New Oil and Gas Leases on Chaco Landscape Open for Bid March 8

Despite Protests, Oil and Gas Leases on 4,500 acres of Greater Chaco Will Go up for Bid on March 8
The Bureau of Land Management is under fire from over 100 protests filed in response to a planned sale of oil and gas leases on nearly 4,500 acres of government-owned land in Western New Mexico known as “Greater Chaco,” an area that has historical and cultural ties to the state’s pueblos including Taos and Picuris. The lease sale is scheduled for March 8, with the auction being conducted online at energynet.com, an Amarillo, Texas-based auction platform for the energy industry. http://bit.ly/2Gs4OIT – Taos News

Tucson’s Archaeology Cafe: Meet Archaeology Southwest as We Feature a Discussion on Tumamoc Hill
On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, Paul and Suzy Fish will join Bernard Siquieros for Archaeology Café (Tucson) to discuss Tumamoc Hill: More than a Place for a Good Hike. A landmark of downtown Tucson, Tumamoc Hill rises 700 feet above the western edge of the Santa Cruz River. Today the location of a desert research center and numerous transmission antennae, as well as a popular place for modern Tucsonans’ daily hikes, it has been an important place in the lives of Tucson inhabitants for at least 2,000 years. We meet at The Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd) at 5:30 p.m. The program begins in theater 1 at 6:00 p.m. You can pick up your free tickets from The Loft Cinema box office anytime the day of the Café. (Limit two tickets per person; 375 total seats.) This program is made possible, in part, by The Smith Living Trust and Arizona Humanities. http://bit.ly/2GoE6B7 – Archaeology Southwest

Outdoor Retailer Show Displays Time until the End of Bears Ears National Monument
As the lucrative Outdoor Retailer show swings into gear Thursday in Denver, a group of outdoor industry leaders and conservation organizations plans to project a “countdown clock” on the McNichols Civic Center to protest President Trump’s decision to reduce the size of two national monuments in southern Utah. The clock shows the time remaining before mining and energy interests will be able to dig and drill in the lands removed from monument status. http://bit.ly/2rNheHV – KSJD Radio

Editorial: Bears Ears – Is This Checkmate?
On December 4, 2017, President Trump cut millions of acres from two national monuments in Utah. With a simple proclamation, Grand Staircase-Escalante was reduced by nearly 50 percent. Bears Ears National Monument was slashed by 85 percent. Within days, lawsuits were filed to stop Trump’s order. A coalition of Native American tribes, the outdoor retailer Patagonia, and nonprofit preservation organizations all sued, arguing that the president exceeded “the limited authority delegated to his office,” violated “the Antiquities Act and the separation of powers established in the Constitution” and circumvented the law by “attempting to evade that strict limitation” of his power. A month ago, it seemed the fate of these monuments lay in the courts. Not anymore. http://bit.ly/2rOnLCa – Chip Colwell via Counterpunch

BLM Seeks Public Input on Bears Ears
President Donald Trump issued Proclamation 9681 modifying the boundary of the Bears Ears National Monument to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of important objects of historic and scientific interest. This action is part of a larger effort by President Trump and the Department of the Interior to ensure that the broad powers granted to the President under the Antiquities Act are not used as a tool to unnecessarily restrict access to public land on a large scale. https://on.doi.gov/2rN3MDZ – BLM.gov

Conservation Lands Foundation Launches Amazing App to Allow Public the Ability to Monitor and Report Damage to Our Public Lands
The Conservation Lands Foundation, in partnership with Puente Institute and Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, today announced the launch of TerraTruth, an app that will allow any public lands user to submit data and photos—just “Explore, Snap, Send—documenting damage or other harms occurring on protected public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These lands are collectively known as the National Conservation Lands, and include the two national monuments—Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante—currently under attack by the Trump administration. http://bit.ly/2GqNcNp – Conservation Lands Foundation

Editorial: Utah Tribes Denounce Rep. John Curtis
We are dismayed by Rep. John Curtis’ continued defense of his bill (H.R. 4532) to legislatively confirm the president’s unlawful action rescinding and replacing the Bears Ears National Monument. His Jan. 20 Salt Lake Tribune commentary titled: “Contrary to false claims, my bill empowers Utah’s local tribes” is itself a false claim. We are the “local tribes” and Curtis never consulted with us. His bill all but eliminates our voice. http://bit.ly/2rMiGdH – Davis Filfred and Shaun Chapoose via the Salt Lake Tribune

Archaeology Southwest’s Bill Doelle Submits Testimony on H.R. 4532
Chairman McClintock, Ranking Member Hanabusa, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide Archaeology Southwest’s perspective on the Shash Jáa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument Act (H.R. 4532). Archaeology Southwest strongly opposes this legislation as introduced. For reasons outlined as follows, we hope the committee will dismiss this bill. http://bit.ly/2GoL4Gh – Archaeology Southwest.

Parks Reopen, but Another Shutdown Looms
The shutdown of the federal government that began Jan. 20 lasted only 69 hours before emergency legislation reopened parks and government offices… The legislation that ended this week’s shutdown only funds the government through Feb. 8. After that, citizens could again experience frustration and confusion with the National Park Service. Last weekend, for instance, NPS-managed Yellowstone National Park was open, yet NPS-managed Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island was not. At Mesa Verde National Park, only one viewpoint — of Spruce Tree House — was open. All visitor services, including restrooms, were closed. http://bit.ly/2Goficn – The Watch

Mesoamerican Domesticated Turkeys Not Treated as a Source of Food
Today the life of a turkey is a predictable one, with the bird being fattened all through its days to end up glazed and stuffed on a dining table. However, a new study published in the Royal Society Open Science has revealed that the ancient turkey may have played a much bigger role than that of Thanksgiving dinner. Researchers from the University of York, the Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico, Washington State University and Simon Fraser University have discovered that the ancestor of the bird may have been domesticated for cultural reasons rather than gastronomic ones. http://bit.ly/2Gngc8O – International Business News

Historical Interpretation on the Precipice – Declining Public Interest at Colonial Williamsburg
One of the country’s most well-known tributes to the Revolutionary era is on the brink of financial ruin. Mitchell Reiss, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s president and CEO, released an open letter at the end of June revealing that Colonial Williamsburg, which markets itself as “the world’s largest living history museum,” is in dire financial straits. Reiss wrote that in 2016, Colonial Williamsburg lost an average of $148,000 every day. The debt burden of the Foundation stood at a staggering $317 million at the end of last year. A big part of this burden, Reiss noted, resulted from heavy borrowing to construct a new visitor center and make other hospitality-related improvements around the time of Jamestown’s 400th anniversary in 2007. http://bit.ly/2rM3qh5 – The Federalist

Archaeology, Education, and American Indian Initiatives Internships at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is currently accepting applications (application deadline is March 1st, 2018) for archaeology, education and American Indian Initiatives internships. We are seeking advanced undergraduate or graduate students in archaeology, anthropology, Native American studies, or other related fields to assist with archaeological field or lab work or educational programming related to archaeology of the Southwest.  More information and application materials can be found at: http://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/internships (Website temporarily down)

College Field School at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is currently accepting applications (application deadline is March 2nd, 2018) for our 5-week RPA-5 certified College Field School. Through immersion in a five-week experiential learning program, students will learn the fundamental techniques of archaeological site identification and recording, excavation, and basic artifact processing and analyses. Additionally, students will learn instrument surveying and remote sensing surveying techniques. Evening programs, field trips, service learning projects, and attending public events expand on these essential skills and present real-world opportunities to learn about and practice archaeology. Students will work in groups throughout the program, rotating through the training modules that offer different but complementary skill sets. Students will interact with archaeological professionals while conducting fieldwork at the Haynie site, an ancestral Pueblo village with two Pueblo II (A.D. 950–1150) great houses. http://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/programs-for-college-students (Website temporarily down)

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
The Colorado Archaeology Society Hisatsinom Chapter will hold a talk by David Dove, called “Why the Feast? Regional Economics and Social Dynamics in Southeast Utah and Southwest Colorado” at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at First United Methodist Church, 515 Park St., in Cortez. http://bit.ly/2GqfgR2 – Cortez Journal

Lecture Opportunity – Durango
San Juan Basin Archaeological Society will sponsor a lecture, “Mounds of the Lower Mississippi Valley,” by Jessica Crawford at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive. http://bit.ly/2GqfgR2 – Cortez Journal

Butterfield Stage Days in Gila Bend
On February 17–18, 2018, the Town of Gila Bend will host Butterfield Stage Days to celebrate the legendary historic stage route. In addition to the parade, rodeo, dancing, and other activities, tours of the Gatlin site will be led by archaeologist Aaron Wright on February 17. More information at http://bit.ly/2Gp23Ik – Town of Gila Bend

Lecture Venue Change – Santa Fe
Change of Venue: (1/29 only) Southwest Seminars Presents Nina Sanders (Apsa’alooke/Crow), Whistling Water Clan member and Guest Curator, Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts; Delegation Member, Recovering Voices Program National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and former Intern, School for Advanced Research who will give a presentation, Baaxpe’e: The Sacred and Sensitive in Apsa’alooke/Crow Country on January 29 at 6:15 pm at Santa Fe Woman’s Club, 1616 Old Pecos Trail (previously scheduled at Hotel S.Fe) as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Lynda D. McNeil, Visiting Researcher-Scholar, School ofHuman Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University; Program for Writing and Rhetoric, University of Colorado (retired); Author, The Mythic ode of Symbolic Discourse; Co-Author (w/S. Ortman), ‘Kiowa Odyssey: Evidence of Historical Relationships Among Pueblo, Fremont, and Northwest Plains Peoples’, in Plains Anthropologist who will give a lecture, Turkey Girl: A Tewa Folktale of Resistance and Becoming on February 5 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Scottsdale
Desert Foothills Chapter of AAS presents on February 14th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at no charge, Dr. James Snead. Movement is an essential aspect of human lives, yet one that leaves ambiguous traces in the archaeological record. In recent years, archaeologists have begun to systematically explore these faint signatures of travel as important elements of the cultural landscape of the past. From this evidence, we can better understand not only how movement took place, but who did it, how it was controlled, and what it meant from the perspectives of travelers. This meeting is held in the Foothill Community Foundation – Holland Community Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Bldg. B, Scottsdale, AZ 85266 (480-488-1090). www.azarchsoc.wildapricot.org/desertfoothills – Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society

38^th Annual Fort Lowell Day in Tucson
On February 10, 2018, the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association will celebrate the 38^th Annual Fort Lowell Day at Fort Lowell Park, 2900 N. Craycroft Rd., and the San Pedro Chapel, 5230 E. Fort Lowell Rd. The event will take place from noon to 4:00 p.m., and will include music and activities for families. Archaeologist Ron Beckwith will be present to answer questions about local archaeology. More information: www.oldfortlowellneighborhood.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson 
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Paul F. Reed on Monday, February 19th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, Protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape: The Role of Current Research and Technology. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at john.hall@terracon.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On Thursday, February 1, 2018, the Tucson chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America welcomes Brendan Burke (University of Victoria) for Life and Death at Ancient Eleon: Excavations in Central Greece 2011–2017. The presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. in room 301 of the Chavez Building on the University of Arizona campus, 1110 James E. Rogers Way. http://bit.ly/2GriRP5 – AIA Tucson

Tour Opportunity – Tucson
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s February 10 “Ventana Cave, Rock Art & Tohono O’odham Children’s Shrine” tour starts at 401 N. Bonita Ave., Tucson. At Ventana Cave, excavations directed by archaeologists Emil Haury and Julian Hayden recovered evidence for about 10,000 years of human occupation. Tour also visits Native American pictographs and petroglyphs in the cave and elsewhere, and the “Children’s Shrine” – a sacred site where legend says Tohono O’odham children were sacrificed to keep a great flood from engulfing the world. Fee $45 (Old Pueblo and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members $36). Reservations required by February 7: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.