One Traditional Cultural Property Saved, Another to Be Doused in Frozen Effluent

Southwestern Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

- Supreme Court Strikes Down Hopi and Navajo Claims of Religious Freedom, Allows Lower Court Ruling to Allow Effluent at Snowbowl to Stand: The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from Indian tribes that want to block expansion of a ski resort on a mountain they consider sacred. The justices said Monday they will not get involved in a dispute between a half-dozen Western tribes and the Arizona Snowbowl ski area north of Flagstaff. The tribes wanted to block the expansion because the resort plans to use treated wastewater to make artificial snow on the mountain.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/296165.php
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/08/20090608snowbowl0608-onl.html

- New Mexico Historical Preservation Division Votes to Protect Mount Taylor: The cultural and natural resources of New Mexico's Mount Taylor will now be protected by the state, ending a yearlong battle between American Indians and landowners all concerned about preserving their rights to use the mountain without interference. A state committee voted unanimously Friday to list the mountain on the State Register of Cultural Properties, a state spokesman said.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/glqg - Google News

- Arizona Governor Plans to Close Arizona Historical Society by 2014: The Governor’s budget completely eliminates funding for the Arizona Historical Society by phasing out state appropriated dollars over the next five years. If her proposal is approved, the Arizona Historical Society will cease to exist.
http://www.friendsofahs.org/new_upd.html

- A Coalition of Museum Supporters Mounts Opposition to the Autry Center's Dismantling of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles: he Coalition’s vision is one of a loving rehabilitation of the existing historic Southwest Museum Building and a sensitive expansion of both exhibition space and other related complementary uses much in the same way Griffith Observatory is currently being renovated to care for its future as an important part of Los Angeles history. For this reason, 20,000 square feet of the exhibition space that Autry now proposes for Griffith Park instead should be added to the Southwest Museum site to enhance public access to the Collection in the setting originally envisioned by Charles Lummis.
http://www.friendsofthesouthwestmuseum.com/vision.html
http://www.friendsofthesouthwestmuseum.com/video.html

- San Diego Anthropology Museum Parts Ways With Director: Noted anthropologist Mari Lyn Salvador is no longer chief executive of the San Diego Museum of Man, and the Balboa Park institution won't say why it parted ways with its leader. Before coming to San Diego, Salvador was a tenured professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico and chief curator of its Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/7exj - Signs on San Diego.com

- Registration Now Open for National Historic Preservation Conference: Get inspired with new ways to sustain your own community and organization at the National Preservation Conference. Discuss the latest research and strategies to place preservation at the center of green practices. Learn what tools your colleagues in the field are using in their hometowns by joining 2,000 of them in Nashville. Get the invigorating education and networking that is the hallmark of the National Preservation Conference. In addition, our discussions will be informed by the cutting-edge research and policy advocacy of the National Trust’s Sustainability Initiative. You’ll return home with new ideas and a fresh perspective on preservation’s role in sustainability, the new economy, and in telling everyone’s stories – Sustaining the Future in Harmony with our Pasts.
http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/training/npc/

- There is Still Time To Register for the Arizona Preservation Conference, Registration Rates Increase Thursday, June 11: The Arizona Preservation Foundation, Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, Arizona Department of Commerce’s Main Street Program, and the City of Phoenix invite you to join them at the 7th Annual Historic Preservation Partnership Conference. This year’s conference, ”Arguing For Preservation: Building a Case For Communities,” is being held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, June 18th-20th, 2009. The goal of the Conference is to bring together preservationists from around the state to exchange ideas and success stories, to share perspectives and solutions to preservation issues and to foster a sense of cooperation between the diverse Arizona preservation communities.
http://www.azpreservation.com/

- Jicarilla Apache Nation Names New Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, National Park Service Supports the Nomination: The Director of the National Park Service has formally approved the proposal of the Jicarilla Apache Nation to assume certain State Historic Preservation Officer duties within the exterior boundaries of the tribe’s reservation in New Mexico. The Tribe has assumed formal responsibility for review of Federal undertakings pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/ja_thpo.doc - MS Word Document

- Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community Will Celebrate Grand Opening of Two Waters and Community Day: The community will celebrate the grand opening of the new Two Waters administrative complex on June 9, 2009. The event will also coincide with the annual observance of SRPMIC Community Day. The grand opening will start with a couple of morning ceremonies followed by an afternoon and evening program. Food and entertainment will also be provided during the event. Besides the Grand Opening, the SRPMIC will also observe Community Day. The SRPMIC was officially established by executive order by President Ruthford B. Hayes on January 10th, 1879. Later that year, the order was modified by a second executive order on June 14th, 1879 which established the current boundaries of the SRPMIC and has also become known as Community Day.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/2h2os.jpg

- Many National Parks to Host 3 Free Summer Weekends: The National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments -- including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite -- will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/d418 - Casper Star Tribune

- National Park Service Placing Books, Studies and Other Reports Online: More than 1,000 books, studies, and reports are available online, courtesy of the National Park Service’s Park History Program. Highlights of the latest additions include The Historic Period at Bandelier National Monument (2002)
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/band/historic_period.pdf

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/index.htm
- World Archaeology - Oldest Known Ceramic Vessels Found in China: Researchers in China have dug up the oldest known pottery. How ancient is it? The late Paleolithic: 14,000 to 21,000 years old, according to a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The pieces were most likely made and used by early foragers in the Yangzi Basin in the Hunan Province.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/d26a - Scientific American
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/06/01/0900539106

- Carving On Ancient Bone Found in Florida Apparently Depicts Mammoth or Mastadon: In what a top Florida anthropologist is calling “the oldest, most spectacular and rare work of art in the Americas,” an amateur Vero Beach fossil hunter has found an ancient bone etched with a clear image of a walking mammoth or mastodon.
http://www.verobeach32963.com/news/News060409/060409_BoneCarvingFind.htm

- Archaeology Channel Hosts a Pledge Drive: This is a special programming note for our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel On Tuesday, June 2, we launch our Spring 2009 Pledge Drive. Our Pledge Drive is intended to expand our income from supporting Memberships to compensate for the loss of income from underwriting that we are experiencing. Each day for two weeks, through June 15, we will post a new Pledge Drive video with new information and progress reports. There you will find all the details and tools you need to participate and spread the word.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org

Thanks to Cherie Freeman, Carrie Gregory, Andrew Johnson, Gerald Kelso, and Tom Wright for contributions to today's newsletter.