Federal Judge Rules that Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante Suits May Move Forward

Federal Judge Rules that Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante Suit May Move Forward
A federal judge has turned down an attempt by the Trump administration to dismiss legal challenges to its 2017 decision to cut the size of Bear Ears National Monument in southern Utah. In a three-page ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rejected the administration’s arguments that claims in three separate lawsuits over the Bears Ears decision, now combined into one, should be thrown out of court. The ruling essentially means legal actions brought by Utah’s five American Indian tribes and several environmental, business and academic groups over the monument can proceed for now. http://bit.ly/2oinDtF – Salt Lake Tribune

All Pueblo Council of Governors Resolves to Protect Bears Ears Region
Meeting in Utah for the first time ever, the All Pueblo Council of Governors passed resolutions last week calling for the protection of the Bears Ears region and pushing back on efforts to change the form of government in San Juan County. The council, which speaks on behalf of the 20 Pueblo nations located in the United States, passed a resolution in support of federal legislation to restore the Bears Ears National Monument, which was reduced by 85% by President Trump in 2017, as well as resolutions opposing oil and gas leasing in the region and local and state management plans for San Juan County. “We are here to revisit our ancestral homeland,” said Council Chairman Edward Torres. “And to see first-hand the impacts oil and gas development has on our sacred sites.” http://bit.ly/2nGjorD – KUER (NPR)

Outrage over Possible Dam Projects at Confluence of Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers
A Phoenix company wants to build two hydroelectric dams less than five miles from the eastern border of Grand Canyon National Park, submerging several miles of the Little Colorado River and the endangered fish habitat it protects. If they’re built, the dams could produce more than just electricity. Environmentalists say the project could further imperil the fish, the native humpback chub, interfere with the Canyon’s already-degraded hydrology and irreparably damage sites held sacred by at least one Arizona tribe. http://bit.ly/2opZO2N – Arizona Republic (azcentral.com)

In a double whammy that would forever alter the Little Colorado River, the same Phoenix-based company that applied for a preliminary permit for a proposed hydroelectric project and two dams on the Little Colorado River less than five miles from Grand Canyon National Park has a second similar application on the table, according to a notice in the Federal Register. And, if it’s possible, this one looks even worse than the first. Located downstream of the first project, this second proposal would sit less than half a mile from the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park. Based on maps provided in the company’s application, it appears the project’s lower dam would be located only a few miles upstream of the confluence where the turquoise-blue waters of the Little Colorado join the main stem of the Colorado River inside the Grand Canyon. The reservoir behind the lower dam would flood a Hopi sacred site — the place where the Hopi believe their people emerged into this world. http://bit.ly/2nvidLQ – commentary by Roger Clark at the blog of the Grand Canyon Trust (page includes link to action)

ATVs to Be Allowed in Some Utah National Parks
Across the country, off-road vehicles like ATVs and UTVs are generally barred from national parks. For Utah’s famed parks, however, that all changes starting Nov. 1, when these vehicles may be allowed on both main access roads and back roads like Canyonlands National Park’s White Rim and Arches’ entry points from Salt Valley and Willow Springs. The move was ordered Tuesday by the National Park Service’s acting regional director, Palmer “Chip” Jenkins, who directed a memo to Utah park superintendents instructing them to align their regulations with Utah law, which allows off-road vehicles to travel state and county roads as long as they are equipped with standard safety equipment and are registered and insured. Jenkins, who served most recently as the superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park, issued the directive after off-highway groups and Utah lawmakers led by Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, pressured the Interior Department to lift the prohibition. http://bit.ly/2olzQhb – Salt Lake Tribune

Book Announcement: Objects of Survivance
Objects of Survivance: A Material History of the American Indian School Experience, by Lindsay M. Montgomery and Chip Colwell. The University Press of Colorado. https://upcolorado.com/university-press-of-colorado/item/3735-objects-of-survivance

Workshop Opportunity: Shake Rattle and Roll: Make a Gourd Rattle, Gilbert AZ
Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 6:00– 8:30 p.m., Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum, 10 S. Gilbert Road. Come and make your very own gourd rattle! Primitive Technologist and Artisan Albert Abril will lead participants in making a rattle that can be used to play along with their favorite music. The workshop is appropriate for ages six to adult. Anyone under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Class fee includes all the supplies and one gourd. Registration is required. Members $10; Non-Members $15. Register at www.hdsouth.org

Workshop Opportunity: How Did People Haft a Knife? Tucson AZ
In this class, you will learn the process of hafting a stone knife blade into a wood handle. There are very few examples of hafted knives preserved in the Southwest. The style of hafting we will do in this class is based on Basketmaker and Pueblo knives that have been found in rock shelters across the Southwest. On October 19, Allen Denoyer will teach participants how to work with pitch, sinew, and cordage to haft a knife. This class is open to ages 12 and up. Class will take about four hours, about 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. $50 fee. More information: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/event/how-did-people-haft-a-knife-6/

Lecture Opportunity, Taos NM
The Taos Archaeological Society is proud to announce that Mary Comanche Weahkee, tribal member of Santa Clara Pueblo and the Comanche Nation will be speaking on “Comanche Horses and Petroglyphs in the Taos Area.” This event will be held at 7:00 p.m. on October 8 in the Kit Carson Electric Boardroom, 118 Cruz Alta Rd. https://www.taosarch.org

Lecture Opportunity, Durango CO
As part of the Four Corners Lecture Series, the public is invited to the next meeting of the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society, to be held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango. Dr. Michelle Turner will present “Becoming Chacoan at the Aztec North Great House”. A social will precede the talk at 6:30 p.m. http://www.sjbas.org

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
On October 10, at 6:30 p.m., María Nieves Zedeño will present “The Personhood of Bison.” Our understanding of human-bison interactions – whether through hunting, consuming, trading, sacrificing, exterminating, or nursing from the brink of extinction – has generally portrayed humans as the central force in the history of this great American mammal. In contrast, Native American Plains hunters situate bison at the center of a web of natural, social, and spiritual connections with the world. María Nieves Zedeño combines traditional knowledge and scientific archaeology to explore how, for millennia, indigenous hunters in North America treated bison as powerful persons and partners who shaped every aspect of human life. The talk is sponsored by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona. Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. https://sbs.arizona.edu/dls-2019/bison

Lecture Opportunity, Albuquerque NM
On October 11, at 1:30 p.m., in the Waters Room of the Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, the Historical Society of New Mexico and the Office of the State Historian will host David H. Snow, who will present “Santa Rufina and Santa Justa in New Mexico: Identifying Possible Households and Communities of Hispanic Pottery Production.”

Lecture Opportunity, El Paso TX
On Saturday, October 19, at 1:00 p.m., the El Paso Archaeological Society will welcome Albert Alvidrez, Potter (Ysleta del Sur Pueblo) for “A Potter’s Perspective on Pueblo Pottery.” El Paso Museum of Archaeology – 4301 Transmountain Rd. http://archaeology.elpasotexas.gov/

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
On Monday, October 21, Patrick Lyons will present “The Davis Ranch Site: A Kayenta Immigrant Enclave in Southeastern Arizona” at the monthly meeting of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. The presentation is open to the public and will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Duval Auditorium, University Medical Center. https://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/events/

We’re happy to help get the word out, but we’re not mind readers! Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

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