimental archaeology, and laboratory methods in a beautiful, remote, and archaeologically exciting part of the U.S. Southwest. Our innovative curriculum highlights the goals, ethics, and practice of Preservation Archaeology, which integrates research, education, and preservation within a community-based framework. We share what we learn throughout the project with the public via local events, blog posts, and other venues. Together, students and staff explore ethically responsible and scientifically rigorous field and research methods while investigating compelling questions about our shared past. Enrollment is limited, and applications received by March 4, 2019, will receive priority. Application review will begin immediately after that date, and applications will be accepted until the course is filled. The field school is limited to 14 students, graduate and undergraduate. http://bit.ly/2Uh1R3U – Archaeology Southwest

Reminder: Archaeology Café (Phoenix): What’s West of Phoenix?
Join us at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, as Dr. Aaron Wright explores “What’s West of Phoenix: Patayan Archaeology of the Lower Gila River.” The Patayan tradition in southwestern Arizona is commonly dismissed as a mobile hunting-and-gathering lifestyle with little relevance to the Big Picture of Southwest history. This presentation shares recent archaeological and ethnohistoric research that counters this prevailing narrative, and restores Patayan as one of the four main cultural traditions of the indigenous Southwest. http://bit.ly/2DCDYxj – Archaeology Southwest

Reminder: Archaeology Southwest at the Tucson Festival of Books
Once again, March 2–3, Archaeology Southwest will celebrate the Tucson Festival of Books. Stop by booth 460 and say hello to our team members, be amazed by Allen Denoyer’s flintknapping skills, and acquire a few issues of Archaeology Southwest Magazine you might have missed. http://bit.ly/2E1vSya – Archaeology Southwest

Thanks to Cherie Freeman, Adrianne Rankin, and John Porter for their 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