Dear Friends,
Let me tell you about 36 hours in the best CEO job in the world! This past Monday and Tuesday I had two outstanding days full of Archaeology Southwest goodness.
EARLY on Monday morning, I flew into Phoenix from Denver with my good friend Rick Wicker. I’ve made that flight many times; Rick had never seen Phoenix from the air and was astounded, and not in a good way, by the epic scale of that megalopolis and what it has done to the valley. But I digress.
I brought Rick to Arizona because he is an amazing photographer and I wanted him to get some new photos of all the wonderful things we do here at Archaeology Southwest. Rick and I have worked together on field- and museum-based projects in New Mexico, New York, Russia, Austria, and other places. He has the ability to capture scientific and cultural images with stunning precision and in ways that help me create compelling narratives. We’ve had a wonderful collaboration for more than 15 years. (I can’t wait to show you his handiwork, which will appear soon!)
After landing at Sky Harbor, we headed straight to the Arizona Center, where a major celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day was getting cranked up. Archaeology Southwest was well-represented at that auspicious event, with no fewer that three tents attended by our staff and associated volunteers. In the first, Shannon Cowell and Anastasia Walhovd presented our BIA-funded Save History program, which is designed to document and deter vandalism of archaeological sites on Indian lands. In the second tent, Skylar Begay held forth about the Respect Great Bend campaign to designate the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument. In the third, Sara Anderson and Elysia Hansel presented all of the other wonderful things that Archaeology Southwest does, and sold a few memberships and magazines in the process! It was great to be there, watching our stellar people share their passion and work with members of the public. They put in a really long day, so thanks and congratulations to them!
After a few hours, Rick and I drove west though Buckeye, Arizona, then south to the area around the historic Gillespie Dam near Arlington, Arizona. Archaeology Southwest preserves an 80-acre parcel of land there and we are currently in negotiations to acquire another 57-acre parcel. Those parcels contains hundreds of petroglyphs and other rock imagery and represent a microcosm of the cultural wonders in a nationally significant landscape that would be preserved if and when the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument is created.
On Tuesday, October 15, Rick and I got up early to document Allen Denoyer as he builds a replica of a 2,000-year-old circular pit house on the grounds of Mission Gardens just west of downtown Tucson. If you are interested in learning about Allen and his work—and maybe even getting your hands dirty—feel free to join him at Mission Gardens on the fourth Saturday of every month! Then we went to Archaeology Southwest headquarters in the Bates Mansion complex, where Rick documented our volunteer team work on the Ray Robinson collection. Finally, in the evening, John Welch took us to the Los Morteros Site on Tucson’s northwest side, where we tried, unsuccessfully, to get a good photograph of the ancient ballcourt there. Rick did, however, get a fantastic photo of John with the eponymous groundstone mortars at the site.
In a whirlwind 36 hours, Rick and I got to experience and document some of the best that Archaeology Southwest has to offer—and yet it was only a sliver of what this organization has done over the years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I’m proud of this team and honored to be a part of it!
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Oct. 19 Is International Archaeology Day
Get ready to celebrate International Archaeology Day on Saturday, October 19! #IAD2024 events cater to a wide range of interests and provide broad-ranging opportunities to connect with the world’s deep heritage. Archaeological Institute of America | Find an event near you »
Project Brings Indigenous Community and Legacy Collection Together
Archaeological investigations at the site in the 1960s and 1970s unearthed centuries-old artifacts from the operation of Fort La Cloche—and some, much older, from the ancestors of the Anishnawbek. While members of Sagamok Anishnawbek assisted in the excavations conducted by provincial archaeologists, they had no control over the recovered objects. Fast forward 50-plus years, to 2019. Alicia Hawkins, an associate professor of anthropology at U of T Mississauga, and Sarah Hazell, an archaeologist and member of the Nipissing First Nation, began collaborating with Naomi Recollet, the collections manager at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation on Manitoulin Island, to provide archaeological training to members of nearby Indigenous communities. … As Hawkins and Hazell (now a PhD student in anthropology at U of T) have worked side by side with Indigenous community members to identify objects, they’ve found that knowledge travels in both directions: the academics are learning more about Sagamok history and culture, and the community members are deepening their knowledge of archaeological practices. Kałıà (Catherine) Lafferty for University of Toronto Magazine | Read more »
New National Marine Sanctuary Will Be Co-Stewarded with Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
The preserve could one day serve as the final puzzle piece of an effort to protect virtually all of California’s coast from the Channel Islands to Point Arena, north of the Bay Area. “I am overwhelmed with pride for our community and just how much, how far we’ve been able to come in such a short time,” said Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is responsible for managing the preserve, but Indigenous tribes will directly advise the agency. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, which has territory overlapping with the sanctuary and is the only federally recognized Chumash tribe, has been designated as NOAA’s key Indigenous partner. Noah Haggerty for the Los Angeles Times | Read more »
More than 4,500 square miles of ocean will soon be protected by the federal government off the Central California coast. The Biden administration is creating a new national marine sanctuary, which will be the third largest in the U.S. The sanctuary is also the first to be led by Indigenous people. It was nominated by members of the Northern Chumash Tribe, who drove the effort for more than a decade to protect the rugged coastline that is their historical homeland. Going forward, the new Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will be managed in partnership with tribes and Indigenous groups in the area, who will advise the federal government. It marks a growing movement under the Biden administration to give tribes a say over the lands and waters that were taken from them. Lauren Sommer for Morning Edition (NPR) | Read more or listen now »
Check out Archaeology Southwest’s Preservation Archaeology Position Paper on “Tribal Co-Management: What Works Where and How?” This is a living document—please let us know your comments. Read now »
Commentary: Illinois Is Central to Our Work to Tell America’s Story
As the first Native American cabinet secretary and leader of the National Park Service, we know all too well that the stories of underrepresented and historically marginalized communities have often gone untold. When they are told, efforts to elevate these stories—and include the voices of those who lived through them—have traditionally been underfunded and under-resourced. … In August, President Joe Biden established the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument as America’s newest national park site. The national monument will preserve historic objects associated with the violent, racially motivated riot in President Abraham Lincoln’s hometown that served as a catalyst for important steps in the civil rights movement, including the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The designation is the eighth national park created during the Biden-Harris administration and follows the President’s designation of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Chicago and Mississippi. … These recent additions reaffirm that America’s story—even when difficult—can help us learn from the past in order to build a more just and equitable future. Deb Haaland and Chuck Sams in the Chicago Defender | Read more »
Project 2025 and the Future of Public Lands
In Project 2025, [William Perry] Pendley accuses the Biden administration of “implementing a vast regulatory regime,” beyond that envisioned by Congress, and effectively banning almost all “productive economic uses” of federal lands managed by the Interior Department. Environmental and tribal organizations have expressed the opposite view, noting that it was Trump who made the largest reduction in monument-protected lands in history and who would be likely to grant even more corporate access to public lands in a second term. “Project 2025 is an example of what it would look like to sell off America’s natural resources and public lands to corporations with little-to-no regard for the environment, the climate, taxpayers, or wildlife,” wrote the Center for Western Priorities, a nonprofit that has resisted the push to transfer federal lands to state and private ownership. James Rainey for the Los Angeles Times | Read more »
Editors’ note: All US public lands are Tribal homelands.
Gila River Indian Community Powers Up First Solar Panel-over-Canal Project
In the heart of Sacaton, located south of Phoenix, the Gila River Indian Community received nearly $6 million in funds from the Biden administration in 2023 to create a renewable energy plan involving the construction of solar panels over the Casa Blanca Canal. … On Thursday, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis … turned on the first power to the canal project. … [The] importance of this project in Arizona was attributed to the people of the Gila River Indian Community and how they planned, strived and dreamed of this project for many years. This project marks history in the United States as the first solar panel-over-canal project sanctioned in the Western Hemisphere. According to the Department of the Interior, the project will generate 1.31 megawatts of clean energy for the tribal nation. Jalen Woody for Cronkite News | Read more »
Grounded in Clay Exhibition to Open in Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Houston opens its first community-curated exhibition of Native American art and culture this month. “Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery” (20 October–12 January 2025) was organised by the Pueblo Pottery Collective, which was formed for the express purpose of curating the show. It numbers more than 60 members from 22 tribal communities across the American southwest. Elizabeth Fortescue for The Art Newspaper (UK) | Read more »
Podcast: Rapa Nui
Host Jessica Yaquinto talks with Friar Francisco Nahoe and Mata’u Rapu about how a priest and a filmmaker got involved in repatriation efforts for Rapa Nui (Easter Island). We learn how 19th and 20th Century European sheepherding ventures circulated Polynesian crania from Rapa Nui across the world; how UNESCO recognition can harm indigenous communities; the close relationship between environmental protection, cultural heritage, and indigenous rights; and most of all how the Rapanui people themselves provide an outstanding example of resilience in the face of environmental precarity and Euro-American colonization. Finally, we explore the challenges of living up to the leadership and legacy of both ancient ancestors and living elders in the effort to find a collective, multi-generational Polynesian voice. Heritage Voices | Listen now »
Publication Announcement: The Hohokam and Their World
The Hohokam and Their World: An Exploration of Art and Iconography, by Linda M. Gregonis and Victoria R. Evans. University of Arizona Press, 2024. Learn more »
Position Announcement: Public Lands Policy Associate Director
The Public Lands Policy Associate Director will work closely with the Public Lands Policy Director to help develop and deliver campaign and policy strategies across the organization. The Public Lands Policy Associate Director will implement strategies aimed at grassroots efforts to advance policy change to conserve, protect, and restore the National Conservation Lands; facilitate or convene meetings in partnership with the Public Lands Policy Director with stakeholders, grassroots advocates, and decision-makers to advance policy initiatives and campaigns; and assist with implementing and tracking key policy and advocacy strategies. Conservation Lands Foundation | Learn more »
October Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Oct. 21, Verma Nequatewa (Hotvela, Second Mesa Hopi) and Robert W. Rhodes, Two Views of Hopi; Oct. 28, Benjamin Bellorado, Road Signs and Walking Shoes: Sandal Imagery as Part & Parcel of the Chaco Road System. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. $20 at the door. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
TODAY: Oct. 17 Online Event: New Archaeological Insights from Ancient DNA
With Jakob Sedig. Ancient DNA data from over 300 individuals are providing new insights on the peoples who lived in central, western, and northern Mexico hundreds and thousands of years ago. These data have shed light for answering long-standing questions about migration and interaction of different archaeological cultures in key eras of Mexico’s past. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: Oct. 18 In-Person Event: Tucson Archaeology Happy Hour
Borderlands Brewing Co. patio, 119 E. Toole Ave., 5:00–7:00 p.m. You know who you are! Questions?
Oct. 19 In-Person Volunteer Cleanup (Albuquerque–Santa Fe region): Tetilla Peak Campground and Buckman Mesa Trailhead
Join American Rivers, the Conservation Lands Foundation, and the Caja del Rio coalition for a day of stewardship, community, and care for the Caja del Rio. Caja del Rio.org | Learn more »
REMINDER: Oct. 19 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Traditional O’odham Agriculture
With Maegan Lopez. Join us every third Saturday of the month at Mission Garden’s Placita (near the kitchen) for an insightful look into O’odham agricultural practices. This free event, led Maegan Lopez will share both traditional and post-contact farming methods that have shaped the region’s rich history. Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane, 8:00–9:30 a.m. Free. Mission Garden and Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture | Learn more »
ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT: Oct. 19 In-Person Workshop (Tucson AZ): How Did People Haft a Knife?
Hands-On Archaeology with Allen Denoyer. Explore the history of hafted knives inspired by Southwest traditions. Learn hands-on techniques using pitch, sinew, and cordage to craft your knife. All materials provided, including a stone blade and a variety of woods to create your handle. Beginners are welcome (ages 12 & up)! Wear long pants and bring gloves for carving. $50 fee for nonmembers. Hands-On Archaeology (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
REMINDER: Oct. 21 Online and In-Person (Tucson AZ) Event: Ladders, Axes, and a Tale of Two Pueblo Technologies
With Richard Ahlstrom. Two-pole ladders and hafted stone axes first came into common use in the Central Pueblo area at the same time, the late sixth to seventh centuries, underwent only minor or localized redesign over the following millennium, and fell out of use across the Pueblo World, again at the same time, in the seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries. The two-pole lashed rung ladder was a Pueblo invention, whereas the hafted-stone axe was borrowed from elsewhere. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more »
REMINDER: Oct. 21 In-Person Event (Springerville AZ): Save History: The ARPA Assistance Initiative
With D. J. “Dusty” Whiting. Whiting will speak on the ARPA (Archaeological Resources Protection Act) Initiative and current strategies being utilized to protect archaeological sites on tribal lands. Mr. Whiting is a Game Ranger and Fire Investigator for the White Mountain Apache Tribe at Whiteriver, Arizona, and owner of Lone Ranger Resources LLC, which specializes in mitigating archaeological and cultural resource crimes. He is a former Law Enforcement Specialist (Instructor) for the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and a retired U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent. He worked for 20 years on Indian reservations in South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. Springerville Heritage Center, 418 E. Main St. 6:30 p.m. Little Colorado River Chapter, Arizona Archaeological Society | For more information call Bill Butler at 928-245-9098
Oct. 24 Online Event: Modeling Early Maize in the North American Southwest
With Lori Barkwill Love. Although originally domesticated in Mexico, the initial adoption and spread of maize (Zea mays) are key to understanding the forager-to-farmer transition in the North American Southwest. Fundamental to our understanding of this transition is chronology, especially related to the introduction, spread, and use of maize. Yet, the chronology of early maize typically focuses on single radiocarbon dates, and at times, has been controversial. This presentation shows how chronological modeling can be used to better understand early maize in the North American Southwest. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Nov. 2 In-Person Event (Scottsdale AZ): Huhugam Ki: Museum 37th Anniversary Celebration
Join the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for a mesquite pancake breakfast, hammer-milling of mesquite pods, refurbishing the olas ki: (traditional round house), museum exhibit opening, and more. 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the Huhugam Ki: grounds, 10005 E. Osborn Rd. Huhugam Ki: Museum (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) | Learn more »
Nov. 3 In-Person Event (Phoenix AZ): Voices of the River
With Dave Showalter. Celebrate the Colorado River’s legacy during an engaging evening with author and photographer Dave Showalter, presenting his new book, LIVING RIVER: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado. The event will also feature speaker, artist, and activist Yolanda Hart Stevens, whose work highlights the beauty and importance of natural landscapes. This free event invites you to explore the river’s role in shaping the environment, culture, and future of our communities. Heritage Square Phoenix | Learn more »
Nov. 12 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Weaving the Hair of the Dog
With Laurie Webster. Join us in-person at Catalyst Creative Collective in the Tucson Mall, where Webster (anthropologist and independent scholar) will discuss “Weaving the Hair of the Dog: White Dog Hair Textiles in the Ancient Southwest.” White dog hair played a unique role in Southwestern weaving during the period from 100 to 900 CE. Laurie will explore the cultural importance of this fiber, types of woven items produced, and evidence that early Southwestern peoples bred white dogs. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
Nov. 21 Online Event: Unsung Heroes: Search and Rescue-First Responders, Southern Arizona, 1901–2000
With Charles “Butch” Farabee Jr. (Retired National Park Service Superintendent and Search and Rescue/First Responder). Relevant nationwide, his talk is based on his 599-page, 2023 book Southern Arizona Search & Rescue and First Responder History, available FREE online. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Video Highlights from September–October
Celebrating the Song Dogs. With R. E. Burrillo. Archaeology Café | Watch now »
Community Landscapes, Community Identity: Ancestral Pueblos of the Lion Mountain Area. With Sus Eckert. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Watch now »
The Role of the Greater Southwest in Understanding the Earliest Americans. With David Kilby. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Watch now »
Activating the Power of Place: A Conversation with the Leadership of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. NTHP | Watch now »
Archaeology on the Rocks: Investigating an 18th-Century Spanish Land Grant in Tijeras Canyon NM. With Kelly Jenks. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Watch now »
Damming the Gila: The Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Irrigation Project, 1900–1942. With David H. DeJong. Southwest Center (University of Arizona) | Watch now »
Video Channel Roundup
Catch up on some presentations not highlighted above that we might’ve missed, too! A simple click on any of the links to the YouTube channels of our Partners and Friends should catch you up. (And please do let us know if your channel isn’t in this list but should be.)
Amerind Foundation
Archaeology Southwest
Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society
Arizona State Museum
Aztlander
Bears Ears Partnership
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Grand Canyon Trust
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners
Mesa Prieta Petroglyphs Project
Mission Garden (Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace)
Museum of Indian Arts and Cultures
Museum of Northern Arizona
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
San Diego Archaeological Center
School for Advanced Research
Southwest Seminars
The Archaeological Conservancy
Verde Valley Archaeology Center
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!