Thought-Provoking Essay on Archaeological Headlines

Commentary: Words Matter
These myths of discovery and exploration are particularly damaging because they paint a picture where Indigenous groups are not able caretakers of their own histories and landscapes. Headlines that promote this contribute to the erasure of modern Indigenous connections to landscapes by denying what descendant communities and researchers know, as well as what they are capable of knowing. This has huge implications for Indigenous management of their traditional lands. For instance, tribes of the American Southwest are fighting for protection of cultural and ecological resources within Bears Ears National Monument; Anishinaabeg are protecting waters threatened by Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline; and tribes like the Tohono O’odham who are split by the southern U.S. border are confronting dramatically militarizing border policies to ensure their communities are not divided even further. http://bit.ly/2Q3pcJ2 – Lewis Borck and Ashleigh Thompson via the American Anthropological Association blog

Profile: Colorado Plateau Foundation
The Colorado Plateau Foundation operates under the belief that those who live and breathe on the land are best suited to find solutions to issues prevalent within its communities. The Native-led foundation in turn gives grants to Native-led organizations whose focus is on preservation of land, water and culture. “We are informed from the people we serve,” says foundation CEO Jim Enote. “In 2011, we convened leaders from all the tribal communities on the plateau and over two days they said what the priorities were.” http://bit.ly/2Q01JIs – Arizona Daily Sun

Deadline to Comment on Draft RMP for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Is This Friday, Nov. 30
President Trump’s actions to shrink these two monuments are being challenged in federal court. Despite this active litigation, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has drafted land use plans for both the new smaller monuments and a separate land use plan for the public lands that were removed by the Trump proclamations from Grand Staircase-Escalante. These new plans will guide how lands within and outside of the new monument boundaries are managed until the courts make further determinations. In particular, the lands cut out of the new, smaller Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are being threatened in the draft plans by potential new coal mining, oil and gas drilling, and other development. While the courts will ultimately determine the fate of these monuments and public lands, it is important to participate in this process, both to register your disapproval of these actions and to voice your opinion on the values these lands contain and how they should be managed. http://p2a.co/JgFXSVu – Pew Charitable Trusts

National Park Service Announces Five Free Admission Days in 2019
The National Park Service has announced the fee-free days for 2019, when visitors may experience all national parks, including Mesa Verde National Park, without entrance fees. “We truly enjoy the opportunity to offer free admission to Mesa Verde,” Superintendent Cliff Spencer said in a news release. “From annual pass-holders to those who have never visited Mesa Verde, we encourage everyone to take advantage of these great opportunities to visit your park.” http://bit.ly/2PYGZRz – Durango Herald

Commentary: Update on the Acoma Project
Archaeology Southwest is working with the Pueblo of Acoma to document places of ancestral importance across the Greater Chaco Landscape. With the counsel of Acoma team members, we can better prioritize our shared protection efforts. In October 2018, I went to the field with a team from the Pueblo of Acoma’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO). http://bit.ly/2PYrsRM – Paul F. Reed via Preservation Archaeology blog

Review: Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland
This collection of essays by 11 experts on the “Heartland of the Middle San Juan,” most of whom are archaeologists, greatly advances my interest and understanding of this relatively less-known Ancestral Puebloan region. Early settlers, by the way, erroneously thought the great stone buildings in the area must have been built by the Aztecs, thus the name. I erroneously thought the Mesa Verdeans, Chacoans, and Kayentans must be separate cultural groups, but contributors to this book make a convincing case that there was considerable interaction and sharing among these prominent cultural groups over the centuries between 500 and 1280 CE (Common Era), and especially during the period between 1050 and 1300, the focus of these essays. This is a School for Advanced Research Popular Archaeology Book, the aim of which is to explain to laymen like me, what archaeology is telling us about, in this case, the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan. http://bit.ly/2PYmDYE – National Parks Traveler

Preservation Careers Fair, Austin TX
The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture cordially invites you to participate in its annual Career Fair on Wednesday, February 27 at the AT&T Conference Center (on campus). The fair provides a fantastic opportunity for employers to connect with UT School of Architecture students while promoting their firm or organization. Participating degree programs include Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Community & Regional Planning, Urban Design, Sustainable Design, Historic Preservation, and Architectural History. Online registration is available now: https://soa.utexas.edu/events/ut-school-architecture-career-fair-2019

REMINDER: Archaeology Café (Tucson) Welcomes Todd Bostwick
Join us on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, for New Discoveries about the Cliff Dwellers of Central Arizona: A Window into Pueblo Life 800 Years Ago in the Verde Valley by Dr. Todd Bostwick of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center. Recent analysis of more than 25,000 artifacts collected from a little-known cliff dwelling located north of Montezuma Castle National Monument has provided a wealth of new information about the Sinagua culture of central Arizona. These materials include well-preserved wooden artifacts, beautifully colored cotton textiles, and plant remains that are in such remarkable condition they look like they were left behind yesterday. Photographs of this rare collection of archaeological materials will be shown and what they tell us about the people who lived along the Verde River will be discussed. https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/event/new-discoveries-about-the-cliff-dwellers-of-central-arizona/

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (AZ) Kicks off New Lecture Series
Beginning November 28, 2018 through March 6, 2019, Casa Grande Ruins will host its annual speaker series. The speaker series will kick off on November 28 [TODAY] at noon featuring Allen Dart who will present a lecture titled “Ancient Southwestern Native American Pottery”. The speaker series will continue every Wednesday at noon through March 6. https://www.nps.gov/cagr

Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org