Dear Friends,
On Wednesday, March 5, Archaeology Southwest’s new Director of Development Dani Phelps and I made one of my favorite drives across the American Southwest—the scenic route from Tucson to Santa Fe. We headed east on Interstate 10 and crossed the San Pedro Valley in the early morning light. That gave us a chance to discuss the importance of the San Pedro to Archaeology Southwest, as well as future projects we have in mind for that wonderful area. We turned north on Arizona Highway 191 to Safford, along which we noted the tremendous impact construction of the SunZia transmission line has had on the landscape. We realized anew how important our fight has been.
Out of Safford we went east into New Mexico, passing through the Mule Creek area where Archaeology Southwest hosted field schools for many years. We then turned north on Highway 180 and passed through Glenwood on the way to my happy place of Reserve, population 500. The Field Museum conducted archaeological fieldwork there from 1939 to 1955; I cataloged those collections in the late 1990s and have been conducting my own fieldwork in the area for more than a decade. It has way more elk than people, and is remarkable in its isolation amid the ponderosa pines.
From Reserve we went north to Quemado and then continued north to Interstate 40, passing the demonic lava flows of El Malpais National Monument. Near Grants, we rejoined the long ribbon of semi-trucks that dominate Interstate 40 into Albuquerque, then went north on Interstate 25 to Santa Fe. There, we met and had a delicious dinner with Preservation Archaeologist and New Mexico State Director Paul Reed.
By driving on “blue highways” most of yesterday, we got to enjoy all the wonder of the American Southwest. From saguaro deserts to ponderosa pine forests, from long, straight flats to winding montane roads, and from modern cities to small towns that seem to be lost in time, we enjoyed 10 hours of conversation about the past, present, and future of Archaeology Southwest. We all know these are troubled times. But our epic journey gave us plenty of time to reflect, to plan, and to dream about what our wonderful organization may do.
Today, Paul and Dani are going to Chaco Canyon National Historic Park for a quick visit. Dani has never been, so she’s in for a real treat—Paul is one of the world’s experts on the archaeology of Chaco Canyon. Tonight, we’ll reconvene in Albuquerque for dinner with Reymundo “Tony” Chapa, Archaeology Southwest’s newest board member.
For many years, Paul has been a regular guest on Scott Michlin’s radio show on KSJE out of Gallup. One of their shows, recorded earlier this week, aired this morning. Their special guest is Vice-President of Preservation and Collaboration John Welch; Paul and John spoke about the SunZia transmission line’s destructive path through the San Pedro Valley. Stream it here!
As you know, the chaos being wrought in DC continues. Many of our friends and colleagues in government have already lost their jobs. Many more are in limbo. We at Archaeology Southwest will continue what we do best—research, advocacy, outreach, preservation, and more. Thank you for all your support.
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
In Honor of Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma (1950–2025)
Our first Director and leader of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO), Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, made his final journey from this earthly world on February 17th, 2025. While it is not considered a Hopi practice to be “memorialized,” it is with respect and humility that we offer this brief remembrance of his life.
Leigh was born in 1950 and was a member of the Third Mesa Tep’wungwa (Greasewood) clan from Paaqavi Village. Most of his life was spent among his people and culture, learning the vast array of Hopi knowledge and philosophy, much of it from his Kwa’a (Grandfather). Little did he know, his upbringing would serve him well in his role as the Director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, which he assumed in 1989. Lyle Balenquah, Stewart Koyiyumptewa, current and former HCPO staff, and a grateful Hopi People, posted to Paa’tuuwi and shared here at the authors’ request | Read more »
Society of Black Archaeologists Announces George McJunkin Scholarship
The George McJunkin Scholarship, supported by the Institute for Field Research, will support ONE undergraduate or graduate student member of the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) to participate in an archaeological field school. This scholarship may only be applied to a field school offered by the Institute for Field Research. The scholarship will cover the full cost of the application and IFR field school fees, minus transportation expenses. Applications due by April 1. Society of Black Archaeologists | Learn more (scroll down) »
Impactful Exhibition Opens at the Heard Museum
The exhibition [Space Makers: Indigenous Expression and a New American Art] shows how the history and development of Indigenous art has changed over the years, as Native artists and creators redefined and reclaimed what it means to be Native and to create. Christopher Green noted that the art was deliberately arranged to emphasize the complex relationship between the Native and non-Native artists, showing how their artwork intertwined and grew, ultimately creating what Green calls a “new modern American art that was different from European art.” Chad Bradley for High Country News | Read more »
Commentary: The Places That Hold Our Nation’s Stories Are Not for Sale
[Interior Secretary] Burgum’s order seeks to erase nearly 150 years of bipartisan cooperation to safeguard public lands and the senses of place and pride they convey to all Americans. For Native Americans in particular, Burgum’s actions signal a return to the laissez faire policies that brought Tribal Nations to the brink of collapse in the 1800s. Our public lands must be understood as places of memory and community having essential importance to the original Americans. These lands, effectively inseparable from Tribal Nations, are cherished by millions of visitors and users every year. Burgum’s intentions to maximize extractive industrial use and minimize conservation is desecration. John R. Welch, Paul F. Reed, and Skylar Begay for Archaeology Southwest | Read more »
Podcast: Threatened Lands
Across the United States there are hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. Indeed, there are more than 500 million acres of federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service, just to name the three largest land managers in federal government. … But the Trump administration has an eye on some of those lands for energy development and mining, whether that’s oil and gas production or hard-rock mining. To better understand what’s at stake under that strategy we’re joined today by Dan Hartinger, the senior director of agency policy at the Wilderness Society. National Parks Traveler | Listen now »
Continuing Coverage and Commentary: Ongoing Threats to Public Lands and Forests
This is likely to leave the Park Service unable to keep up with the millions of park visitors or their impacts and hinder the Forest Service’s ability to carry out prescribed burns and other fire prevention work, while the Bureau of Land Management will have even fewer folks around to enforce regulations—and the agency will also be slower to process permits for oil and gas drilling, solar, wind and geothermal installations and other projects on public lands.
This will spawn claims that the federal agencies are unable to carry out their missions, which in turn will provide more ammunition to right-wing lawmakers to hand over public lands and their management to state and private interests. … This blessed age will also be one of diminished local economies, decaying national park infrastructure and overflowing toilets, widespread power outages, catastrophic wildfires and decimated public lands. In the end, that might not be a coincidence. Jonathan Thompson at the Landline (High Country News) | Read more »
The review could also affect national monuments and other protected landscapes in Arizona. In his own order, Burgum asked officials under his authority to review and potentially “revise” those lands to meet the goals of Trump’s order. … The Interior spokesperson would not provide a timeline for when Interior’s review might end and its final action plan is ready. It is unclear whether that plan will be public when completed. … The department spokesperson declined to confirm whether there were any plans for a public engagement period around the ongoing review. Austin Corona for the Arizona Republic | Read more »
Video Series: Tucson Did You Know…?
Featuring representatives from the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center; historian Lydia Otero; O’odham and Yaqui knowledge keepers, including Samuel Fayuant and Reuben Naranjo; historical archaeologist Homer Thiel; county officials Linda Mayro and Ian Milliken; regional archaeologist Henry Wallace; archaeologist and ancient technologies expert Allen Denoyer; and many others, including visualizations by artist Robert Ciaccio. In support of the City’s Silverbell Road Project, films by Lisa Molomot (award-winning documentary film director and UA faculty) were commissioned as part of the public outreach program for the project. The films focus on the importance of community, family and place for immigrants striving for better lives in the Tucson area. Pima County Arizona and the University of Arizona | Watch the playlist now »
Publication Announcement: Ten Steps for Recording Pictographs and Petroglyphs
Ten Steps for Recording Pictographs and Petroglyphs: Methods and Technologies, by Lawrence L Loendorf and Nancy Medaris Stone. University of Utah Press, 2025. Learn more »
March Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
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. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER (TODAY): 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) »
March 20 Online Event: Crossing the Akimel to Snaketown: The Ancestral Connection to Modern-Day O’Odham
With Reylynne Williams. The ancient O’Odham village of Snaketown along the Gila River became famous for archaeology expeditions there in the mid1930s and mid-1960s. Ms. Williams will present her Akimel O’Odham perspective on Snaketown. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
March 20 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Between a Rock and a Hard Place: O’odham Reasons to Revolt (or Not), 1751–1752
With Dale S. Brenneman. In late November 1751, thousands of O’odham rose up in widespread rebellion. Spaniards were caught completely off-guard as O’odham rebels, over the course of five days, attacked missions and Spanish communities, killing two Jesuit priests and some one hundred Spanish settlers while ransacking and burning mission churches and structures. Although the revolt effectively ended with a decisive Spanish victory over the rebels at Arivaca on January 5, 1752, investigations into its causes went on for several years, producing a massive body of documentation that includes 41 O’odham reports, testimonies, and other statements recorded by various Spanish officials. This talk will take you through some of the insights we gain from these regarding O’odham experiences of mission life, complexities of interrelationships and individual motivations, and mixed loyalties within the milieu of missionary and Spanish rule. 6:00 p.m., Whiskey del Bac, 2106 N. Forbes Blvd. Arizona State Museum | Learn more »
March 20 In-Person Event (Portales NM): Cynthia Irwin-Williams and North American Archaeology in the 20th Century
With Steve Nash and Paul Reed. Cynthia Irwin-Williams (CIW) enjoyed a remarkably prolific archaeological career that was cut short at the age of 54. Her career touched on a wide range of topics important to North American archaeologists in the 20th century. In this presentation, Steve and Paul will critically engage CIW’s myriad contributions to North American archaeology while examining the challenges posed by the sociopolitical and historical milieu in which she worked until her untimely death in 1990. Cynthia taught Anthropology at ENMU from 1964 to 1982. Eastern New Mexico University | Learn more »
March 27 In-Person Event (Sedona AZ): Mother Bears Ears and the Women’s Park: Exploring Women’s History in the Greater Mesa Verde Region
With R. E. Burrillo. The greater Mesa Verde region encompasses Mesa Verde National Park and Bears Ears National Monument, along with adjacent and interstitial areas. Women have played a number of key roles in the history of this region, as reflected in the archaeology, written histories, and cultural narratives found throughout it. This lecture will present examples from these three overlapping perspectives. 3:30 p.m., Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Rd. Arizona Archaeological Society, Verde Valley Chapter | Learn more (scroll down) »
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!