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Abajo Archaeology, PO Box 100, Bluff UT 84512. 801/672-2272
FAX –2284
Uinta National Forest, PO Box 1428,
Provo UT 84602. 801/377- 5780
Anthropology
Dept, 117 Stewart Bldg, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
UT 84112. 801/581-4494
00- ALC/EME, 7276 Wardleigh Rd, Hill AFB, UT 84056. 801/777-0288
PO Box 1273, Fillmore UT 84631. 801/743-6811
Division
of State History, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City UT 84101.
801/533-3500. FAX
-3503.
UPAC 1995 FALL MEETING
at College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, Price UT. Business meeting begins
at 1:30 PM on Friday, Nov. 17. Nominations will be accepted for President,
Treasurer, Membership & Ethics. Research session 9 a.m.-Noon on Saturday,
Nov. 18. If you want to Contribute a research presentation contact Bill Davis
(801/672-2271, FAX -2274).
UPAC Election Results
Summer 1995
18 out of 64 ballot returned:
Secretary- Dianna Christensen (17 votes).
VP for Governmental Affairs & Research-
David Madsen (12 votes).
Native American Remains Committee Meeting, 1 June 1995.
Dennis Weder and Kevin
Jones were UPAC members in attendance. Although there were not enough committee
members present to constitute a quorum, there was
a discussion of the proposed ruled by the committee members and the audience.
Kevin raised questions concerning some aspects of section R191-1-5: Duties
upon discovery of remains, which state: "2. If it is unclear whether the
remains are of Native American origin upon a cursory examination, the state
agency having management authority over the land where the remains were found
must take reasonable steps to determine the ethnic origin of the remains. a.
Such steps may include: 1. examination of the remains by a certified archaeologist;
ii. limited excavation by a certified archaeologist to search for associated
funerary objects; or iii. limited scientific testing, if approved by the majority
vote of the Committee." Kevin noted that the term "certified" is
not accurate and should be revised. He will assist with more appropriate terminology.
The NARRC committee approval process elicited considerable discussion primarily
among Kevin, Dennis and the State attorneys present. The way this paragraph
is written, the NARRC would be able to veto scientific testing on any skeletal
remains not easily identifiable. Dennis described a scenario where a solitary
skeletal element of a child might be found. If you were the parent of a missing
child, you would be likely to demand scientific testing to determine the relationship
of this child so that you could finally know your child's fate. A disapproval
of scientific testing by NARRC in this type of scenario would certainly result
in very adverse legal and public response which might ultimately weaken the
true intent and spirit of this legislation. It was also noted that the state
lands exemption covers most of the state land; this law will therefore only
apply to very little property. Of special concern it the fact that school sections
will also be excepted. Kevin will monitor the rule writing process to be sure
that Native American burial issues on state lands are adequately addressed.
REPOSITORY DEDICATION, 1 JUNE 1995.
Dennis Weder attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new repository at
the mouth of Emigration Canyon. About 12 persons were present including Native
Americans, representatives of the construction company, the Hill AFB CRM manager,
and a reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune. The dedication was hosted by Wil
Numkena and the site was blessed by Lacee Harris.
Utah Tribal Leaders' Meeting
Dennis Weder attended the meeting at Southern Utah University and gave a brief
presentation. Dennis explained that UPAC has recognized that inadequate communication
among professional archaeologists and the Native American community has created
and maintained a feeling of mistrust. In order to begin to alleviate this
situation, UPAC has formed the Native American Affairs Committee (NAAC) to
open a channel for communication when questions arise. Dennis pointed out
that the UPAC Newsletter is being sent to each tribe and should be available
to interested tribal members. NAAC members are: Dennis G. Weder (00- ALC/EME,
7274 Wardleigh d, Hill AFB UT 84056-5137801/777-0288), Bill Fawcett (Utah
State University, Logan UT 84322-0730, 801/797-1496, FAX -1240), and Jim
Dykman (Dir. of State History, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake city UT 84101801/533-3555).
In a discussion after the meeting, Barry Frank suggested that 1 or more Native
Americans need to be appointed as points of contact in order to further communication.
Dennis will follow up on this suggestion.
F.Y.I.
Southwestern Archaeology on the World-Wide Webb: http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mathias/swa/
Contact Brian W. Kenny: kenny@getnet.com
GRANTS
The Utah pioneer sesquicentennial Celebration Coordinating Council (300 Rio
Grande, Salt Lake City UT 84101-1182. 801/533-3597 FAX -3503) is offering
grants to non-profits to make historic pioneer trails or conduct other activities
which reflect the pioneer spirit. Contact Rhonda B. Greenwood (Council Coordinator).
UTAH HERITAGE WEEK 1996 POSTER CONTEST
Help promote Utah's exciting past by entering the Utah Heritage Week Poster
Contest. Cash prizes will be offered in 3 categories: Grant contest winner
$250, Secondary school winner $100, and Elementary school winner $100. This
contest is open to professional, starving & student artists, or any other
creative citizen. Artists choose the material and design. The principal elements
should depict aspects of Utah archaeology, paleontology, Native American cultures,
and/or historic settlers. Poster must measure 16" x 24". This contest
is sponsored by the Division of State History, Parks & Recreation, BLM,
Utah Statewide Archaeological Society, Forest Service & National Park Service.
Posters must be submitted by Friday, Dec. 15, 1995 to Antiquities section,
Division of State History, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City UT 84101. Contact
David Schmitt (801/533-3577) or Renae Weder (801/533-3529) for more information.
THE NEXT NEWSLETTER
Items for the next newsletter should be sent no later than Nov. 25, 1995. All
submission of greater than 100 words should be accompanied by a computer
disk with text saved on it either in IBM- readable ASCI or Wordperfect.
1995 MEMBERSHIP DUES
If you want to join UPAC or have not paid your 1995 dues send:
Professional $25.00
Student $12.50
Associate $12.50
Affiliate $12.50
to Nancy Shearin. Professional and student members vote and receive the newsletter and journal (Utah Archaeology). Associate and affiliate members only receive the newsletter. Send address corrections to Nancy Shearin. You must be a current member to vote!
From: NewsMAC JULY 1995
An Open Letter from the State Archaeologist
to All Archaeologists Practicing
in New Mexico
Dear Colleagues:
As I am sure you all are aware, the archaeological record of this country and
the practice of archaeology itself are at greater risk today than at any time
since the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966. There
is, for example, language in the current House budget report describing Section
106 as redundant with state and local laws and concluding' "Therefore,
this mandate can be waived." There is language in the Senate balanced
budget resolution eliminating the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
which, if implemented, would open up the Section 106 process to a complete
revamping. In the current anti-regulatory, pro-business political climate,
Section 106 compliance, especially as it concerns archaeology, is coming under
intense scrutiny and pressure for change. I am including with this letter some
of the information that we have received about proposed and possible Congressional
actions that will affect archaeology.
Every place that I have gone in the past 6 months, I have found individuals
and organizations, such as the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the
National
Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), and the Society
for American Archaeology, talking about the threats to preservation in this
country and what to do. Frankly, much of this discussion has amounted to hand-wringing
and discussions about what we can do or stop doing in order to get ourselves "off
the radar screen” of Congressional budget cutting and program elimination.
The NCSHPO, for example, has formed a task force on "rethinking archaeological
mitigation" with a subtext of "how can we make archaeology a lot cheaper?"
First of all, I want to say that the archaeological sky is not falling just
yet. On the other hand there are some clearly visible cracks in the firmament.
What
I would like to propose is the somewhat Pollyannaish view that we all view
this as an opportunity rather than as impending doom. There are things that
we can
do to improve the way that we do archaeology, and now is a very good time to
make those improvements. There almost certainly are going to be important changes
in how we do public archaeology in the future. We can wait to have these changes
imposed on us-- by the ACHP if they continue to exist, by the NCSHPO or the
National Park Service, or worst of all, by Congress. Or we can try to get ahead
of this
wave of change and make our own, carefully thought-out changes before change
is imposed from outside.
I am proposing that we work together as a professional community (and I will describe how I envision that happening below) to look not just at the costs of archaeology, per se, but at the cost/benefit ratio. The question that I would like us to address is "How can we improve the cost/benefit ratio of publicly funded archaeology?" By publicly funded archaeology I mean archaeology paid for by the public, either directly in tax dollars spent by federal agencies or in Section 106 compliance costs incurred by industry and passed on to consumers. By costs I mean both monetary costs and costs in time delays, which we all know are sometimes more of a concern for industry than the monetary costs. And by benefits I mean both the current benefits to the public and the long-term benefits to our society of increased knowledge about the past.
Specifically, I plan to convene a task force that will begin meeting in September to address a set of critical questions. What are the costs of archaeology in New Mexico both in federal dollars and private sector dollars spent? What proportion of cost of doing business on federal land or with federal approvals is archaeological expenses? What are the public benefits of archaeology in increased knowledge, enjoyment, educational opportunities, recreation? What is the impact of heritage tourism on the state's economy? How has public archaeology contributed to our knowledge of the past? How good a job are we doing at preserving the prehistoric heritage of this State? How may jobs, how much money in taxes, and how much money in purchased goods and services (including per diem) are generated by archaeology in New Mexico? And most important, what steps can we take to improve the cost/benefit ratio by minimizing the costs in money and rime and maximizing the public benefits?
I have no interest in figuring out how to do cheaper archaeology. But I and
every archaeologist in this State have a critical interest in figuring
out how to ensure
that every dollar spent on public archaeology is necessary and is yielding
the greatest possible gain in preservation, research excellence, and public
benefits.
We owe it to the public that is paying for this; we owe it to the resources
that we are professionally committed to preserving and conserving; and
our jobs may
well depend on it.
The results of the process that I am envisioning here will potentially
affect every single archaeologist in the State, and I would like to see
everyone
get involved. I propose that all of you form regional groups--let's say
Southeast (including ENMU), Southwest (including Alamongordo and El Paso),
West Central
(Socorro to Zuni to Grants, including Window Rock if they wish to participate),
Northwest (Farmington and folk from Colorado who work NW New Mexico), and
North
Central (Taos to Santa Fe to Albuquerque). These groups should include
contractors, federal and state agency archaeologists, and academics--all
professional
archaeologists.
I need one or two volunteer organizers for each regional group to coordinate
with my office, and me groups need to begin discussions NOW--face to
face, phone, fax, e-mail, small task groups, however you want to do it. But
you
need to be
ready with information, ideas, and two elected representatives for the
September task force meeting. I know everyone is desperately busy; we
are too. But
please believe that nothing that any of us is doing is more important
than this or
has a greater potential to affect all of our professional lives more
fundamentally than this. Most of us could find ourselves thoroughly not busy
very soon
if we
do not address this issue seriously. We are going to be asked very difficult
questions, and we must be ready with answers. By mid- July we will be
sending out a set of questions requesting information on financial costs and
benefits
and suggesting possible discussion topics about ways to improve the cost/benefit
ratio for the use of the regional groups.
This task force will be making recommendations about the fundamental
issues of public archaeology-- site eligibility, effect, preservation,
and mitigation.
These are not things that the SHPO's office can or should decide alone;
these are decisions that should be made by and must be supported by the
profession
as a whale. Once the task force comes up with a plan, we will work through
the
regional groups to give everyone in the profession an opportunity to
comment on the plan; we arc even discussing the possibility of convening
a Statewide
congress to discuss the plan. Next we will begin working with other interested
groups--tribes, industry, government agencies, avocational societies,
etc.- to consider their issues for inclusion in the plan and to attempt
to gain
their support.
Where we go from there will depend on what has happened in Congress in the mean time. If the Advisory Council Still exists NMSHPO will propose to amend our State substitution agreement with them to incorporate the procedural changes identified by the task force so that Section 106 can be carried out according to the plan. If me Council is eliminated, who knows? We will deal with it as best we can. Whatever happens, we will be better off for having a plan in place and an organization set up for disseminating information and ideas through-out the professional community.
I very much need your help to ensure that New Mexico can meet and weather the challenges to public archaeology posed by the current political climate. I am sending this to every agency. consulting firm, and department on our mailing list. Because we are facing a 5% recision in our State budget and a federal funding cut of unknown magnitude as well, we are crying to save money, so I am just sending one copy of this letter to each organization. Please xerox it and distribute it to everyone in your organization, including the field crews, and pass it on to other archaeologists that you know; I want to reach absolutely everybody that I possibly can. And then please begin discussions immediately among yourselves about how to organize your local participation in this effort-find, draft, or impress into service a regional coordinator or two and have them contact me as soon as possible, and by mid- July at the latest. This process is going to move forward fairly quickly and it may affect you profoundly; please get involved and please take responsibility for getting your regional group organized.
In the meantime, the New Mexico Archeological Council is keeping an eye on what is happening in Congress and issuing legislative alerts to its members and letting them know when letters and phone calls to senators and representatives are critically needed.
These congressional contacts work and the more contacts that are made, the better they work. Organizing this type of lobbying effort is not something that my office can do because of our Status as a government agency. This would be a good time to join NMAC, or at least be sure that you are in contact with a NMAC member so that you can participate in these congressional contact efforts; the preservation community must be as organized and as activist as the opposition if we want to retain federal protection for the prehistoric heritage of this country.
Sincerely,
Lynne Sebastian, Ph.D.
State Archaeologist
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