Dear Friends,
Happy New Year!
As usual this time of year, when the common-era [CE] (a.k.a. Christian) calendar rolls over, we often find time reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re headed. Media and various apps publish summaries of significant events and milestones; many folks make New Year’s resolutions. I often like to rise to a 30,000-foot view to ponder the concept of Time.
What is “Time,” anyway? Philosophers, theologians, physicists, and common folk have pondered this for millennia. It’s curious, really. We all know what Time is—or do we?—but we can’t define it. Is it relative, or absolute? Is it merely a function of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, or something greater still? Time rules our lives, and yet may largely be a function, if not a fiction, of our peculiar relationship to this particular universe. Author Ray Cummings is reported to have written in 1922 that “Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.” Works for me.
As I mused in a Curiosities column at SAPIENS.org back in 2018 (the BEFORE times!), I believe our modern concept of Time—linear, fragmented, and eminently parsed—is doing us a disservice socially and psychologically, especially since the release of the iPhone on June 29, 2007.
Speaking of potential social and psychological damage, anyone remember “Y2K”? That happened 25 years ago! It’s the blink of an eye for our species, but roughly the length of a human generation, and it seems like yesterday in so, so many ways.
As an archaeologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about life in the past. Although we can’t know what was really going on in most people’s minds, especially prior to the advent of writing, it seems reasonable to say that our human ancestors had markedly different relationships to Time than we do today. How do we know this? In all honesty, we can’t. But we do know that many cultures, particularly prior to the Industrial Revolution, were marked by long-term technological stability, not the rapid technological change we see and (usually) enjoy today. That must have affected people’s psyches.
What does the future hold? I’m certainly not the right person to ask. But if you want to talk about slowing down for a few moments, enjoying the view, and thinking deep thoughts, contact me anytime!
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. from Kate: Sarah Herr just shared this information about a Tucson archaeology memorial gathering for John Douglass. “Statistical Research and Desert Archaeology invite you to join us for a celebration in memory of our friend John Douglass on Friday, January 17, at MotoSonora Brewing, 1015 S. Park, Tucson. We will have a couple of tables reserved outside in the beer garden from 5 to 7. Non-alcoholic beverages are available, and family and friends are welcome. We hope to see you there.”
Banner image: Kathleen Bader
Canyon de Chelly Bans Commercial Air Tours
Commercial air tours will soon be prohibited over Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona under a plan approved this week by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service. The park service said in a statement that the plan was signed Thursday and will take effect in 180 days, barring any legal challenges. It will ban the tours over the park and within a half mile (800 meters) outside its boundary. “Prohibiting commercial air tours protects these lands’ cultural and spiritual significance to the Navajo Nation,” said park Superintendent Lyn Carranza. “Canyon de Chelly National Monument’s Air Tour Management Plan honors the unique nation-to-nation relationship regarding decisions affecting the park and helps to preserve one of the most important archeological landscapes in the southwest.” Associated Press via Indian Country Today | Read more »
More than 200 Belongings Returned to Arapaho Tribe
A round 1 in the afternoon at the peak of the sun, a vehicle procession led by tribal military veterans turned onto the road to St. Michael’s Episcopal Mission and began a slow approach toward a circle of buildings. I felt a warm grip as Melissa “Millie” Friday locked her hand into mine. Near the end of the line of vehicles, a truck was hauling a white trailer that contained priceless tribal cultural items. I could feel her anticipation, and she could feel mine. A crowd of over 100 community members, including tribal elders, Wyoming Indian Middle School and High School students stood watching as the procession completed a circle. The items were finally home. Jordan Dresser in High Country News | Read more »
New Recommendations for Handling Animal Remains Tied to Indigenous Peoples
As a master’s student in museum studies at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder, Chance Ward opened a drawer one day in 2021 and found a jumbled bag of horse bones, many broken into bits or ground into dust. Ward is Lakota and an enrolled citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and he and other Lakota consider the horse sacred—“an animal I see as my brother,” he says. “It was upsetting to see [so little] care for them.” The experience was so jarring that for his thesis, Ward explored ways for museums to more thoughtfully care for animal remains that have cultural ties to Indigenous communities. Now, his work forms the basis of a paper, due out this month in Advances in Archaeological Practice, in which scientists, tribal elders, and preservation officers outline recommendations for the care of animal remains in anthropological collections. Curators should closely study animal remains for any links with Indigenous nations or communities, and researchers should involve those groups when remains are culturally significant, Ward says. Amanda Heidt for Science | Read more »
Pueblo of Acoma and USBLM (Albuquerque District/Rio Puerco Field Office) Sign Co-Stewardship Agreement
The Bureau of Land Management and Pueblo of Acoma signed a co-stewardship agreement to protect the Pueblo’s traditional, religious, and cultural interests on public lands. This collaborative management will benefit the Pueblo, the United States government, and the public. “Pueblo of Acoma is pleased to collaborate with the BLM in this co-stewardship agreement to protect important cultural places on federal land,” said Pueblo of Acoma Governor Randall Vicente. “Protecting these places is one of our highest priorities. We look forward to working with the agency in co-stewardship, future management, and maintaining the integrity and sanctity of these places.” Jamie Garcia for USBLM (online press release) | Read more »
Re-Inventorying Petroglyphs at Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve
“The best thing we can do,” [assistant director John] Bello added, “is work with descendants to sort of find out what it means to them today.” Aaron Wright is trying to accomplish that. He’s a preservation anthropologist with the Tucson-based nonprofit Archeology Southwest and will oversee a re-inventory of petroglyphs at Deer Valley as early as February, funded, in part, by grants from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Endowment for the Humanities. … Unlike the previous inventory conducted some four decades ago, Wright is centering Indigenous informed questions, like “how do tribes want us to do this work?” So, he’s hiring consultants from the Four Southern Tribes—Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Gila River, Tohono O’odham and Ak-Chin—to help out. Gabriel Pietrorazio for KJZZ (public radio) | Read more or listen now »
Climbing Bolts Found in Pregnant Sheep Petroglyph Panel
The Vernal Field Office [Utah]-Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is asking the public’s assistance in identifying anyone involved in the installation of climbing bolts on the Pregnant Sheep Petroglyph Panel located between Bourdette Draw and Highway 40 near the Musket Shot Springs Overlook. On November 10, 2024, it was discovered that climbing bolts had been installed on the petroglyph panel. BLM law enforcement is asking the public to report any information they may have [toward] identifying the person(s) responsible for this incident. Information can be relayed to BLM law enforcement at (800) 722-3998 or (801) 539-4099.
Interview with Sec. Haaland: Transcript and Video Now Available
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), the first and only Native American to hold a secretarial position in a presidential cabinet, will conclude her tenure at the end of the Biden-Harris administration on January 20, 2025. As the 54th Secretary of the Interior, Haaland has demonstrated remarkable leadership, particularly in her role in launching the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a highlight of her work in office. In this Friday’s episode of Native Bidaské, Levi Rickert, editor of Native News Online, sat down with Secretary Haaland. Together, they explored her historic journey, transformative leadership, and vision for the future of Indian Country. Native News Online | Read or watch now »
Interview with Bill Doelle: Protect the Great Bend of the Gila
Our conversation with Dr. William Doelle centered around the Great Bend of the Gila. Our discussion highlighted the area’s archaeological and environmental splendor, its threats, and what we can do to help protect it. Dr. William Doelle is the founder and president emeritus of Archaeology Southwest, an organization dedicated to protecting and learning from cultural remains and heritage places. Archaeology Southwest has been involved in the effort to increase protections around the Great Bend of the Gila since 2009. Numerous attempts have proved unsuccessful, but nonetheless, Archaeology Southwest remains focused on their goal. Dr. Doelle spoke about why they are so committed, citing the uniqueness of the Great Bend of the Gila, both archaeologically and ecologically. Niklas Frimberger and Ellen Montgomery, Environment America | Read more »
Commentary: “Our Imperiled Public Lands”
During his first term, Trump made his hostility toward public lands clear as he reduced national monuments and rolled back regulations on fossil fuel extraction. This time, he promises a repeat performance, backed by a GOP-dominated Congress, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and an army of professional ideologues who have been eagerly preparing for this moment for the last four years. … In the weeks since the election, I’ve seen a number of pundits, politicians and even advocates calling on land, water and air defenders to take a more conciliatory approach, to forge alliances with oil and gas companies, to abandon calls to “keep it in the ground,” to work with Republicans to speed up permitting reform in order to expedite renewable energy development, even if it does mean more fossil fuel development as well. Yet if ever there was a time not to give in, this is it. America’s public lands are under unprecedented attack from nearly every front. Now we need to be even more vigilant and fierce in our defense of it. Jonathan Thompson for Landline at High Country News | Read more »
Residency Opportunities (Cortez CO): 2025 Indigenous Scholars in Residence Program
The Indigenous Scholars in Residence Program facilitates the development of a more holistic understanding of modern and past Indigenous cultures, trust relations, Indigenous perspectives and interpretations in the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, education, and American Indian studies. Application deadline is March 25, 2025. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more »
January Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Jan. 6, Severin Fowles, Picuris Pueblo and Chaco; Jan. 13, John E. Ninnemann, Fred Harvey & Mary Jane Coulter: Innovation and Architecture Built a Legend; Jan. 20, Joseph H. Suina (Cochiti Pueblo), Our Pueblo Feasts; Jan. 27, Mark Asquino, Spanish Connections: My Diplomatic Journey from Venezuela to Equatorial Guinea. $20 at the door or $75 for the series of 4 lectures. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
Jan. 8 In-Person Event: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Kicks off 2025 Speaker Series
Beginning January 8, 2025 through March 5, 2025, Casa Grande Ruins will host its annual speaker series. The speaker series will kick off on January 8 at 1:00 pm, featuring Jessica McGeverly and Savannah Repscher. Jessica McGeverly will talk about a few of the different projects she works on at Casa Grande Ruins as part of her work monitoring wildlife with the Sonoran Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network. Savannah Repscher will talk about her work with the Sonoran Desert Network as she monitors and researches Stinknet, an invasive species affecting the Southwest. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument | Learn more »
Jan. 8 Online Event: Edgar Hewett in the 21st Century
With Heather McClure. Edgar Lee Hewett was an inescapable presence in early 20th century Southwestern cultural life. Hewett was an amazingly dynamic man with a complex legacy. From archaeology and anthropology, to education, museums, art and architecture, Edgar Hewett played a major role in crafting the Southwest’s unique image and its place in United States history. The Fray Angelico Chavez History Library has recently completed a multi-year project to digitize tens of thousands of Hewett’s papers and photographs, making them more readily available to scholars and to the public. With this newly accessible material as background, Heather will discuss some of Hewett’s triumphs and losses, his tragedies and feuds, as well as some of the people who worked with him and made his mission their own. Donations to support New Mexico’s Friends of History are encouraged. Learn more and register »
REMINDER: Jan. 16 Online Event: If the Shoe Fits
With Kevin Gilmore. Gilmore will present “If the Shoe Fits: Subarctic-style Moccasins and the Apachean Journey from the Northern Dene Homeland to the Precontact Southwest” from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. MST. Moccasins replaced sandals in the Southwest in the 1300s CE. Moccasin-wearing Apache and Navajo ancestors entering the Southwest as early as the 1300s may have influenced this change. 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!