Final Management Plans for Reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Open Lands to Extraction

Final Management Plans for Reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Open Lands to Extraction
Thursday the Trump administration announced it was opening two national monuments to development. The culturally and geologically significant Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments will be available for cattle grazing, mining, and oil and gas development. Five tribes had formed a coalition in 2015 to promote protection of the Bears Ears region; dozens more tribes have expressed support for their effort. In a prepared statement, Shaun Chapoose, Ute, co-chair of the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition and representative of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee, said the coalition is united in opposition to the administration’s management plan for the two monuments. “This is just another in a series of unlawful actions reducing and revoking the Bears Ears National Monument,” said Chapoose. http://bit.ly/3bxaK2M – Indian Country Today

The Interior Department’s release of a formal land-use blueprint for the approximately 861,974 acres of land will allow oil, gas and coal companies to complete the legal process for leasing mines and wells on land that had once been part of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, established by President Bill Clinton. In December 2017, President Trump cut the monument’s acreage about in half, aiming to open the newly unprotected land for drilling and development. At the same time, he removed about a million acres from another Utah monument, Bears Ears. Together, the moves were the largest rollback of public lands protection in United States history. https://nyti.ms/3bydX1Y – New York Times

Honor Keeler of the Cherokee Nation and assistant director with the group Utah Diné Bikéyah said protections are going away for land that is full of sacred artifacts, burial sites and other cultural resources. “We find that this is an ongoing failure to meaningfully consult with tribes, that this seems to be an indicator of the treatment of indigenous peoples in the United States,” she told NPR. “I think it’s part of a broader narrative that directly affects indigenous people and indigenous lands.” https://n.pr/2UK7fQP – NPR

Under the plan, much of Bears Ears and nearly 1 million acres in and around Grand Staircase are open to grazing. BLM will also make two new routes in Grand Staircase open to off-road vehicles, which archaeologists and conservationists are concerned could damage vulnerable artifacts and natural features. “These plans represent the lowest common denominator for BLM stewardship,” Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, one of the plaintiffs in the monuments lawsuits, said in a statement. “One of the wildest landscapes in the lower forty-eight states will be lost if these plans are carried into action over the next few years.” https://wapo.st/2uu4jgw – Washington Post

Final Plans Met with Strong Opposition—Commentaries and Analysis
Today, sovereign tribal nations, local and national groups, all plaintiffs in the federal court cases challenging the legality of the Trump Administration’s reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, released a joint statement. This statement comes in response to the Bureau of Land Management’s Records of Decision [ROD] finalizing resource management plans for the Monuments. Davis Filfred, Board Chairman, Utah Diné Bikéyah: “The Trump Administration’s final management plan for Bears Ears National Monument is an example of how the federal government continues to ignore Indigenous voices, and the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Pueblo of Zuni, who among many Indigenous governments and peoples, are in a lawsuit challenging the dismantling of Bears Ears National Monument. Our concern, among other things, is that the ROD fails to include proper cultural and environmental protections, and leaves out the voice of Tribes and the elders who hold the most knowledge for these ancestral, public lands.” http://bit.ly/39w7BOP – monumentsforall.org

This month, the Bureau of Land Management released new management plans for the shredded monuments that abandon any pretense of stewardship, any respect for cultural, ecological, and paleontological resources. Given the agencies’ legal obligation to protect the values that led to the monument designations, these plans surely violate federal law. http://bit.ly/37l5n3v – Stephen Trimble in The Hill

How much longer are we going to persist with the idea that the path to prosperity in some of the most beautiful places on earth is to drill oil wells and drag chains across the desert? The reason they became national monuments is because they are unique. Shouldn’t we trade on that rather than trying to use them to produce commodities that are already available cheaper from elsewhere? http://bit.ly/2ONpK2W – Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board

Blasting for Border Barrier Impacts Indigenous Burial Grounds and Cultural Places, Wildlife and Habitats
Construction crews are blasting a hill on Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to make way for the border wall. The blasting is taking place on Monument Hill, just to the west of the port of entry in Lukeville, a small border town 150 miles southwest of Tucson. Since the wall plans were announced, environmental advocates, federal officials and Tohono O’odham officials have raised concerns about the project, such as the destruction of saguaros, the use of water from the aquifer under Organ Pipe, and the impact the wall could have on migrating animals. The National Park Service warned in a report last July that construction of the wall on Organ Pipe could destroy artifacts belonging to the Tohono O’odham, as well as remnants of 19th century settlements in the area. http://bit.ly/2SBFzLh – Tucson.com (Arizona Daily Star)

Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, visited the location ahead of the construction and described the site in a video posted to social media. Monument Hill, where he said explosions are now occurring, is a site where members of the Tohono O’odham Nation have buried members of opposing tribes. “Where they were blasting the other day on Monument Hill is the resting place for primarily Apache warriors that had been involved in battle with the O’odham. And then the O’odham people in a respectful way laid them to rest on Monument Hill,” Grijalva said in a video posted on Sunday. https://wapo.st/38ovdF6 – Washington Post

SAA Protests Destruction of Archaeological and Native American Cultural Sites at Border Wall
The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the recent destruction of several places of great cultural and historic importance to Native American tribes in order to facilitate the construction of the border wall. We demand that all further building activity in the affected areas cease until a complete re-working of this phase of the project has taken place. http://bit.ly/2w4DJL3 – Society for American Archaeology

Podcast: Anthropology of the U.S.–Mexico Border
On today’s episode Jessica hosts Dr. Jason De León, professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. De León talks about how he found himself at a crossroads with traditional archaeology and completely changed his career to better match his values. We discuss his work with the Undocumented Migration Project, conducting archaeological, ethnographic, and forensic anthropology methods to better understand the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as his Hostile Terrain exhibition. We talk about the complicated ethics involved, civil disobedience in the face of injustice, representation, and what we can all do in the face of this structural violence. A fascinating look into how to use anthropology to address current issues in a new way. https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/heritagevoices/32 – Living Heritage Voices

Continuing Coverage: The National Environmental Policy Act
For 50 years, the NEPA law has served as an environmental Magna Carta, obligating Americans to anticipate impacts before embarking on any major development projects involving the federal government, whether through funding, permitting or the work itself. It forces about 170 detailed environmental impact studies across the nation each year, and 10,000 lesser assessments, federal records show. (Editors’ note: this comprehensive article serves as a good primer on the act and the controversy surrounding its rollback while looking at a then-upcoming court hearing on a specific case.) https://dpo.st/31JczW2 – Denver Post

Essay: Life of the Gila
Home to nearly six million people, tamed by dams, and pumped such that stretches of its watercourses are usually dry, the Gila River Watershed was not always this way. The river and its tributaries were once lifelines and travel corridors for diverse peoples of the southern Southwest. This is why we at Archaeology Southwest decided to approach the Gila at the scale of the entire watershed in our latest holistic research program—to better grasp the interconnectedness as well as the boundedness of peoples’ lives there in the past. This dichotomy of isolation and connectivity has influenced more than 13,000 years of human history in this basin. http://bit.ly/3bnytCo – Bill Doelle at the Preservation Archaeology blog

Video: On Strange Soil
With unprecedented attack on two of our National Monuments, the Antiquities Act is challenged resulting in rural locals banding together to make sure this precedent doesn’t stand. Traverse Image brings you, On Strange Soil, a feature length documentary film about the importance of protecting our public lands that tells the behind the scenes stories of Grand Staircase Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. (Editors’ note: this video from 2019 features Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, former co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, author Stephen Trimble, Robbie Bond of Kids for Parks, and other conservation leaders.)  http://bit.ly/3bvtSyh – Traverse Image (opens at Vimeo)

Video: KSJE Radio Interview with Paul Reed and Adam Duran
Preservation Archaeologist Paul Reed and host Scott Michlin were joined by special guest Adam Duran, War Chief of Pojoaque Pueblo. The discussion focused on collaborative projects and repatriation. https://youtu.be/0twsJeZQT4Y– KSJE (opens at YouTube)

Video: Archeological Discoveries at the Historic Pima County Courthouse
Before building the January 8th Memorial, the County conducted an archaeological remediation at the construction site. Investigations of this type are standard practice across all County projects mandated under Pima County Board of Supervisors policy and in compliance with the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, but most importantly, they’re essential for preserving the history of where we live. In the case of the January 8th Memorial site, the archaeological remediation was of utmost importance because digging occurred in the heart of a Hohokam village and the 18^th-century Tucson Presidio, which have been the center of Tucson’s Native American, Spanish Colonial, Mexican and American Territorial communities. Completing this archaeological study was critical to document and honor this place of persistence—its history, and preserve its stories. (Editors’ note: this video features Tucson archaeologist Homer Thiel of Desert Archaeology, Inc.) https://youtu.be/Fq8T1eZOpIk – Pima County (opens at YouTube)

Arizona’s Archaeological Advisory Commission Imperiled?
The dust-up has created concerns among some Native American leaders who fear what might happen with any effort to interfere with what the commission does. Ned Norris Jr., chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation, said while tribes are now confined to reservation lands there are “ancestral remains” throughout the state. He said changes would have “a very detrimental effect on our ability to ensure there is a process, and to ensure there is a requirement for the protection of those archaeological artifacts and human remains that may be identified as a result of someone plowing through or constructing on a piece of property.” http://bit.ly/39t8QP6 – Arizona Capitol Times

In Development: “A Voice of Our Own,” Imperial Valley Desert Museum, El Centro CA
“A Voice of our Own” seeks to create a paid, 6-week Museum Internship for local Kumeyaay High School students with a pathway that may lead to material artifacts in museums interpreted through an American Indian cultural perspective. Offered in partnership between the Campo, La Posta, and Manzanita Bands of Kumeyaay, the Mountain Empire Unified School District, and the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. The internship will enable local Kumeyaay high school students to learn new skills, provide work experience, and offer professional networking that may lead to possible careers in History or Cultural Studies. Topics of study include, but are not limited to: Kumeyaay history, survey and monitoring work, NAGPRA, repatriation law, museum science, and stewardship of material culture. Those wishing to make 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donations to sponsor students are encouraged to contact the Imperial Valley Desert Museum Executive Director, Dr. David Breeckner, at info@ivdesertmuseum.org.

Call for Nominations: Arizona Governor’s Awards in Public Archaeology
The Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission (Commission) is sponsoring its 33rd annual “Awards in Public Archaeology.” The Commission is a statutory board that advises the State Historic Preservation Officer on issues of relevance to Arizona archaeology. The awards are presented to individuals, organizations, projects and/or programs that have significantly contributed to the protection and preservation of, and education of the public about, Arizona’s non-renewable archaeological resources. The nomination deadline is March 2. More information and nomination forms: https://www.azpreservation.org/awards-1

Publication Announcement: Rethinking Anthropological Perspectives on Migration
Rethinking Anthropological Perspectives on Migration, edited by Graciela S. Cabana and Jeffery J. Clark. University Press of Florida, 2020 (paperback edition). http://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813036076

Publication Announcement: Early Farming and Warfare in Northwest Mexico
Early Farming and Warfare in Northwest Mexico, by Robert J. Hard and John R. Roney. University of Utah Press, 2020. https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/early-farming-and-warfare-in-northwest-mexico/

Lecture Opportunity, El Paso TX
On Saturday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m., the El Paso Museum of Archaeology will welcome Carol Chamberland for “Eleven Years in the High Desert: Rock Art Recording in Central New Mexico.” 4301 Transmountain Road. http://bit.ly/38mGh5B – El Paso Museum of Archaeology

Lecture Opportunities, Santa Fe NM
On Thursday, February 13, at 6:30 p.m., the School for Advanced Research will welcome Ruth Van Dyke for “Chaco Landscapes: Sensory and Political Engagements with Place.” Van Dyke shares insights into social, political, and sensorial relationships across the greater Chaco landscape, past and present. She explores how archaeologists can work together with Native peoples to influence the public understanding of contemporary economic/extractive projects, including those in northwest New Mexico. St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave. https://sarweb.org/public-lectures/

The Santa Fe Archaeological Society (SFAS) is pleased to host Cyler Conrad, PhD, Cultural Resource Technical Lead at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), to present “Turkeys on the Pajarito Plateau,” a discussion of the function of the cultural resources program and how compliance-based research benefits the long-term programmatic strategy at LANL. Tuesday, February 18, at 7:15 p.m., Pecos Trail Cafe (back room) 2239 Old Pecos Trail. http://sfarchaeology.org/

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson
On Monday, February 17, at 7:00 p.m., the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society will welcome Steve Lekson for “Studying Southwestern Archaeology.” ENR2, 1064 E Lowell St. https://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/event/steve-lekson-studying-southwestern-archaeology/

Lecture Opportunity, Albuquerque
On Tuesday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m., the Albuquerque Archaeological Society will welcome Bruce B. Huckell for “A New Angle on the Late Paleoindian: The Allen Complex in New Mexico.” Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, 2000 Mountain Road NW. https://abqarchaeology.com/2020/01/06/next-lecture/

Lecture Opportunity, Sedona AZ
Archaeologist Allen Dart presents “The Antiquity of Irrigation in the Southwest,” a free talk about the earliest and eventually most extensive ancient North American canal systems, at 2:00 p.m. on March 1 at Red Rock State Park, 4050 Red Rock Loop Rd., Sedona, Arizona (928-282-6907, ebuzonas@azstateparks.gov) and again at 7:00 p.m. on March 10 for the Arizona Archaeological Society Phoenix Chapter at Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E. Washington St., Phoenix (480-461-0563, elarge@cox.net). For information on these and other free Arizona Humanities “AZ Speaks” talks visit https://azhumanities.org/events-calendar/.

Thanks to Cherie Freeman and Bruce Hilpert for their contributions to today’s edition.

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/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org