Tribes Come Together to Protect Greater Chaco

Tribes Come Together to Protect Greater Chaco
Native American leaders are banding together to pressure U.S. officials to ban oil and gas exploration around a sacred tribal site that features massive stone structures and other remnants of an ancient civilization but are facing the Trump administration’s pro-drilling stance. Creating a formal buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park has been a long-running issue, but tribes are pushing for further protections as U.S. officials revamp the management plan for the area surrounding the world heritage site as well as large portions of northwestern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Tribes gathered Thursday at Acoma Pueblo, a Native American community about 60 miles west of Albuquerque, amid an All Pueblo Council of Governors meeting to reaffirm support for protecting the land. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, head of the largest American Indian reservation, sat among pueblo governors and said it’s only right that they support each other, just as their ancestors did. http://bit.ly/2Uie3p2 – Santa Fe New Mexican

Senator Heinrich to Introduce Bill Creating Bandelier National Park and Preserve
With tribal leaders, wildlife advocates, and northern New Mexico elected officials in attendance, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), announced his plans to introduce legislation to establish the Bandelier National Park and Preserve. Heinrich made the announcement Wednesday afternoon at a press conference at Bandelier National Monument. “It’s not an exaggeration to say this is one of the most important cultural sites in North America,” Heinrich said. “These are not relics, it’s a living cultural landscape.” http://bit.ly/2UbKaGB – Los Alamos Daily Post

“When I talk to people about what makes New Mexico so unique, it always comes back to our breathtaking scenery, our deep and complex history, and our unique cultures,” said Heinrich. “Bandelier National Monument encapsulates each of these in unrivaled ways. That’s why I am so proud to work with communities in northern New Mexico to introduce legislation to make Bandelier our nation’s newest national park. I look forward to working with all New Mexicans to ensure Bandelier’s cultural treasures in particular, and northern New Mexico’s history and natural beauty as a whole, finally receive the recognition and protection they have long deserved.” http://bit.ly/2U53uWf – KRWG (NPR)

Commentary: At Last, the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area
Were you among the many citizens of Southern Arizona who were caught off guard upon hearing that a designation for the Santa Cruz National Heritage Area sailed through Congress in late February and was signed into law at the White House on March 12? Were you surprised to find yourself living in a 3,300-square-mile landscape that was nationally recognized for its distinctive natural, historical and multicultural heritage? Hadn’t it been over a decade since most nonprofits, as well as all municipalities and jurisdictions in the Upper Santa Cruz watershed, pledged their support for such a designation? http://bit.ly/2JIJBjK – Gary Nabhan in the Arizona Daily Star

Former Interior Secretary Jewell Says Tribes Will Win Lawsuit over Monument Reduction
Bears Ears National Monument — the 1.3 million-acre version President Barack Obama designated and American Indian tribes embraced — will return. So predicted former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Thursday, declaring that Bears Ears supporters will prevail in their legal battle to restore the southern Utah monument, set aside in 2016 by her then-boss using his presidential powers under the Antiquities Act. http://bit.ly/2Ub5RXy – Salt Lake Tribune

ASU’s Peeples Debunks Myths and Conspiracy Theories in Interview
“I think these claims are still popular today for a number of reasons. First, there is a lot of money to be made from selling pseudoscientific ideas to the public, as is evidenced by the numerous books and TV shows that keep popping up. A lot of these ideas are also tied to nationalism and various other kinds of group identities. People have a desire to claim that their ancestors were the first to arrive in a new land or develop some advanced technology, claims that have even been used to justify war and invasion.” http://bit.ly/2UiaTla – Phys.org

New Publication: “Desirable Meat”
A new paper co-authored by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center’s director of archaeology, Susan Ryan, Ph.D., examines how meat relates to social organization in ancestral Pueblo communities. “Desirable Meat: The Social Context of Meat Procurement at Albert Porter Pueblo, a Great House Community in the Central Mesa Verde Region” was written by Ryan and lead author Shaw Badenhorst, Ph.D., senior researcher at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and Jon Driver, Ph.D., vice president of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and a Crow Canyon research associate. The paper, published by Kiva – Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, examines wild game and turkey remains found at Albert Porter Pueblo, an ancestral Pueblo village in Southwest Colorado near Yellow Jacket. http://bit.ly/2UfKHYb – The Journal

Cowboy Camps
Way before cowboys, pueblo people on Mesa Verde in Colorado located entire settlements in the sweeping overhangs, protected from the elements. Alcoves there hold tiered apartments, towers, and plazas that buzzed with daily activities… But when cowboys came to places like the Needles district in Canyonlands National Park, they found plenty of good rockshelters. In some, the materials of a herder’s domestic routine still remain—cupboards and tables, Dutch ovens, axle grease, cornmeal, molasses, maybe a dented washbasin, an axe handle mended with wire, or worn horseshoes with nails still attached … telling of hardship and reality. http://bit.ly/2UdZ8fk – KNAU (NPR)

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Volunteer Reaches 4500 Hours of Service
Joan Cox reached a total of 4500 service hours at the park on February 28, 2019. Cox has been a volunteer at the monument for five years. Previously, Cox has volunteered at many other parks, including Everglades National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and White Sands National Monument. Cox continues to be passionate about parks, and especially loves volunteering at Gila Cliff Dwellings. “It really is a magical place,” she said. “It has always felt special to me, and I’ve been touched by it. I want to continue learning as much as I can.” Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is always looking for new and returning volunteers to assist with its mission. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Andrea Eide, Acting Chief of Interpretation and Volunteer Coordinator, at (575) 536-9461, extension 32. – Press release from Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

REMINDER: Archaeology Café (Tucson): Mimbres Lives and Landscapes of Southwestern New Mexico
Knowledge seekers of every kind are welcome at Archaeology Café at The Loft Cinema for a series of programs exploring the deep and diverse history of the Southwest. Join us on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, as Dr. Margaret Nelson introduces Tucsonans to “Mimbres Lives and Landscapes of Southwestern New Mexico.” Over a thousand years ago, the people of the Mimbres Region in southwestern New Mexico were gathering in large villages and crafting the intricately painted distinctive black-and-white bowls we easily recognize today. But what do we know about these people? Dr. Nelson will share insights into the lives of these people, changes in their leadership and social structure over the years, and what their dramatic pottery designs might still tell us today. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd, Tucson. 6:00 p.m. and streamed via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologySouthwest/.

Lecture Opportunity, Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr Sean Gregory Dolan, Archaeologist, Environmental Compliance and Protection, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Co-Author, “The Source and Provenance of an Obsidian Eden Point from New Mexico” and Author, “Black Rocks in the Borderlands: Obsidian Procurement in the North American Southwest and Mexican Northwest” (Dissertation, University of Oklahoma), who will give a lecture “Ancient Turkey Domestication, Iconography and Husbandry in the Mimbres Valley” on April 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge The Archaeology Conservancy. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at tel: 505 366-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; web: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity, Cortez CO
As a part of the Four Corners Lecture Series, the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Dr. Chuck Riggs on Tuesday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church, 515 Park Street, to discuss “Secular and Sacred: Evaluating Kiva Function in the Mesa Verde Region.” Chuck will focus on recent work at the Bowthorpe and Pigg sites that contradicts the traditional assumptions of kivas as strictly religious spaces and suggests that these structures remained primary loci for habitation activities well into the Pueblo III period. https://www.facebook.com/events/2321116128158204/

Lecture Opportunity, Safford AZ
Local author and researcher Don Lancaster will present his and Dr. Jim Neely’s latest updates to a recently discovered spectacular series of prehistoric Mount Graham bajada “hanging canals” in a free brown bag talk sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Coronado National Forest (CNF) at the BLM/CNF Safford Office, Lecture Room, 8th Avenue and 14th Street on April 4 at 12:00 p.m. Bring your own lunch and drinks. http://www.tinaja.com

Lecture Opportunity, Cave Creek AZ
The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19^th century. Much like meteorite hunters of today, ancient Native American cultures actively engaged in meteorite collecting. Several meteorite fragments from Meteor Crater near Flagstaff have been discovered at ancient dwellings in central Arizona. Ken Zoll’s presentation will describe these meteorite locations and how they are associated with Meteor Crater. We will meet on April 10 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331. http://www.azarchsoc.wildapricot.org/desertfoothills

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Elizabeth Eklund on Monday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Banner-University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Living with the Canals: Water, Ecology, and Cultural Memory in the Sierra Madre Foothills.” 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.

Lecture Opportunity, Dolores CO
On Saturday, April 27, at 1:00 p.m., the Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance will welcome Dr. Bill Lipe and Mary Weahkee for “How Many Turkeys Does It Take to Make a Blanket?” Dr. Lipe will look at how turkey feather blankets were made, how many feathers it took, and how the feathers were obtained without killing a lot of turkeys just to get their feathers. Mary Weahkee is a master at making replicas using natural materials. The two speakers will compare known archaeological examples and modern replicas. The presentation will be at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum, 27501 Hwy 184. http://www.swcocanyons.org/

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