Dear Friends,
I started my most recent audio book, The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, by Jeff Goodell, about three weeks ago. That was early in Tucson’s long string of days over 100 degrees. (Yes, Phoenix, I know you only count days over 110 degrees.)
Often the books I listen to during my morning exercise on the elliptical serve as a break from the daily news. But not this book. I listened about heat before breakfast and then as I drove in to work and again as I drove home. All heat, all the time.
But I turn the air conditioner on in my home office before I start on the elliptical. And throughout the day, air conditioning cools all but brief spells outdoors.
The prologue of Goodell’s book cited a study in the medical journal The Lancet that estimated there were 489,000 deaths worldwide from extreme heat in 2019. That’s a shocking number. And the book shared other deeply concerning stories about the heat impacts of climate change.
Thankfully, I have not witnessed deaths, but through the window of the office where I am typing this note, I have definitely witnessed human suffering. We know our unhoused neighbors on Ash Alley by name. In the winter, helping out with blankets and sweatshirts served to offset some of the impacts of cold weather. And although cold water and ice are helpful in our blistering summer heat, it feels like extremely meagre assistance to offer someone who is spending 24 hours in it.
Governments and nonprofits are increasingly recognizing heat waves as dire threats to human lives. But there’s a long way to go to truly protect vulnerable people—along Ash Alley and around the globe.
Those protective measures are urgently needed. But we all have to acknowledge that the upward trends in global temperatures are human caused. We need to move away—rapidly—from our consumption of fossil fuels.
Sincerely,
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Woman the Hunter
It’s often viewed as a given: Men hunted, women gathered. After all, the anthropological reasoning went, men were naturally more aggressive, whereas the slower pace of gathering was ideal for women, who were mainly focused on caretaking. … Ms. Chilczuk and Ms. Anderson joined Cara Wall-Scheffler, a biological anthropologist who taught their course, and two other researchers—also women—to figure this out. Now, the team has published a literature review in PLoS One concluding that in most modern foraging societies, women have played a dominant role in bringing home the game. Katrina Miller in the New York Times | Read more »
Heritage Protection Comic Book Debuts
Kayla Shaggy is a Diné and Anishinaabe multimedia artist, who, in her own words, “really loves making comics.” Kayla’s resume is impressive. She illustrated for Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix. She also did cultural consultation for Navajo characters for INTERIOR/NIGHT, an award-winning video game studio. Because of her skill, background, and belonging to Indigenous communities, the Save History team selected Kayla to illustrate our first comic, Protect the Past for the Future.
The comic tells the story of two Indigenous cousins, who spray paint a petroglyph site and share the vandalism on social media. Their grandmother sees the damage and demands that her grandchildren pick her up. The three of them drive to the vandalized site, where the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer is waiting for them to help clean off the paint. The story ends fifty years in the future. One of the teenagers is an Elder, telling a story to the younger generation at the vandalism-free site. SaveHistory | Read the artist interview and download the first issue (free PDF) »
Vandalism at Heritage Places in Los Alamos
Police in Los Alamos are looking for whoever vandalized a cultural site in the White Rock Canyon. “White Rock Canyon is home to hundreds if not thousands of cultural sites in that canyon,” said Los Alamos County Open Space Specialist Eric Peterson. “From pictographs to stone sheep herder corrals, it’s a cultural site in itself.” However, some sites are defaced now. According to Los Alamos County Open Space, they’ve received two official reports of vandalism to protected cultural sites in the area in recent months. San Ildefonso Governor Christopher A. Moquino said the Parajito Plateau is sacred and is the aboriginal land base for the Tewa people. Annalisa Pardo for KRQE News | Read more »
Continuing Coverage and Commentary: Setting the Record Straight on the Chaco Protection Zone
As reported in multiple media sources for nearly two years, and as discussed in multiple public hearings held by BLM on this issue, the mineral withdrawal has absolutely no effect on any other non-federal mineral rights in the 10-mile protection zone. The claim that Navajo allottee property rights will be affected is patently false. Skylar Begay and Paul F. Reed in the Santa Fe New Mexican | Read more »
Chaco Park Rockfalls Close Campsites
For the second time in less than four years, concerns about falling rocks have led officials at Chaco Culture National Historic Park to close parts of the park’s Gallo Campground. A National Park Service news release issued on Thursday, July 29 indicated that park officials had placed five campsites off limits after a pair of recent rockfall events. Nathan Hatfield, the chief of interpretation at Chaco and at Aztec Ruins National Monument, said the first rockfall took place at approximately noon on July 21, while the second one took place between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on July 29. The rocks fell from the cliff at the north end of the Gallo Campground at the east end of the park. Mike Easterling for Farmington Daily Times (via Yahoo News) | Read more »
Conservation Nonprofit Acquires Bears Ears Inholding
Frazier Haney says he felt an “incredible importance” the first time that he visited the 320-acre Cottonwood Wash property in southeast Utah. Haney, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, traveled from California to visit the land’s private owners who were getting ready to put the land out on the market at the start of 2022. The property’s “stunning” cliffs and cottonwood trees that align a stream that runs through the canyon left him in awe. It was also the beginning of a 16-month process to protect the very land on which he was standing. That journey came to an end this month as the California-based conservation nonprofit closed on a $2.15 million agreement to purchase the land, setting up a new conservation easement that will open the land up to visitors and Native American ceremonies. Carter Williams at KSL.com | Read more »
The Archaeological Conservancy Acquires Shields Pueblo
Colorado Mountain College recently donated tribal land to The Archaeological Conservancy as a way to preserve the historic beauty of the land. In 1974, CMC purchased 35 acres of land in Montezuma County near Cortez, found in an area known as the Shields Pueblo. This land, known as the Shields Pueblo Preserve, was home to Ancestral Pueblo centuries ago, according to a news release from CMC. … The transfer of land took place officially on June 27, and the transfer took place during a ceremony on the preserve. Ute Mountain Ute Tribal leader Mark Wing gave a Native blessing, and multiple representatives from CMC, Crow Canyon and the conservancy were present to witness the transfer. Bailey Duran in the Journal | Read more »
Chumash People Would Have Leadership Role in Proposed Marine Sanctuary
The Northern Chumash Tribal Council wants federal protection for 7,000 square miles of territory along 156 miles of central California coastline and stretching for miles into the Pacific Ocean. If approved by federal regulators, Chumash tribes would gain a unique leadership role over an expansive marine sanctuary, including the ability to block unwanted commercial development on the land and water within its bounds. The proposed sanctuary “gives us a platform to grow our culture and history in a safe place,” [Tribal leader Violet] Walker said. “The more people know about us, the less stereotypes and less misconceptions they have about us—the more they learn about us.” Silvia Foster-Frau in the Washington Post | Read more »
Publication Announcement: Sampling Variability and Centrality Score Comparisons
A new publication featuring new analyses of data collected as part of the original Southwest Social Networks Project (now cyberSW) just appeared in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports: “Sampling Variability and Centrality Score Comparisons in Archaeological Network Analysis: A Case Study of the San Pedro Valley, Arizona.” Authors: John M. Roberts Jr. (U Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Emily Dorshorst (U Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Yi Yin (Utah Valley University), Matthew A. Peeples (ASU), Ronald L. Breiger (UArizona), and Barbara J. Mills (UArizona). Available at this quick link for a limited time (and permanently through most university libraries) »
Position Announcement: Campaign and Program Director (Las Cruces NM)
The Campaign and Program Director will work with the Executive Director to successfully build and implement a long-term vision for campaign strategy in line with Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project’s (NTCP) mission and values. The Campaign and Program Director is a member of the executive leadership team, responsible for supervising all program staff (currently 2-5 people) in leading and participating in targeted campaigns. These projects will support community-based conservation, outdoor equity, and environmental justice efforts within the state of New Mexico and nationwide. Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project | Learn more (opens as a PDF) »
Job Opportunity: Development and Marketing Manager (Tucson AZ)
Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy, the Development and Marketing Manager will work closely with the Director of Philanthropy; Director of Outreach; and Director, Content and Communications to meet the resource development goals of Archaeology Southwest. The Development and Marketing Manager is a key member of the team, with a concentration in successfully leading and growing the annual fund, managing the organization’s special events, and donor stewardship initiatives. This position will also be responsible for effective and efficient use of resources and the donor management system (EveryAction) to measure and achieve development goals. The Development and Marketing Manager co-shares responsibility for maintaining the Archaeology Southwest website with the Director of Outreach. Archaeology Southwest | Learn more »
August Subscription Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
8/7, Harry J. Shafer, Classic Mimbres Painted Pottery & Hunter-Gatherer Pictographs of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands; 8/14, Andrew Gulliford, What’s Truly at Stake in Bears Ears 11,00o Years of History; 8/21, Mateo Romero (Cochiti Pueblo), Who Are We and Why Does It Matter? Or “When Are Indians Going to Be the ‘Good Guys’ in the Movies?”; Carleton Bowekaty (Zuni), Bears Ears: In the Sacred Land between. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: Aug. 3 Online Event: What We Can All Learn from the Old Ones
With Scott Ortman. In this presentation, Dr. Ortman discusses two important movements in archaeology today. The first is the recognition that archaeologists study the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples, and the second is the urge to make the results of archaeology helpful for the present and future. The presenter suggests that a productive way to integrate these two concerns is to treat the archaeological record as contemporary Indigenous people always have—as a source of knowledge for how to live now. Dr. Ortman provides a few examples from his experience to illustrate this point and suggest a few ways that Mesa Verde region archaeology could take advantage of this approach. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Aug. 5 In-Person Event (Naco AZ): National Buffalo Soldier Day Celebration
9:00 a.m. to noon, 2118 W. Newell St. Camp Naco—the cornerstone of Buffalo Soldier history in Arizona—is inviting the public to a commemoration ceremony and open house in celebration of National Buffalo Soldiers Day. The open house will also commemorate 75th Anniversary of the Executive Order Ending Segregation in the Armed Forces. The Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers (SWABS) is partnering with the Naco Heritage Alliance to commemorate both of these historical events, and to honor recently departed persons who championed the legacy of Buffalo Soldiers in southern Arizona. The event will feature a flag ceremony, a program of distinguished speakers, exhibit displays, guided tours of Camp Naco, as well as food and ice cream trucks. Camp Naco is also inviting descendant families of Buffalo Soldiers to attend and share their experiences as part of our new oral history project to document the stories and lives of Buffalo Soldiers. City of Bisbee | Learn more »
Remember to send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!