September 2008 Archeology E-Gram

Bennie Keel to Retire
Bennie Keel, Supervisory Archeologist at the NPS Southeast Archeology
Center, has announced his impending retirement. Bennie joined the NPS in
1976, after working at the Research Laboratories of Anthropology
(University of North Carolina) and teaching at Wright State University. His
Ph.D in anthropology is from Washington State University. He was Chief of
Interagency Archeological Services in Atlanta from 1976 to 1980, and moved
to Washington, D.C. in 1980 where he served as the Department of the
Interior’s Departmental Consulting Archeologist from 1980 to 1990.
Coterminous with this position, Bennie served as the NPS Assistant Director
for Archeology.

Bennie was instrumental in the development of the proposed and final
uniform regulations for ARPA, and the development of the proposed and final
regulations for “Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archeological
Collections” (36 CFR 79). He also represented the Department of the
Interior in developing reports, presenting testimony, and answering
questions at hearings on legislation that preceded the enactment of the
Abandoned Shipwreck Act. Bennie was also instrumental in developing
position papers for the Department of the Interior for pre-NAGPRA
legislation.

Within the Department and the NPS, Bennie played a key role in the
development of NADB, the Secretary of the Interior’s Report to Congress on
the Federal Archeology Program, and the process for conducting peer reviews
of archeological projects. He has published numerous papers and reports and
has given many presentations on archeology.

Bennie’s friends and colleagues wish him the very best for his retirement.

Homestead Act Records Available Digitally
Homestead National Monument of America and the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) have announced new developments in the Homestead
Records Project, a partnership effort to create searchable digital images
of paper records created under the Homestead Act of 1862. The project
partners are the National Archives, FamilySearch, Footnote.com, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Federation of Genealogical Societies,
and Homestead National Monument of America.

The Homestead Act allowed any qualified individual to claim up to 160 acres
of land for settlement and cultivation. After five years residence and
completion of improvements, the land became the private property of the
claimant. The law became effective January 1, 1863, and remained in effect
until 1986. Over those 123 years, the U.S. government distributed 270
million acres of land in 30 states. Every one of the four million recorded
claims generated a paper record that still exists in the National Archives.

Two major developments were announced. An index to approximately 65,000
homestead records from the Broken Bow, Nebraska land office (1890-1908) is
now available online. These records were microfilmed at the National
Archives in 2006; monument and UNL volunteers have been indexing them for
the past 18 months. The online index will be available to the public via
the UNL website.

The second development is the beginning of a new digital homestead records
initiative. The National Archives has agreed to the digitization of the
300,000 homestead documents from the Nebraska City/Lincoln U.S. land
office, which operated from 1868 to 1925. Visitors to Homestead National
Monument of America, all National Archives locations, all Family Search
research centers, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be able to
access the records free of charge. These records are a treasure trove of
information about people that claimed land under the Homestead Act as well
as the lasting changes that the law initiated in the U.S. and across the
world.

For more information about Homestead National Monument of America go to
www.nps.gov/home/

New Historic Preservation Award
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has announced the establishment
of the Secretary’s Historic Preservation Award to recognize the outstanding
contributions of employees of Federal, State, and Tribal Preservation
Offices and Certified Local Governments in the area of historic
preservation. Each year, the Secretary will recognize one individual from
each of four categories – Federal Preservation Offices, State Historic
Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Certified
Local Governments. (NPS employees are not eligible for these awards).

Nominees are individuals whose contributions surpass the expected scope of
their positions and whose creativity and expertise have fostered the
overall goals of the National Historic Preservation Act. Nominations should
concentrate on activities and accomplishments during the last two years
(2007-2008). The deadline for submitting a nomination for the 2008 award is
October 20, 2008.

More information about the award and an application can be found at
www.doi.gov/initiatives/preservation.html.
Contact: Jon C. Smith, 202-354-2095

Navajo Nation seeks control of Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly, near Chinle in the heart of the Navajo Nation, is a
national monument that is entirely on reservation land. The Navajo call the
canyon "Tsegi," which means "within the rock.” The NPS currently manages
the thousands of artifacts, archeological sites, and historic structures
within the monument, while the land, revered by the Navajos as sacred,
remains tribally owned. Now the Navajo Tribal Council is seeking full
control of the 83,000-acre monument and the more than $1.8 million in
Federal funding that is used for its management that goes with it. Doing so
would strengthen the tribe's sovereignty and demonstrate its expertise and
competence in administering tribal land and resources to benefit Navajo
people, supporters say. "It's a site that is very important in terms of not
only the historical but also the cultural and spiritual aspects of the
nation," said Arvin Trujillo, director of the tribe's Division of Natural
Resources. "We are moving in a direction where we're becoming better
equipped to take over some of these monuments."

NPS has various agreements with tribes whose reservations lie within a
national park. Some allow tribes to manage a portion of the park, rebuild
trails, restore watersheds, and hunt on tribal land, for example. In South
Dakota, the NPS is considering returning complete control of the South Unit
of Badlands NP to the Oglala Sioux. In 2000, Congress passed a law that
allows the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe to completely manage tribal trust land
within Death Valley NP. At Everglades NP in Florida, the Federal government
has set aside a special reserved area for the Miccosukee Tribe within the
park.

Patricia L. Parker, Chief, NPS American Indian Liaison Office, said tribes
are encouraged to take a more active role in managing their lands, but no
national monument has been completely turned over to a tribe. "If I were
the tribe, I would take a good look at to what extent would the lands be
better protected, what would be the benefits locally for having it be a
tribal park rather than it be a national monument or park, and I'm sure
they're weighing the benefits," she said. The NPS, which employs about 25
people at Canyon de Chelly, says the Navajo Nation has every right to seek
full control of the canyon.

If Congress approves the transfer, Canyon de Chelly likely would be added
to a handful of tribal parks overseen by the Navajo Nation that include
Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Marble Canyon and Four Corners. Teddy
Halwood, president of the Canyon de Chelly/Canyon del Muerto Resident
Association, contended the NPS has overstepped its boundaries on many
occasions. Having the Navajo Nation run the canyon would mean more jobs for
tribal members, better access to sacred sites and better protection of the
tribe's resources, he said. "It would be in the best interest of the Navajo
Nation to oversee its own affairs," he said.

Adam Teller, president of Tsegi Dine, a group of canyon residents opposed
to a takeover, said he doesn't believe the Navajo Nation has the expertise
to manage the canyon and that the Tribal Council is going about it the
wrong way. "They (residents) feel that it's kind of like a hostile
takeover," he said. "I guess a lot of other parks and places that they look
at that the Navajo Nation runs, they're very concerned our national
monument is going to go the same way." About 80 Navajo people currently
live in the canyon.

For more information about Canyon de Chelly National Monument, go to
www.nps.gov/cach/
Energy Companies Mitigation Money May Protect Sites
At Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, about 80 percent of the
monument's 164,000 acres is leased for energy development and a giant new
project to drill for carbon dioxide is gathering steam on the park's
eastern flank. At Nine Mile Canyon in central Utah, truck exhaust on a road
to the gas fields is posing a threat to 2,000 years of rock art and
imagery, say environmentalists and Indian tribes.

Funding from resource extraction activities, however, may be helping to
care for sites. The BLM, for example, in working out drilling plans at
Canyons of the Ancients, is considering using mitigation money – the
dollars drillers must post to ensure they have cleaned up after themselves
– to finance volunteer efforts to police the backcountry. "They are part of
the eyes and ears on the ground," said LouAnn Jacobson, an archeologist by
training and manager of both the Canyons of the Ancients NM and the Anasazi
Heritage Center. The USFS is considering a similar idea at Chimney Rock
Archeological Area. Using energy mitigation money to support volunteer
programs for policing and preventing vandalism, USFS officials said, could
help extend the agency's budgets, which are being sapped by rising costs in
other areas, especially fire protection.

A spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, which
represents drilling companies, described helping defend historical sites as
good for business, especially if financing volunteers created more contact
and understanding between local residents and energy explorers.

For more information about Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, go to
www.blm.gov/co/st/en/nm/canm.html

NPS Hosts Training in Interpretation of Archeological Resources
The NPS Southeast Archeological Center, Division of Interpretation,
Education, and Partnerships, and Yosemite NP are sponsoring “Effective
Training of Archeological Resources.” The class will be held November 3-7,
2008, at Yosemite, CA. This 5-day workshop will improve interdisciplinary
communication skills for using a team approach to developing and carrying
out effective public interpretation and education programs and products.
Interpreters and educators will gain knowledge of archeology for developing
presentations and media about archeological resources. Archeologists will
gain knowledge and skills in interpretation for developing interpretive
presentations and media about cultural resources. All groups gain knowledge
and skills through increased dialogue and interactions between
archeologists and interpreters for joint development of effective
interpretation of archeology products. Topics will include interpretation
issues related to the archeology and history of Yosemite National Park; the
archeology and history California and western North America; using an
interdisciplinary team approach; sensitive interpretation and multiple
perspectives; emerging technologies; and other subjects.

Contact: John Jameson, Southeast Archeological Center, e-mail
[log in to unmask], by close of business, October 10, 2008, to reserve a
space.

Projects in Parks: Of Adobe, Lime, and Cement: The Preservation History of
the San José de Tumacácori Mission Church by Jeremy Moss
The year 2008 marks the centennial of the establishment of Tumacácori
National Monument in southern Arizona. The theme of Tumacácori’s centennial
celebration is “One Hundred Years of Preservation and Stewardship,” in
recognition of the preservation specialists, archeologists, historians,
interpreters, masons, and maintenance workers who have strived to preserve
the mission for future generations. Keeping with this theme, this article
by Jeremy Moss summarizes the preservation history of San José de
Tumacácori. Historic structures are more than their original fabric:  they
are part of past events and people’s lives. By preserving historic
structures, we are also preserving associated life ways, events, personal
histories, religious beliefs, customs, and cultural values. (This report
will be posted later this week.)

Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes
announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities,
national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to
public archeology in the National Park Service and other public agencies.
Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and
relevant mailing lists.  The Archeology E-Gram is available on the News and
Links page www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the Archeology Program
web site.

Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs others
about archeology-related projects in national parks.  Prospective authors
should review information about submitting photographs on the Projects in
Parks webpage on InsideNPS.  The full reports are available on the Projects
in Parks web page inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670
on InsideNPS or through individual issues of the Archeology E-Gram on the
on the News and Links page http://www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on
the Archeology Program web site.

Contact: [log in to unmask]  to contribute news items, stories for “Projects in
Parks,” and to subscribe.