Dear Friends,
In my note here on November 7, 2024, I quoted the following passage from Rabbi Abraham Heschel:
How strange we are in the world and how presumptuous our doings. Only one response can maintain us: Gratefulness for witnessing the wonder; for the gift to our unearned right to live, to adore, to fulfill. It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.
Most days, I still agree with the good Rabbi.
I AM grateful to have wonderful colleagues and supporters at Archaeology Southwest.
I AM grateful that Archaeology Southwest remains firmly committed to collaborating with Tribal Nations and local communities to understand, share, and protect sites and landscapes for the stories they hold and the people they serve.
I AM grateful that we have, and will continue to have, the resources to persist in our original research, outreach, preservation, and advocacy, thanks to our supporters and friends.
Lately, though, I sometimes succumb to a feeling that Heschel seems naïve. The world is full of awful people doing awful things. How can a reasonable person remain grateful in the face of these assaults? It’s hard.
I grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, home to the University of Chicago. It’s a truly unusual place where you’re as likely to bump into a Nobel laureate as you are a cop. I have been held up at gunpoint, had my home burgled, and know friends who’ve been shot.
Shrewd residents of Hyde Park, including university students I knew, developed a combination of book AND street smarts. I’ve learned to suppress the worst of the latter—I’m nowhere near as confrontational as I used to be. Still, you can take the boy out of the South Side, but you can’t take the South Side out of the boy. I don’t like being threatened. I hate seeing loved ones harmed. I am fiercely loyal.
What does this have to do with Archaeology Southwest in 2025?
Our extended family, our closest interpersonal ecosystem, is under assault.
Our friends, family, and colleagues at the National Science Foundation, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and other federal agencies are losing their jobs on a daily basis. Programs and laws that protect our precious public lands are being subverted, ignored, or obviated by executive order and demonstrably unqualified political appointees. Funding sources are being frozen or cut in an unguided attempt at “efficiency.” Tribal nations could soon be suffering, yet again, at the hands of a capricious US government.
Quite a few of us at Archaeology Southwest are feeling downright scrappy. (OK, some might not be South Side levels of scrappy.)
To all our friends and followers in and suddenly out of civil service: Please know we are grateful for you, your service, your cooperation, your gifts, your guidance. We see you. We honor you. This isn’t right.
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. from Kate, editor/compiler of this weekly e-news: PLEASE let us know of actions people can take to support federal workers, especially those who have been wrongfully terminated, so we can share those calls to action here. If you need to change your email address for receiving this newsletter, you can do so here.
Banner image: Paul Vanderveen
Potential Impacts of Freezes and Firings at NPS
Brian Gibbs lost his job as a national park ranger on Friday. He was working as an environmental educator at the Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa. It was his “dream job,” he wrote in a widely shared post on Facebook. … Gibbs is grieving for the park — and what it and other parks may lose as a result of the staff cuts. “You’re losing people that are keeping the bathrooms clean, the trails maintained. You’re losing people who are teaching youth the value of protecting and preserving these places for current and future generations,” Gibbs said. “I’m very scared that some of these smaller monuments may be forced to shut down their visitor centers or operate like there was a government shutdown, which would mean very, very few personnel.” He worries about the potential for looting, destruction and littering. Emma Bowman for NPR | Read more »
Visitors to America’s most beloved public lands could find dirty bathrooms, unmaintained trails and closure signs on visitor centers and campgrounds if a federal hiring freeze does not thaw before hundreds of millions of people flock to national parks for the summer. The hiring freeze implemented Jan. 20 by President Donald Trump’s new administration resulted in the U.S. National Park Service rescinding thousands of job offers to the seasonal employees who serve as the backbone of the parks system during its busiest months. Typically, the service hires more than 6,000 seasonal employees across the 433 sites it manages, including Rocky Mountain National Park and 12 other sites in Colorado. Elise Schmelzer in the Denver Post | Read more »
Potential Impacts of Freezes and Firings at NSF
The National Science Foundation fired nearly 170 workers in a Zoom call on Tuesday morning as part of the Trump administration’s agenda to reduce the federal workforce. The terminated workers, who were told their employment would end at 5 pm EST today, included those still under probation, but also workers who had already completed the requisite one-year probationary period to become permanent workers and at-will workers who were considered permanent employees. … Many of the people terminated on Tuesday work as program managers and experts who make decisions about funding by aligning research proposals with the right program and matching those proposals to the most qualified reviewers to assess them and make recommendations. Kim Zetter for Wired | Read more »
“All that work isn’t going to get done,” said one fired consultant who worked on expanding the STEM workforce. “We have a need for people trained in these emerging technologies of AI and semiconductors. This is just going to totally devastate our ability to do that, and we will continue to have to rely on foreign workers who are getting that training and coming into this country, which is exactly what I thought the government didn’t want to do.” … One fired employee NPR spoke to worked on ensuring that existing grants were actually doing what the researchers set out to do. “Without people like me, there’s nobody to oversee that external evaluation or accountability.” With fewer staff, grant reviews and awards will slow down or stall out, employees told NPR. Ultimately, that will delay new discoveries that could improve people’s lives or scientists’ understanding of the natural world. Jonathan Lambert for NPR | Read more »
“This is the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions,” [Micah Cheatham, NSF’s chief management officer] added. NSF was created by Congress in 1950 to ensure U.S. leadership in science and engineering. The agency now provides roughly a quarter of federal support to America’s colleges and universities for basic research. E&E News previously reported that NSF expects to cut up to half of its 1,500-person workforce. Scientists and Democratic lawmakers fear that staff losses of that scale could effectively break the nation’s research and innovation pipeline, with disastrous consequences for the U.S. economy and American citizens. “We are extremely disappointed in NSF leadership,” said Reps. Haley Stevens of Michigan and Zoe Lofgren of California, the committee’s ranking member. “They have failed American science by not standing up to [the Department of Government Efficiency] and protecting their employees. Dr. Panchanathan must reverse these firings.” Corbin Hiar for Politico | Read more »
Continuing Coverage: National Monuments at Risk
The secretarial order does not directly mention national monuments or outline what laws are to be reviewed, but it references 54 U.S.C. 320301 and 43 U.S.C. 1714, which are federal laws related to the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. … “It seems to be targeting all presidentially designated national monuments under the Antiquities Act,” said Amber Reimondo, the energy director for the Grand Canyon Trust, noting that both Democratic and Republican presidents have designated national monuments. Arizona has 19 national monuments, including the recently established Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, which added more protections against mining to the Grand Canyon region. Tribes, conservation groups and state leaders are concerned about the recently established monument and are calling on the Department of the Interior to honor and support it. Shondiin Silversmith in Indian Country Today | Read more »
(re) Documenting Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve
Petroglyphs in Arizona dating back thousands of years will soon be digitised and reinterpreted with help from local Indigenous groups. At the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, a 47-acre site in Phoenix, around 1,500 symbols created between 500 and 5,000 years ago have been recorded. The site’s petroglyphs were last inventoried in 1980 using now-antiquated methods, and archaeologists believe that more motifs could be discovered. They will work with four regional tribes—the Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Gila River, Tohono O’odham and Ak-Chin—to create an updated database. Gabriella Angeleti for The Art Newspaper | Read more »
Rock Art Podcast Episode 137
Host Alan Garfinkel (President, California Rock Art Foundation) chats with Aaron Wright from Archaeology Southwest. Aaron has spent years studying the Hohokam and Patayan traditions of the southwestern U.S., focusing on cultural landscapes and rock imagery. His groundbreaking work on the South Mountain Rock Art Project and his book Religion on the Rocks earned him the Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize. Aaron is currently leading efforts to establish the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument, working to preserve and highlight the significance of this unique cultural landscape. Listen now »
Exhibition Announcement: Collecting in a Changing World
Artists create, animals evolve, plants adapt and Indigenous cultures flourish. As the world changes, so too do the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) collections, which grow to reflect shifts in art, culture and science across the Colorado Plateau. A new MNA exhibition, “Collecting in a Changing World,” highlights recent acquisitions that enhance the museum’s research, exhibits and educational programs and offers a window into how people engage with changing environments. Flagstaff Live | Read more »
Deep Time Diligence: An Interview with Tyson Yunkaporta
Aboriginal scholar and author Tyson Yunkaporta illustrates how deep time thinking, born of an intimate relationship between a place and its community, can radically reshape our relationship to the cosmic order. Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee for Emergence | Listen now »
Internship Opportunity (Cortez CO): Zooarchaeology
The Zooarchaeology Internship is designed to provide valuable experience to students in the fields of zooarchaeology and environmental archaeology by working with and learning from our research staff in the lab and field on zooarchaeology related projects and topics. Working with research staff at Crow Canyon, this internship will provide valuable on-the-job training related to faunal analysis. The zooarchaeology intern will develop a broad range of skills that will aid in their development as archaeologists and paleozoologists. The intern will advance their non-human osteological identification skills with fauna from the U.S. Southwest and learn new quantitative methods/interpretative frameworks related to zooarchaeological data. The intern will apply these analytical skills to enhance Crow Canyon’s research interpretations, educational outreach, and overall understanding of the culture history of the greater Mesa Verde region. Apply by March 3. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more (scroll down) »
Publication Announcement: KIVA Vol. 91 (1)
Articles in this issue include: Armas de la Tierra: Unconventional Weaponry of the Coronado Expedition, by Deni J. Seymour; Origins and Sources of Zuni Mountain Spotted Chert, by Kellam Throgmorton & Philippe D. LeTourneau; Food Processing and Cooking Technology during the Late Pithouse Period in the Mimbres Mogollon Region, by Barbara J. Roth & Ashley M. Lauzon; Dispersed Centrality: A Ceremonial Organization Underpinning Hohokam Platform Mound Ceremonialism, by Christopher R. Caseldine; A Reconsideration of Rio Sonora/Serrana Social Organization through Comparative Ceramic Analysis, by Jose R. Vivero-Miranda. Read abstracts »
February and March Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Feb. 24, Timothy R. Pauketat, Thunder Gods of Ancient Cahokia: How History Happened a Millennium Ago; March 3, John A. Ware, The Anthropology and Archaeology of Pueblo Secret Societies; March 10, Mike S. Vigil, Drug Cartels, Sicario Terror Training, & Money Laundering Operations; March 17, Larry Dalrymple and Lea Armstrong, Their Heritage Their Tradition: Resilience of Native American Basket Artists; March 24, William Taylor, Hoof Beats: Horses in Human History and the Southwest; March 31, Spencer Lucas, Rethinking Mass Extinctions. $20 at the door or $95 for the March series. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: TONIGHT: Feb. 20 Online Event: The Closest Neighbors of Paquimé
With Paul Minnis. Paquimé (Casas Grandes) was a major pre-Hispanic US Southwest/Mexico Northwest center. Archaeologists are illuminating its rise, regional influence, and demise. Minnis will discuss two decades of research that he and colleague Michael Whalen have conducted in Paquimé’s neighborhood. Third Thursday Food for Thought (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Feb. 22 In-Person Event (Tubac AZ): Paquimé and Casas Grandes
With Alex La Pierre. Less than a day’s drive away from southern Arizona is a UNESCO World Heritage Site commemorating the ancient civilization of Paquimé. Its labyrinthine adobe ruins and archaeological sites are located in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Join us for this special presentation by public historian Alex La Pierre to learn about what we know about Paquimé and how Apaches, Spanish, Chinese, Mennonites, and Mormons all impacted the region’s culture and history. 2:00 p.m., Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, 1 Burruel St. Borderlandia | Learn more »
Feb. 27 Online Event: Indigenous Archaeology through Consent, Consensus, and Collaboration
With Danny Sosa Aguilar. This webinar examines the important role Indigenous Archaeology plays in developing collaborative partnerships that practice the principles of consent, consensus, and collaboration in archaeological projects like the Abiquiú Mesa Project (AMP) in Abiquiú, New Mexico. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Feb. 27 Online Event: Logging, Ranching and the Military African Americans of the Grand Canyon Region
With Margaret Hangan. This discussion will center on the history of African Americans in relationship to the Grand Canyon area and the timber industry. Presenter Margaret Hangan has worked as a professional archaeologist since 1989. Originally from California, she moved to Williams, Arizona in 2007 and has worked for both the Kaibab and Tonto National Forests before retiring this year. Naco Heritage Alliance | Learn more and register (free) »
March 4 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ) Sled Dogs in the Southwest: Fact or Fable?
With Martin H. Welker. Domestic dogs have become deeply embedded in a variety of specialized roles within human societies, many of which require extensive behavioral and physiological adaptation. In the Southwest, dogs reportedly served as a source of transport labor facilitating trade between the Plains and the Southwest. Dr. Welker will explore the evidence. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
March 6 Online Event: Scarlet Macaws and the Aztatlán Tradition of West Mexico
With Michael Mathiowetz. Dr. Mathiowetz has long proposed that the coastal strip of southern Sinaloa, Nayarit and northern Jalisco and adjoining highlands was a key source for most of the Mesoamerican goods and ideas that appeared in the SW/NW. However, the manner by which scarlet macaws were acquired has remained an enigma. Drawing on archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnological data, Dr. Mathiowetz details some evidence for scarlet macaws/feathers and their ritual use in the Aztatlán region and models the mechanism by which they were acquired from the Gulf Coast via the proposed “Aztatlán-Huasteca Network” and transmitted northward. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Save the Dates: March 15 & 16 In-Person Event: Tucson Festival of Books
Come visit with Archaeology Southwest at booth 475B! More information coming soon.
Remember to send us notice of upcoming events and webinars, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!