San Carlos Apache Lead Fight Against Mining at Oak Flat

San Carlos Apache Lead Fight Against Mining at Oak Flat
Dozens of people sang, danced and prayed outside of the San Carlos Apache tribe’s office on Thursday morning before heading out on a 44-mile journey in an attempt to protect their ancestral lands at Oak Flat campground. The protesters organized the march to express their anger over a federal land exchange that gave a copper mining company permission to mine land sacred to the Apache people. http://bit.ly/1A7HyZw – Arizona Republic

An Apache Perspective on Oak Flat 
For several years I have been attending the United Nations Permanent Form on Indigenous Issues in New York City. And during those years I have come to learn and understand how corporations and governments behave toward Indigenous Peoples when it comes to our homelands. While statements to governments were made at the Permanent Forum on behalf of Apaches regarding Oak Flat, Agent Orange contamination, genocide, militarization of our aboriginal Apache lands, and many human and cultural rights abuses, it appears the U.S. government was not listening. http://bit.ly/1KDgsuD – Indian Country Today

Exploring the History of Buffalo Soldiers and the Preservation of Camp Naco
Good news: Camp Naco is at last being stabilized and preserved. A local group, the Friends of Camp Naco, has joined with the Tucson-based Archaeology Southwest to raise the funds and organize the work. The site is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and is protected by a fence. Work on clearing and stabilizing the buildings continues. What is Camp Naco and why is it of interest? The U. S. Army camp was established in 1919, and was occupied until 1924 by members of the 25th Infantry Regiment, a Black (“Buffalo Soldier”) unit from Fort Huachuca. There were about one hundred soldiers there at any one time, assigned to guard the international border. http://bit.ly/1CIVJ9w – Arizona Daily Star

Southwest Symposium Scheduled for January 14–16, 2016, at the University of Arizona (Corrected Link)
The Southwest Symposium promotes new ideas and directions in the archaeology of the United States Southwest and the Mexican Northwest. The 2016 symposium focuses on Engaged Archaeology, showcasing collaborative and participatory work with descendant groups and local communities, public archaeology, and interdisciplinary work, in spoken and poster sessions. Presentations demonstrate how engaged archaeology results in new understandings of the past and broadens the relevance of archaeology. http://bit.ly/1zqAyGX – Southwest Symposium

Call to Action! Historic Preservation Tax Credit Legislation Introduced in Arizona Legislature
Arizona State Representative Karen Fann of Prescott has introduced “HB2337: Historic Preservation Tax Credit.” HB2337 would create both an individual and corporate income tax credit for up to 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenses on a certified historic property. Thirty-five other states have enacted similar tax credits, most recently Texas and Wisconsin. HB2337 will be heard in the Arizona House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee on Monday, February 9, 2015, beginning at 2 p.m. in Room HHR3. Historic preservation advocates wishing to voice their opinion on this measure are welcome to weigh in, including attending Monday’s hearing or contacting committee members prior to the hearing by phone or email. http://bit.ly/1FmrUcO – Arizona Preservation Foundation

Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café (Phoenix) Welcomes Traditional Potters Ron Carlos and Jacob Butler
On February 17, 2015, traditional potters and educators Jacob Butler and Ron Carlos (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) will share their perspectives on heritage and connecting to the past in Pottery…a Direct Link to Our Past. We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, near the Indian School light rail stop. Presentations begin after6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive at about 5:30 p.m. in order to get settled, as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Archaeology Café is free, but guests are encouraged to order their own refreshments from the menu. http://bit.ly/1zy0JuY – Archaeology Southwest

Celebrate Cedar Mesa Weekend Spotlights “the most significant unprotected archaeological area in the US”
From its colorful canyons to its 56,000 archaeological sites, the area surrounding Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah is remarkable on many levels. Locals and international tourists alike view the region as a natural and cultural wonder. And the area is at the center of county, state, and national policy discussions about permanent landscape protection. In its continuing efforts to support stewardship and educate the public about the importance of preserving the character of the region, Friends of Cedar Mesa is hosting its 4th annual gathering of people who are fascinated with this unique area. “Celebrate Cedar Mesa” weekend runs March 6th through the 8th in Bluff, Utah.  A full schedule of events, including registration details, can be found at http://bit.ly/1Fn6Cfe – Friends of Cedar Mesa

Contested History – Junipero Serra
California’s history can’t be told without Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Franciscan missionary who introduced Christianity and established settlements as he marched north with Spanish conquistadores. Boulevards, public squares, freeways and elementary schools bear his name. A 26-foot statue of the priest looms over Interstate 280 in San Francisco. He is revered within the Catholic Church, and Pope Francis announced recently that he will canonize Serra, likely during a trip to Washington, D.C., this fall. That pronouncement has opened old wounds for many Native Americans in California and beyond. They say Serra wiped out native populations, enslaved converts and spread disease. http://bit.ly/1xRx8aK – Arizona Daily Star

Federal Grant Supports Study of the NAN Ranch Collection
Staff at the Western New Mexico University Museum are discovering more than ever about Mimbres people with the help of a federal grant to study the human remains from the NAN Ranch collection. The NAN Ranch collection arrived at WNMU in 2011 eleven after years of work from WNMU Museum Director — and former NAN Ranch archaeologist — Cynthia Bettison. Included in the collection were large stores of pottery, tools and some of the remains from dozens of people. In the closing months of 2014, the museum received grant funding from the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act to study the scope of the remains in the collection. The grant provides $90,000 over two years. http://bit.ly/1C8Wjua – Silver City Daily Press

Comprehensive Land-Use Plan for Eastern Utah in Development
The goal then was to bring land-use certainty, economic development, land conservation, and enhanced land models to eastern Utah counties,” according to a letter sent out Wednesday by Utah’s congressional delegation. “We’re pleased to report that our goals are still very much attainable and we’re on track to move forward in the near future.” Seven counties — Carbon, Daggett, Emery, Grand, San Juan, Summit and Uintah — are seated at the table, as well as 120 interest groups that include the oil and gas industry, archaeological associations, environmental organizations, sportsmen clubs and conservation interests. Bishop said it will be time for those diverse interests to show how committed they are to abandoning litigation and the bickering that has dominated discussions over how to use the land. http://bit.ly/1FmroM6 – Deseret News

Open Call For Contributions to a Special Issue of Kiva
You are invited to submit a contribution to a special issue of Kiva marking the 100^th anniversary of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. In addition to six seminal articles, a sample of up to 40 short mini-essays from all stakeholders in the archaeology of the U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico will be published. Stakeholders include professionals in all type of positions, avocationalists, members of descendent communities, and students. http://bit.ly/1zm8rU5 – Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society

Anthropology Community Notes the Passing of Walter Birkby
Birkby came to the UA in 1963 as a graduate student. His college career at Creighton University was interrupted by his Marine Corps service in the Korean War. After the war he worked for several years as a medical and X-ray technician before enrolling at the University of Kansas. There, he studied under William Bass, a pioneer in modern forensic anthropology, and an authority on osteology and decomposition that made him a nationally sought-after expert for law enforcement. Birkby decided to model his own career after Bass’s. After finishing his master’s degree at Kansas, Birkby was drawn to the UA by Frederick Hulse, another nationally prominent physical anthropologist, second only to Bass in graduating doctoral students in forensic anthropology. Birkby became a graduate assistant and taught osteology in Hulse’s classrooms while working on his doctoral degree. http://bit.ly/1xRF8IR – University of Arizona

Audio Interview – Dan Simplicio
In this episode of Canyon Chronicles, host Mike Woodrow talks with Dan Simplicio, a tribal member from the Pueblo of Zuni and Cultural Specialist at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, about the decimation of the Zuni population after European contact, and how the Zuni people raise their children to maintain a strong cultural identity throughout their lives. http://bit.ly/1CIhwOp – KSJD.org

Lecture Opportunity – Coolidge
On Wednesday February 11th, at noon, Jean Groen, will present a lecture titled Plants of the Sonoran Desert and Their Many Uses at the visitor’s center of the Casa Grande National Monument. The talk is based on research she gathered while writing her book by the same title. Following the lecture and discussion, Jean Groen will be available to sign copies of her books, which are sold in the visitor center bookstore. Directions and additional information are available on the Monument’s website, http://www.nps.gov/cagr, or you may call (520) 723-3172.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Archaeologist Bradley J. Vierra, who will give a lecture entitled Ancient Foragers of the Northern Rio Grande: Millennia of Sustainable Lifeways on February 16 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series held to honor Picuris Pueblo. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary and refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt tel 505 466-275 email southwest seminar@aol.com. http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Ashley Morton on Monday, February 16^th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1500 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will present Women’s Health Demands Protective Cleanliness: Examining Health and Illness in Early 20^th Century Tucson. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://bit.ly/1uhONZh or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Thanks to Cherie Freeman for contributions to this week’s newsletter.