Dear Friends,
By the time this newsletter reaches your inbox, an extraordinary day for Archaeology Southwest will be in full swing. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., many of our local staff will be in a visitors’ gallery at the US federal courthouse here in Tucson. We will watch as attorneys argue a case that could temporarily halt (stay) construction of the SunZia transmission line through our beloved San Pedro Valley while the lawsuit proceeds.
In the afternoon, our staff will gather in the weird and wonderful Corona Room in the Bates Mansion complex, Archaeology Southwest’s headquarters in Tucson. Together, we will engage in a four-hour communications workshop with PitchLab!. Jay Mays, the founding CEO of PitchLab!, is a former professional comedian and award-winning comedy producer based in Denver and Miami. His colleague Daniel Reskin is also a professional comedian and communications consultant who enjoyed his own career in stand-up comedy in Denver and Miami. Together, they will lead us toward developing better presentations and messaging. (Full disclosure: I have taught public speaking with them in the past.)
My hope is that, one day, Archaeology Southwest’s reputation for verbal presentations and products will be as strong as our excellent branding for Archaeology Southwest Magazine and other written products. A day in PitchLab! activities is several steps in the right direction!
From federal lawsuits in the morning to channeling our creative energies in the afternoon—sounds like a quintessential day at Archaeology Southwest!
Until next week,
Stephen E. Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Innovative Draft Management Plan for Bears Ears Could Be a Model for Tribal Co-Management and Co-Stewardship
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service are seeking public input on a draft plan to guide management of the Bears Ears National Monument, incorporating considerable input from the Bears Ears Commission, the State of Utah, other cooperating agencies, and the public. The agencies are committed to ensuring that existing uses of cattle grazing, recreation and traditional gathering of firewood and plants continues as part of the monument’s management. The proposed plan includes five alternatives for public comment. The Bears Ears Commission—comprising the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni—provided input during the development of the draft plan consistent with the vision of President Biden’s restoration of the national monument and the central role Tribal Nations have had in stewarding these ancestral homelands. Native News Online | Read more »
The Bureau of Land Management and National Forest Service released the draft Bears Ears National Monument management plan last week and I don’t think I exaggerate when I say it is potentially history-making. That’s because the agencies’ preferred alternative “maximizes the consideration and use of Tribal perspectives on managing the landscape” of the national monument, and is intended to “emphasize resource protection and the use of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and perspectives.” Jonathan P. Thompson at The Land Desk | Read more »
After surviving three presidents, years of administrative back-and-forth in Washington and persistent local pushback, the federal government on Friday released potential plans for managing Bears Ears National Monument. The plan and the monument are the first of their kind. The land will be managed not only by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service but also with the input of five sovereign tribal nations. “In the face of modern challenges, such as the management of Bears Ears National Monument, our commitment to collaboration remains unwavering,” said Curtis Yanito, Navajo Nation Council member and Bears Ears commissioner, in a statement. “The draft resource management plan represents the culmination of our shared knowledge and insights, offered willingly to federal agencies for the betterment of the Monument. Our ancestors have faithfully safeguarded this land for centuries, and as collaborative stewards, we pledge to uphold this sacred duty into the boundless future.” Anastasia Hufham in the Salt Lake Tribune | Read more »
New Report: National Monuments Are the Heart of the West
The Mountain Pact, a coalition of local elected officials in over 100 Western mountain communities, released a new report highlighting the conservation and economic benefits of national monuments in states across the West. The report includes statements and praise from over 50 county commissioners, mayors, and council members, highlighting the importance of the national monuments in their communities and urging the Biden administration to work to designate and protect additional public lands—with spotlights on new national monuments President Biden could designate or expand. The Mountain Pact | Read now (PDF download available) »
The Return of Glen Canyon
Fifty-foot-tall cottonwood trees are growing along the edges of willow-lined beaver ponds. Patches of native wildflowers are flourishing where bass fishermen once dropped their lines from aluminum boats. Cultural sites that were flooded after Lake Powell began to fill behind the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 have resurfaced along with countless places sacred to the Diné, Hopi, Zuni, San Juan Southern Paiute, Kaibab Paiute, Ute, and other tribes with ancestral ties to the area. The Colorado and San Juan rivers are scouring out reservoir muck from canyon bottoms where whitewater rapids are returning. In short, Glen Canyon—the loss of which was seen as one of the great environmental tragedies of the 20th century—is undergoing a remarkable rebirth, not in spite of 21st century climate change but because of it. Zak Podmore for the Grand Canyon Trust | Read more »
Mining Ban Also Protects Chaco Canyon’s Ecology
At the Biden administration’s first White House Tribal Nations Summit in 2021, the president announced a proposal for a 20-year mineral withdrawal—an administrative tool to remove a specific area from oil, gas, and mining development—to preserve the 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. And on June 2, 2023, the administration formalized the withdrawal of 336,404 acres of Chaco Canyon, realizing the vision of community leaders who fought for decades to honor the sacred and historical site. In addition to protecting the area’s cultural and archeological value, a new Center for American Progress analysis finds that the withdrawal safeguards more than 60,000 acres of New Mexico’s highest-value ecological resources, helping to connect and protect wildlife. This advances the administration’s commitment to equitably conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 and to protect these areas from new leasing for oil and gas development. Sam Zeno for CAP 20 (Center for American Progress) | Read more »
Podcast: Browns Canyon National Monument
Host Jessica Yaquinto joins some of her Ute research partners to talk about the work they have all been doing together at Browns Canyon National Monument. This work is being conducted through the non-profit Living Heritage Research Council and funded by the Bureau of Land Management Colorado and the Colorado State Historical Fund. Mr. Terry Knight (Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Historic Preservation Officer), Mr. Mark Wing (Living Heritage Research Council Ute team member), and Ms. Sapphire Ortiz (NAGPRA Coordinator, Southern Ute Indian Tribe) talk about the project, their favorite parts, learning moments, and what they want people to know about the Ute people. Last but not least, they give advice for anyone doing Tribal Consultations or ethnographic research. Heritage Voices | Listen now »
Video: Steve Nash and Paul Reed on the KSJE Morning Show
Host Scott Michlin welcomed Archaeology Southwest’s New Mexico Program Director, Paul Reed, for their monthly discussion, where they welcomed a special guest—Archaeology Southwest’s new President & CEO, Steve Nash! Learn more about Steve, Archaeology Southwest’s history, what’s happening now, and what’s coming next. KSJE (public radio) | Watch now »
Blog: Archaeological Repositories Are Places to Train Future Archaeologists
As holders and curators of artifacts and their associated documentation and data, archaeological repositories are a place to learn about past and current excavation strategies, and an excellent training ground for future archaeologists. Speaking from personal experience, places like the Arizona State Museum (ASM) Archaeological Repository can be a student’s first exposure to rigorous archaeological practices, the place where they hold an artifact excavated from an archaeological context for the first time and learn more nuance about what it means to be an archaeologist and museum professional. Kathryn MacFarland for Cambridge Core | Read more »
There’s still time to apply for the Preservation Archaeology Field School, where students will get hands-on experience with museum collections management! Learn more »
March Subscription Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
March 18, Andrew Gulliford, Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge & Resistance; March 24, Jessica Munson, On Maya Inequality at the Altar de Sacrificios, Petén, Guatemala: Recent Investigations. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
March 14 Online Event: Feathered Serpents and Pole-Climbing Clowns
With Randall McGuire. A comparison of the Southwest/Northwest and Mesoamerican culture areas reveals an intriguing paradox. Parallels occur in cosmology, iconography, metaphor, and ritual. Despite these parallels, the societies of the two regions remain qualitatively different. Dr. McGuire will ask how the relations between migrations, commerce, conquest, religion, and elites through time and in space made and remade the Southwest/Northwest and Mesoamerican connection. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: March 16 In-Person Event (Payson AZ): Below and Beyond Perry Mesa
With R.E. Burrillo. Burrillo will discuss an archaeological survey of 3,200 acres in Tonto National Forest that has revealed new discoveries of entire pueblo communities that challenge the existing models of settlement, agriculture, and regional exchange within the greater Verde River region. 10:00 a.m., Payson Public Library, 328 McLane Rd. Arizona Archaeological Society, Rim Country Chapter | Learn more »
REMINDER: March 16–17 In-Person Event (Sedona vicinity AZ): Beaver Creek Heritage Days
Celebrate Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month and methods of Indigenous technologies with the USDA Forest Service, Arizona Archaeology Society: Verde Valley Chapter, Verde Valley Archaeology Center & Museum, and Friends of the Forest! Beaver Creek Heritage Days is a Verde Valley tradition, and returns for its first time since the Pandemic. Join us for a fun and inclusive two-day event featuring engaging activities for adults, kids, and families! Please join us in commemorating the renaming of V-V Ranch to The Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site. The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Forest Service were instrumental in adopting a new name that embraces Indigenous representation. 9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Verde Valley Archaeology Center & Museum | Learn more »
March 21 Online Event: In Search of a Borderland: Archaeological Patterns of Northwest Mexico and Neighbors
With Matthew Pailes. He will review recent research in Northwest Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental and discuss how this region was occupied for millennia and avoided the US Southwest’s boom and bust political cycles and the religious and political tumult of the 1200–1450 period. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
March 22–23 In-Person Event and Tour (Tucson and Naco AZ): The Past, Present, and Future of Camp Naco
The 2024 Bazy Tankersley Southwest Laureate Lecture will be presented by two community scholars, Rebecca Orozco and R. Brooks Jeffery. This event includes a Friday evening lecture followed by a Saturday site tour of Camp Naco. The Friday lecture will be preceded by a short memorial to honor the life and career of J.C. Mutchler (1961–2023), Associate Research Historian, Southwest Center, University of Arizona. In the footsteps of Bazy Tankersley, J.C. Mutchler’s career was devoted to empowering communities through their understanding of history and sense of place. No project better exemplifies Mutchler’s passion for community-based applied history than Camp Naco. This combined lecture and optional site tour will present the diverse histories of the Camp Naco site, the tireless efforts to preserve its buildings, and the future vision to reactivate Camp Naco as a destination to honor its past while addressing contemporary needs in the border community of Naco Arizona. The Southwest Center (University of Arizona) | Learn more »
March 23 In-Person Event (Scottsdale AZ): Cemait/Modiily/Tortilla Festival
Join the Huhugam Ki: Museum for their annual Tortilla Festival! 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Huhugam Ki: Museum Grounds, 10005 E. Osborn Road. Demonstrations, Tortilla History, Tortilla Making, Chicken Scratch Band, Food Vendors, Games & More. Huhugam Ki: Museum (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) | Learn more »
March 27 Online Event: Finding the Children: Using Archaeology to Search for Unmarked Graves at Indian Residential School Sites in Canada
With Kisha Supernant. In May 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, announced that 215 potential unmarked graves were located near the Kamloops Indian Residential School using ground-penetrating radar conducted by archaeologists. While this was not the first announcement of unmarked graves associated with Indian Residential Schools, it garnered national and international attention. The subsequent months saw significant commitments of funding from the government to support Indigenous communities who wanted to conduct their own searches. Many Indigenous communities turned to archaeologists to assist them in designing an approach to finding potential unmarked graves of their relatives. In this talk, Supernant provides an overview of how archaeologists have been working with Indigenous communities in Canada to locate potential grave sites and discuss the opportunities and challenges in this highly sensitive, deeply emotional work. Archaeology Hour (Archaeological Institute of America) | Learn more and register now (free) »
April 2 Online Event: A Lifelong Zuni Farmer’s Authority and Influence
With Jim Enote. With experience planting crops for 67 consecutive years, Enote will share thoughts about traditional knowledge, climate change, economics, and life on the precipice. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more and register (free) »
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!