Dear Friends,
Tuesday morning Paul Reed sent me a brief email. He wrote that he had packed up the last few things from the office he has had at Salmon Pueblo Museum for the last 23 years.
I feel like there needs to be a much grander celebration of the amazing partnership that Archaeology Southwest and Salmon Pueblo initiated more than two decades ago. And a major hats-off to the two key players—Larry Baker, Salmon’s Executive Director, and our own Paul Reed, Preservation Archaeologist and Chaco Scholar.
Back in 2000, Archaeology Southwest wanted to carry our Preservation Archaeology mission beyond the state of Arizona. The Salmon story was an impressive one: Local community members purchased the Salmon site in order to preserve and celebrate it. They recruited Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams, who wrote grants and implemented a major excavation at Salmon throughout the 1970s. And the community raised funds to build a museum to serve as a curation facility and interpretive center.
Unfortunately, Cynthia moved on to a new position before the final report was completed, and by 2000 the collections storage building was far from meeting today’s curation standards.
Support from a donor gave Archaeology Southwest the resources to hire a full-time position for three years. And Paul Reed turned out to be exactly the person we needed. Furthermore, he was already living in Farmington, about 10 miles from Salmon.
Larry had worked with Cynthia back in the 1970s, so he was an invaluable resource as Paul began charting a course to bring a dusty draft manuscript to print. It was a massive effort with many key participants, and Paul ultimately edited three volumes on Salmon, published in 2006, and he published Chaco’s Northern Prodigies in 2008. But there was so much more to do.
Here are just a few highlights from the partnership’s wide-ranging accomplishments:
» Completion of two National Science Foundation grants where Paul was the Principal Investigator (PI).
» Salmon was awarded a Save America’s Treasures grant that expanded and upgraded the original curation building; Salmon staff and volunteers reinventoried and rehoused the collections.
» A National Endowment for the Humanities grant was awarded to PIs Carrie Heitman (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Worthy Martin (University of Virginia), and Paul to create the Salmon Pueblo Archaeological Research Collection (SPARC), an online database that shares a massive quantity of data from past work at the site.
» National Park Service funding allowed Salmon to complete their obligations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
What was initially envisioned as a three-year partnership has thrived for 23 years. Paul Reed’s area of focus has expanded greatly over that time span. He isn’t walking away from Salmon, though, and it remains integral to his research and advocacy across northern New Mexico and the Four Corners.
Thanks, Larry, and thanks, Paul, for your accomplishments through this prolific partnership.
What are you celebrating this week?
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. Paul has served as Archaeology Southwest’s sole employee in that region, but we plan to put out a job announcement for an additional person to work with Paul in the near future.
Banner image: Luca Galuzzi [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
Keep It Grand!
Urge President Biden to permanently protect the cultural heritage, incredible biodiversity, precious waters, and the vital economic engine of the Grand Canyon region by designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument now. Keep It Grand | Sign the petition now »
ICYMI, here’s more information from Grand Canyon Trust »
Continuing Coverage: USFS Appears to Pause Approval at Oak Flat
The U.S. Forest Service has told a federal court it is not sure when it could approve a land swap allowing Rio Tinto Plc (RIO.L)(RIO.AX) to develop the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona, a surprising reversal that boosts several Native American groups opposed to the project. Ernest Scheyder for Reuters | Read more »
Commentary: 5th-Generation Miner Opposes Mine at Oak Flat
Mining is in my blood. I am a fifth-generation miner born and raised in Superior. I worked in the industry for more than 20 years. I don’t oppose mining, but I am firmly against Resolution Copper’s proposed mine at Oak Flat because it will destroy my community’s water. Simply put, the future of the residents of Superior and other cities east of Phoenix is at imminent risk because the U.S. government could soon give away federally protected land to Resolution Copper. Henry Muñoz (HECHO) in the Arizona Daily Star (azcentral) | Read more »
Whose Indigenous Homelands Are You Hiking through?
For time immemorial, trails have been an integral part of Indigenous life and wellbeing, serving as routes for migration, trade, everyday travel, connection, and communication with neighboring communities—and today, many of these ancient footpaths are part of the National Trails System, whose tracks stretch more than 89,000 miles across ancestral lands in the US. Yet many trail names honor European settlers and explorers who traveled through those areas, and historical events following their arrival; and most cartography, including trail maps used by hikers, excludes Indigenous ancestral territories. A diverse group of people and organizations are working to change that. Native Lands, National Trails (NLNT), an Indigenous mapping and research project launched this month by the Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS), aims to provide a more inclusive perspective on how the trails we hike intersect with Indigenous heritage. Katherine Gallardo in Condé Nast Traveler | Read more »
The Role of Cultural Heritage in Rural Landscapes
Recently, there has been a fair amount of writing and research on the contribution that rural and traditional working landscapes can make to landscape resilience, sustainability, and ecological diversity. All significant attributes that play a part in combatting climate change in the short and long term. The scale of rural and traditional working landscapes has also driven the need to integrate both a nature and culture perspective into their management. For the most part, however, the contribution that cultural values can have towards the conservation of these landscapes has received less attention. Brenda Barrett in the Living Landscape Observer | Read more »
USBLM Opens Nominations to Utah Advisory Councils
The Bureau of Land Management today published in the Federal Register Notice calls for nominations for three advisory committees in Utah—the Utah Resource Advisory Council, San Rafael Swell Recreation Advisory Council, and Bears Ears National Monument Advisory Committee. Nominations are being sought for individuals who represent a broad range of interests, including conservation and environmental organizations, outdoor recreation groups, state and local government officials, tribal officials, and the public at large. Bureau of Land Management (press release) | Learn more »
Continuing Coverage: Blinman Sues New Mexico DCA
Eric Blinman, former director of the state Office of Archaeological Studies whose termination in February drew pushback from hundreds of his supporters, filed a federal lawsuit late Thursday accusing New Mexico Cultural Affairs Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego of illegally firing him because he is an older white man who dared to complain he wasn’t given the resources to do his job effectively. Phaedra Haywood in the Santa Fe New Mexican | Read more »
Blog: Mud and Rocks—What Else Do You Need?
I recently participated in a workshop at the National Park Service’s (NPS) Desert Research Learning Center (DRLC). NPS employees Sharlot Hart and Chris Schranger ran the program, which is designed to train certain NPS, USDA Forest Service, and Pima County employees on how to build and repair walls at regional parks and monuments. Now the walls we built will show future DRLC students a few of the different architectural styles they may encounter on the job. Allen Denoyer at the Preservation Archaeology blog (Archaeology Southwest) | Read more »
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity (ASU)
Deadline May 27. The Schools of Life Science, Earth and Space Exploration, and Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University (ASU)—collectively as part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences—invite applications for up to three Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship positions in Indigenous Knowledge Systems integrated with research in any area of life, environmental, social, or Earth science related to global change. This invitation recognizes that the contributions of Indigenous Knowledge Systems to sustainability, resilience, placemaking, and relationship to Earth systems are essential for creating more holistic, long-term solutions to the pressing global problems of the Anthropocene. Three Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship positions, with an anticipated start date in the 2023–2024 academic year, will be appointed within one or more of the schools as appropriate to their research experience and interests. Arizona State University | Learn more »
Job Openings: Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park will be hiring term GS-0193-09 Archaeologists to work on the park’s Trans-canyon Waterline Construction Project. The Duty station will be the South Rim, but there will be a lot of inner canyon work starting in the fall for the project. Hiking into and out of the Grand Canyon under all weather conditions and staying in rustic facilities or camping for multiple days (up to 10 days at a time) is anticipated. Grand Canyon National Park (USA Jobs) | Learn more »
Publication Announcement: An Army Marches on Its Stomach
Welker, M., & Mathwich, N. (2023). An Army Marches on Its Stomach: Comparing Military Provisioning across North American Sixteenth- to Nineteenth-Century Forts. American Antiquity 88(2), 207–226. Read now (open access) »
Publication Announcement: Old Pueblo Archaeology Center Bulletin No. 89
Dr. Harry Winters, Jr., discusses Tohono ’O’odham and Akimeli ’O’odham understanding of and words for rain, clouds, fog, haze, surface runoff, the motion of water, watering places, desert farming, and groundwater. This issue will be of interest to archaeologists who seek to interpret how ancient peoples adapted to the western US deserts as well as linguists, cultural anthropologists, historians, and, of course, ’O’odham. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Read now (opens as a PDF) »
May Subscription Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
5/29, Dr. Stephen H. Lekson, Chimney Rock: Chaco’s Shining City on the Hill. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: May 25 Online Event: Canyons through the Ages
With Radek Palonka. The Painted Hand Petroglyph Panel/Strawman Panel and few other sites in the Sandstone Canyon, in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, southwestern Colorado, USA contain a great density of rock art representing the last 2,000 years of human development of this area. It includes petroglyphs of Basketmaker/Ancestral Pueblo farming societies and historic nomad Ute tribes as well as historical inscriptions of Euro-Americans. This talk will focus on various methods and techniques of digital documentation using high-resolution photo documentation and 3D digitization, i.e. photogrammetry, Reflectance Transformation Imaging/RTI, and laser scanning as well as subsequent analysis of Indigenous rock art and historical inscriptions. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register »
REMINDER: May 25 In-Person (Tucson AZ) and Online Event: Excavating Tucson’s Chinese-American Past
With Laura W. Ng. During the 20th century, the Chinese American community in Tucson was dispersed; the majority of Chinese migrants operated grocery stores and restaurants that served multiethnic neighborhoods in the Old Pueblo. In 1968, the Tucson Urban Renewal project destroyed some of these Chinese-owned businesses, but buried deposits and standing structures related to Chinese migrants were archaeologically investigated. In this presentation, Dr. Ng focuses on the archaeology of the so-called Ying On Association compound, which housed Chinese social organizations including a clubhouse as well as Chinese boarders. Census records show that virtually all of the Ying On residents were men, but Dr. Ng’s research indicates these men were not “bachelors” or “sojourners” as they have been characterized, and that they had long and sustained interactions with their Indigenous and Mexican neighbors in Tucson. 10:45 a.m.–noon at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 W. River Rd. Email Robin Blackwood about in-person attendance. Arizona State Museum and Tucson Chinese Cultural Center | Learn more and register for online (free) »
May 25 In-Person and Online Event (Bluff UT): Uncovering a Lost World
With Jonathon Stine. Join us for an exciting presentation on paleoclimatology and geology by Dr. Stine, a researcher with the Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Dr. Stine will take us on a journey through the history of climate research and explain how his current work at the Valley of the Gods is shedding new light on the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age and its role in the evolution of terrestrial life. You won’t want to miss this fascinating talk, which will explore the intersection of science and history and its relevance to our understanding of the world today. Bears Ears Partnership | More information and Zoom link »
May 27 In-Person Event (Payson AZ): Ancestral Yuman Ceramics: Problems and Prospects
With Aaron M. Wright. Research into the Ancestral Yuman World—better known as the Patayan archaeological tradition—is nearly a century in the making, but we still have a poor grasp of it relative to other cultural traditions of the North American Southwest. Chronological troubles and impediments are primarily to blame. The Patayan ceramic typology is the principal basis on which archaeologists date Ancestral Yuman sites and material, but studies have consistently shown that the chronology associated with it is inaccurate. This talk reviews the many problems and outlines fruitful ways forward with a case study from the lower Gila River. 10:00 a.m., Payson Public Library, 328 N. McLane Road. Arizona Archaeological Society, Rim Country Chapter | Learn more by emailing Dennis Dubose »
REMINDER: May 31 Online Event: Reforging the Fremont Frontier
With Katie Richards. Think you know Fremont archaeology? What Dr. Richards has learned studying Fremont ceramics may surprise you! She argues that Fremont is best understood when we explore the complex interplay of local development and Southwestern influence within the context of the social changes that occurred during the Pueblo II and Pueblo III periods in the northern Southwest. Resituating Fremont as the northern periphery presents an engaging history of identity creation and maintenance. Utah State Historic Preservation Office | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: June 3 Online Event: Origins of Maya Civilization
With Takeshi Inomata. The talk will discuss recent findings from the site of Aguada Fénix, Mexico, which was discovered in 2018. Its central platform, which measures 1400 x 400 m horizontally and 10-15 m in height and was built around 1000 BC, is the largest and oldest monumental building in the Maya area. The results of investigations at this site are changing our understanding of how the Maya civilization and surrounding societies developed. Amerind | Learn more and register (free) »
June 8 Online Event: Un-Erasing the Indigenous Paleolithic
With Paulette Steeves. In the Americas, the deep Indigenous past prior to 12,000 years before the present has been aggressively denied by American anthropologists for over a century. Anthropologists’ denial of the deep Indigenous past of the Americas has cleaved Indigenous people’s links to their homeland and created them as recent immigrants to the Americas on a global scale of human history. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the Four Corners Lecture Series | Learn more and register (free) »
June 15 Online Event: Historical Photos of the 1886 Apache Surrender
With Bill Cavaliere. By comparing old photographs with recent ones of the same places, he will discuss the Chiricahua Apaches, their early frontier photographers, and how Bill found the location of C. S. Fly’s famous “Council Photo” showing Geronimo and other Apaches negotiating peace with General George Crook and his soldiers. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Remember to send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!