*August 2014 Archeology E-Gram*
*Jennifer Leasor Joins the Midwest Archeological Center as Museum Curator*
The NPS Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) in Lincoln, Nebraska is pleased
to welcome Jenny Leasor as the new Museum Curator. Leasor will provide
curatorial assistance to over 70 park units, develop procedures and
protocols for collections management responsibilities, and manage MWAC’s
artifact and archive repository.
Leasor is currently the Museum Curator at Pipe Spring NM in Fredonia,
Arizona, and has developed the park’s museum program, implemented policies
and procedures necessary to support collections management functions,
established new partnerships, and helped institute youth internship
programs. Prior to Pipe Spring NM, she worked in the museum program at the
South Florida Collections Management Center at Everglades NP, and she
worked at Harpers Ferry Center in the Museum and Conservation Services
Division. During her tenure there, she served as a project lead for the
WASO Service-wide NPS Film Preservation (“Cold Storage”) Project.
Prior to the NPS, Leasor held positions at several state museums and other
institutions that provided her with experience in preservation and
management of museum collections. She is an accomplished technical writer
and has authored multiple NPS publications and presentations related to
integrated pest management, job safety, records management, and other
museum-related topics. Leasor also has been active in planning and
coordinating resource management projects; training courses; and special
projects with NPS partners, tribal partners, and CESU universities.
Leasor holds a BA in English from the University of Miami, Coral Gables,
and a MA in Museum Studies from the University of Florida. She is currently
completing a second MA in English at Northern Arizona University.
*By Karin Roberts*
*Successful Third Year of Badlands National Park’s Tribal Youth Intern
Program*
Eight high school students participated in the third year of Badlands NP’s
Tribal Youth Intern Program, which trains youth to become leaders in
cultural resources, park management, and related fields. The Lakota
interns are from communities on or near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The interns presented educational programs; and provided community outreach
at summer schools, museums, libraries, and special events. Interns also
staffed the information desks at the Ben Reifel and White River visitor
centers, and the visitor center at Minuteman Missile NHS.
At Badlands NP, they welcomed visitors to the fossil preparation Lab,
trails, and overlooks throughout the park. Interns were involved in
job-shadowing, training, and field work across a wide range of careers,
including medicine, law enforcement, botany, paleontology, archeology, and
wildlife management.
Badlands NP recently partnered with the Boys & Girls Club from Ellsworth
Air Force Base. Club members worked alongside park interns and learned
about wilderness preservation, bison management, and dark night skies. Work
projects included the development of education programs, litter removal
operations, and sharing photos and stories through park social media. By
creating opportunities for other under-represented youth to visit public
lands and share their experiences, the interns actively engaged in issues
of environmental justice for rural and at-risk communities.
NPS and the Oglala Sioux Tribe completed a general management plan (GMP) in
2012 for Badland NP’s South Unit. The GMP recommends establishing the South
Unit as the nation’s first tribal national park and recognizes that
successful park management requires the fullest tribal participation and
the development of strong partnerships with future leaders – like those
chosen for the Tribal Youth Intern Program.
The Badlands Tribal Youth Intern Program is made possible through the
support of partners including participating schools, Friends of the
Badlands, Badlands Natural History Association, the National Park
Foundation, and Boys & Girls Club of America.
For more information on the Tribal Youth Intern Program, see the Badlands
NP’s ‘Summer Intern Adventures
<http://www.nps.gov/badl/blogs/internblog.htm>’ blog.
*Southern Paiute Youth Camp Held at Cedar Breaks National Monument*
Sixteen middle school Southern Paiute students along with tribal elders
participated in the second Kwiyamuntsi Youth Camp held on traditional
homelands within Cedar Breaks NM and the Dixie NF. The four-day camp
connected Native youth to their home land, encouraged them to continue
their education, and exposed the students to land management careers.
Kwiyamuntsi (Kwee-YAH-moonts) Camp provided students with opportunities to
experience ways their cultural heritage intersects with current science and
resource management activities. Agency specialists teamed with tribal
elders to blend traditional knowledge with public land management
perspectives on hydrology, wildlife, plants, fire, astronomy, geology,
orienteering and archeology. Campers were given hands-on instruction in
identifying archeology sites, animal tracks and signs, fish and stream
ecology measurements, wildfire management, constellation identification,
and traditionally used edible plants.
Students gained a greater appreciation for their ancestors’ stewardship of
the environment, and how they used local resources for shelter, clothing,
food, and to enrich their lives. For many camp participants, it was their
first experience to taste traditional foods including buffalo, elk, quail,
and rabbit. The students were skeptical at first to try and clean their
teeth by chewing on charcoal and were amazed to find how shiny and smooth
it made their teeth.
The youth also met with American Indian professionals working for land
management agencies in southwest Utah, learning about career opportunities
and the various paths that led them to Federal service. These Native
leaders emphasized the importance of a college education and making wise
choices as the students move into high school.
Collaborating in this effort were the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah; Kaibab
Band of Paiute Indians; Moapa Band of Paiutes; Bryce Canyon NP; Bryce
Canyon Natural History Association; BIA; BLM; Cedar Breaks NM; Dixie NF;
and Southern Utah University. The camp was funded in part by a grant to
Bryce Canyon NP and the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association from the
National Park Foundation through the “America’s Best Idea” grant program.
*By Kathleen Gonder, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Information*
Students Excavate Archeological Sites at Fort Vancouver National Historic
Site
The annual field school at Fort Vancouver NHS focused on Little Proulx and
Parade Ground sites. Proulx lived at Fort Vancouver in the 1840s and was
employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The students excavated the home site
at the former workers village, west of the reconstructed fort stockade. The
soil under the house’s earthen floor has yielded artifacts left behind by
Proulx and his wife, a member of a Chinook tribe.
Not all of the findings represent the life of the French-Canadian fur
trader; some were left by Captain Levi Holden — the first U.S. Army surgeon
in the Oregon Territory. The Army arrived in 1849 in two groups. A force of
mounted riflemen made the overland trek; the other contingent, including
Holden, sailed around South America aboard the *USS Massachusetts*. The
post they established was originally called Camp Vancouver, then Columbia
Barracks. Holden was assigned Proulx’s home, which had been rented by the
U.S. Army. Holden did not occupy the site for long – he left in 1850 for
Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and went on to serve with distinction in the
Civil War. The building Proulx and Holden had occupied burned down in the
1850s or ‘60s.
The students found artifacts that document the change in tenants, including
nails and glass fragments. Some nails were typically British hand-forged;
others were manufactured nails that would have been used by American
soldiers doing repairs. A fragment of glass was identified as part of an
ink bottle. Most Hudson’s Bay Company employees who lived in the workers
village were illiterate, so the ink bottle likely belonged to Holden.
NPS archeologist Beth Horton directed work on the Fort Vancouver NHS Parade
Ground just south of Officers Row. They excavated the spot where the
American flag flew from 1854 to 1879, just across the street from the Grant
House.
Students identified the location through maps and magnetic imaging, which
can read changes below the soil surface. The excavators unearthed the ends
of two intact logs about 4” in diameter that might have been used for the
flagpole’s below-the-ground support structure.
In cooperation with the nonprofit Community Military Appreciation Committee
and the city of Vancouver, NPS officials hope to rebuild the flagpole. It
would become the primary flagpole at Fort Vancouver NHS.
For more information on Fort Vancouver NHS, go to
http://www.nps.gov/fova/index.htm
*Manzanar National Historic Site Releases Publication*
Manzanar NHS announced the publication of *A Place of Beauty and Serenity:
Excavation and Restoration of the Arai Family Fish Pond*, by NPS historian
Jeff Burton with Mary M. Farrell, Erin Brasefield, Eddie Noguchi, Richard
Potashin, and Laura Wai Ng. This report presents the results of the
excavation and restoration of the Arai family fishpond at the Manzanar
Relocation Center. The results of the investigation provide insight into
the ways one imprisoned family modified their environment to improve their
surroundings.
The project integrated oral and archival history and archeological
investigations to find the pond that had been built by Jack Hansho Arai.
Abandoned for decades, archeologists found an irregularly-shaped pond,
roughly 22 by 22 feet and up to 2’6” deep. Bordered with rocks, the
concrete-lined pond included three islands, a fish tunnel and water lily
boxes. Over 2,000 artifacts were recovered, including marbles and other
toys, whole beverage bottles, abalone shells, eating utensils, pond plant
remains, nails, and broken glass.
To read the entire report, go to
www.academia.edu/7518628/A_Place_of_Beauty_and_Serenity_Excavation_and_Restoration_of_the_Arai_Family_Fish_Pond_Manzanar_National_Historic_Site
to
download the report.
*Teaching with Historic Places* *Lesson about Charlesfort-Santa Elena
National Historic Landmark*
The NPS and the Santa Elena Foundation invite teachers to use their new
online lesson plan, *Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the
16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena*, the latest
publication in the NPS *Teaching with Historic Places* series. This is the
155th lesson in the *Teaching with Historic Places* series that brings the
important stories of historic sites listed in the National Register of
Historic Places into classrooms across the country.
The lesson plan helps students to learn about the discovery of 16th century
Spanish colonial settlements on South Carolina’s Parris Island and how that
changed our understanding of the story of Europeans in North America. The
settlements on the island predate other well-known settlements on Roanoke
Island, Jamestown, and Plymouth.
In the lesson, students examine how archeologists use both archeological
evidence and written records to uncover the past. Using archeological
data, modern and contemporary maps, images, and written accounts of the
settlement, students will learn about Spanish colonists, gain insight into
the lives of the Spanish colonists, and understand Spain's ambitions for
North America in the 16th century.
The Charlesfort-Santa Elena lesson plan was created cooperatively by the
NPS, the Santa Elena Project Foundation, and the Kingdom of Spain. It was
written by historian and education specialist Jaclyn Jecha for the Santa
Elena Project Foundation, with assistance from Dr. Paul E. Hoffman of
Louisiana State University. The project was initiated by the NPS Archeology
Program through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Spain and
supported by the Spanish Embassy.
To access the lesson, go to
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/155santaelena/155santaelena.htm
For more information about Teaching with Historic Places, go to
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/
*Inaugural Virtual Wildland Fire Resource Advisor Course Presented*
A webinar-based wildland fire resource advisor (READ) course was
successfully presented for the first time in NPS history April 29-May 1,
2014, to provide greater access to this important curriculum. READs are
recruited from natural and cultural resource specialists, including
archeologists. The classroom-based training was developed in collaboration
with NPS Pacific West Region and Intermountain Region fire management
staff, Yosemite NP, and the NPS Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)
program.
A webinar version of the course responds to the growing demand for READs at
fires and shrinking training and travel budgets. Being able to coordinate
the course remotely reduced costs while bringing together experts from
across the country. The course has its roots in training first developed
with the BLM in 2002, and has evolved over 12 years and more than 20
presentations to interagency audiences into a three-day, scenario-based
course.
The pilot webinar presentation of Wildland Fire for Resource Advisors
(N-9042) condensed the three days/24 hours of presentation into three
days/12 hours of presentation, with an additional short on-line assessment
for participants to demonstrate their grasp of the material. The average
attendance was around 160 people, and the presenters learned that there
were multiple participants at several locations. Many parks would not have
been able to allow as many participants unless the course was brought to
them.
The cadre plans to present this course again on-line, and make the
recordings available for self-study, adding even more flexibility to the
curriculum. Future versions will incorporate role-playing scenarios and
other more interactive tools.
*Mysterious Hotchkiss Cannon Shell Fragments Found at Scotts Bluff National
Monument*
While doing field work for a geologic map of Scotts Bluff NM, Emmett
Evanoff of Northern Colorado University found three fragments of a cannon
shell in a small canyon at the base of South Bluff. Doug Scott, retired
NPS archeologist and adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska –
Lincoln, provisionally identified the fragments as a Hotchkiss cannon
shell. The Hotchkiss shot a 42mm shell and was sometimes called a mountain
gun. It was the type of weapon used throughout the west in the 1880s and
1890s and at the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Scotts Bluff NM’s museum collection contains another shell fragment that
appears to be identical to the fragment found by Evanoff, found at the base
of Scotts Bluff in 1927. At that time, President Woodrow Wilson had
established Scotts Bluff NM, but there were no facilities or permanent
staff at the site. The fragment was donated to the national monument at a
later date.
The mystery remains as to who fired these shots and why. NPS Midwestern
Archeological Center staff will visit Scotts Bluff NM this fall to gather
more information and possible fragments of other shells.
*By Robert Manasek,*
*Resource Management Specialist*
*Trading Cards Commemorate Tragedy at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic
Site*
2014 marks 150 years since the atrocities of the Sand Creek Massacre,
during which troops of the First and Third Regiments Cavalry, Colorado
Volunteers, attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho village on the banks
of the Big Sandy Creek on November 29, 1864, despite the presence of an
American flag and white flag of truce.
The Cheyenne and Arapaho camped at Sand Creek under assurances of
protection by the United States Army. During the attack, soldiers massacred
200 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women, children, and elderly, and
mutilated many of their bodies. Accounts of atrocities committed by the
troops quickly spread across the country, prompting two congressional
investigations and a military inquiry.
The First Regiment served as an infantry unit against Confederate forces
during the Battles of Apache Canyon and Glorieta Pass in 1862. Many of the
troops of the First Regiment volunteered for service in 1861 in response to
an anticipated Confederate invasion of the Colorado territory. Many of
these veterans later refused orders to attack the Cheyenne and Arapaho at
Sand Creek and testified against those who did.
In 1865, as part of the Treaty of the Little Arkansas, the U.S. government
accepted responsibility for and condemned the attack. Sand Creek Massacre
NHS is Colorado’s only officially recognized Civil War site.
To assist staff in conveying the massacre story to visitors, Sand Creek
Massacre NHS has developed six new educational “trading” cards as part of
the NPS “From Civil War to Civil Rights” trading card program. The park is
one of the most recent parks to commemorate events in this way.
“The cards highlight some of the people, places, and events associated with
the story of the Sand Creek Massacre and its Civil War connection,” said
Superintendent Alexa Roberts. “The cards provide a unique way of connecting
stories of parks across the country for young visitors.”
*By Shawn Gillette*
*Ebey’s Land National Historical Reserve Hosts Snakelum Canoe Restoration*
When Island County Historical Society Museum director Rick Castellano
needed a place to restore a 160-year old, 27-foot-long Coast Salish family
canoe, he contacted the operations manager of Ebey’s Landing NHR, Craig
Holmquist. Holmquist offered the perfect place for the restoration – right
next to his office in the Reuble Barn.
In 2012, with funding from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the
Tulalip Tribal Community, and a secure location, conservators stabilized
the fragile and compromised canoe. In the process, the canoe restoration
project prompted many stories about the Lower Skagit people, the community
members, past restoration efforts, as well as fascinating discoveries –
like the small sections of pale blue coloring on the interior, a remnant
from when it was first carved and decorated.
Built in the style of coastal tribes, the massive Snakelum canoe was
carved from a red cedar tree between 600 and 800 years old, yet is
surprisingly light, weighing approximately 400 pounds. One of the first
documented owners was Chief Snetlum of the Lower Skagit Tribe on Penn Cove,
now within the boundaries of Ebey’s Landing NHR. After Snetlum’s death in
1852, the canoe passed to his sons, Kwuss ka nam and Hel mits: both men
signed the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, creating the Swinomish
Reservation. Eventually the canoe settled with Snetlum’s grandson, Charlie
Snakelum, who was born about 1846.
Snakelum and his family used the canoe extensively in their travels on the
Salish Sea as they gathered food stores and visited distant
relatives. Following Snakelum’s death in 1932, the canoe was displayed in
downtown Coupeville near the Alexander Blockhouse. Eventually it was
perched atop a canoe shed in front of the museum. By the time it was
finally moved under a protective roof, the elements and souvenir seekers
had taken their toll.
Now, after two years, the Snakelum Canoe restoration project is complete,
and on July 30, 2014, the massive canoe was carefully moved from the Reuble
Barn into an enclosed truck and made the journey to the Swinomish
Reservation. The canoe was met by a large contingent of Swinomish Tribal
Community members. As the canoe was lifted from the truck, men, women, and
children from the tribe reverently approached the canoe to assist in
carrying it to its temporary resting place. In celebration, members of
Snakeulm’s family sang a song of welcome.
The Snakelum Canoe will be on display at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge
through September, when it will return to the museum as the centerpiece of
the new Native American and Natural History exhibit.
*By Carol L. Castellano, Office Administrator*
*Yucca House National Monument Access Challenged by Landowner*
Yucca House NM in far southwest Colorado is one of the smallest NPS units
in the country in terms of visitor numbers. It also involves one of the
more unusual journeys to get there. Visitors must follow NPS directions
that include details like “head toward the white ranch house with red roof
on the west horizon.”
Visitors must get out of their vehicles to open and close cattle gates as
they pass through private property before they reach the modest entrance
that is not much more than a fence with a sign fronting the buried remains
of one of the largest archeological sites in the state.
A visit is well worth the trip, however. The monument has a different
grandeur than that of Mesa Verde NP, because its 600 rooms, 100 kivas, and
great kiva surrounded by a plaza are only hinted at by humps of rocks and
bits of walls that were part of a large community around A.D. 1200.
Getting to Yucca House NM could become even more difficult if the owners of
the neighboring Box Bar Ranch get their way. They have asked Montezuma
County to close off access on the county road that cuts through their
property and leads to the 95-year-old monument.
In a county where an active contingent of constitutionalists view
individual property rights as paramount and the land-managing Federal
government as the enemy, having county officials vacate the road and close
off the access is not that far-fetched. The application to close the road
to the public said that visitors to the monument were disturbing
agricultural activities by blocking the road and damaging irrigation
equipment and crops. Cliff Spencer, superintendent of nearby Mesa Verde NP
and the overseer of Yucca House NM, was surprised by the road-closure
request for a monument that gets only about 1,000 visitors annually.
The Montezuma County Commissioners have scheduled a hearing for September
8, 2014, to decide the matter. Spencer said in the meantime he hopes to
meet with the property owners and county officials to see if there is
another solution short of keeping the public out of a national monument.
For more information about Yucca House NM (including those directions!), go
to http://www.nps.gov/yuho/planyourvisit/directions.htm
*By Nancy Lofholm, The Denver Post*
*NPS Funds War of 1812 Research at Sackets Harbor*
The Friends of Sackets Harbor Battleground have completed a research
project on the 1813 Second Battle of Sackets Harbor, on the St. Lawrence
River, funded by NPS American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP).
Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. conducted the project, which
included a metal-detecting survey, blood residue analysis, and a
reinterpretation of the battle’s history and outcome.
The Second Battle of Sackets Harbor on May 28–29, 1813, began with an early
morning naval assault and amphibious landing by British troops at one of
the most productive American naval facilities in the northern theater of
war. The British navy and expeditionary forces took advantage of a tactical
mistake and poor planning on the part of the Americans. In an effort to
draw British naval defenses away from their shipyards in Kingston, Ontario,
the Americans sent a large naval force west to join the battle at York.
With few officers and troops remaining behind, Sackets Harbor was
vulnerable to attack.
The British landed about 900 troops on Horse Island, a small, stony island,
connected with the mainland by a narrow causeway. They quickly overran the
American defenses and chased them into the open fields and woods west of
the shipyards and forts. While the British engaged with the retreating
American defense force, other contingents advanced to the east. With backup
from naval bombardment, the British overran the American cantonment and
caused significant damage to Forts Tompkins and Volunteer. The Americans
within the shipyards feared capture of the facility and set fire to the
port and stores, losing about half of their ships and supplies. The British
had victory in their grasp when Sir George Prevost, commander of the
expeditionary force, ordered a retreat from the harbor back to Horse Island
and the awaiting ships.
Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. conducted a metal-detecting survey
focusing on a large agricultural field where the British engaged with the
retreating American forces. Historical accounts of the battle differ, but
the popularly accepted narrative is that the American militia and
volunteers holding the mainland fled as the British advanced and offered no
significant challenge. The metal-detecting survey, however, identified
multiple skirmish lines retreating from the British forces. If the
retreating Americans had flanked the British, Prevost’s forces would have
been pinned inside the cantonment and defeated or captured.
This new archeological evidence demonstrates that the American defenders
continued to regroup and fight back, perhaps giving Prevost reason to pause
and beat an orderly retreat once certain objectives were met. Archeologists
recovered dozens of musket balls from both American and British guns. Some
of those were dropped, never fired, but many bore the evidence of impact
with a solid object. Five musket balls were sent for blood protein residue
analysis, four obviously fired and one dropped. While the dropped musket
ball showed no signs of contact, each of the four fired shots bore evidence
of human blood protein. Relatively few comparable studies of protein
residue analysis have been completed using ABPP grant funding.
The research was presented at the 2014 Fields of Conflict conference in
March. The study of Sacket’s Harbor was featured in a documentary that
aired on a local PBS affiliate (
http://www.wcny.org/television/losing-ground/ ).
*NPS Awards $500,000 in Grants to Protect Four Civil War Battlefields*
NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis announced more than $500,000 in grants from
the Land and Water Conservation Fund LWCF) to help preserve land at four of
America’s Civil War battlefields threatened with damage or destruction by
urban and suburban development. The grant projects are at the Bentonville
(NC), Kelly’s Ford (VA), Rappahannock Station (VA) and Shepherdstown (WV)
battlefields.
In making the announcement, Jarvis underscored President Obama’s call for
full and permanent funding for the LWCF, through which a small portion of
revenues from Federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf is
dedicated to helping states and local communities create ball fields, bike
trails and other recreational facilities, expand hunting and fish access,
preserve battlefields, and undertake conservation projects. The program,
which only been fully funded at its $900 million authorized level once in
its 50-year history, is set to expire this year without action from
Congress.
“Next week we celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson
signing into law the legislation to establish the Land and Water
Conservation Fund,” Jarvis said. “There is no better time for Congress to
guarantee all the oil and gas revenues that are supposed to be used for
recreation, conservation and battlefield preservation are in fact be used
for that purpose rather than siphoned off to other purposes.”
The battlefield grants are administered by the NPS American Battlefield
Protection Program, one of more than a dozen programs administered by the
NPS that provide states and local communities technical assistance,
recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create
close-to-home recreation opportunities. Consideration for the Civil War
battlefield land acquisition grants is given to battlefields listed in the
National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the
Nation’s Civil War Battlefields.
Grants are awarded to units of state and local governments for the fee
simple acquisition of land, or for the non-federal acquisition of
permanent, protective interests in land (easements). Private non-profit
groups may apply in partnership with state or local government sponsors.
Complete guidelines for grant eligibility and application forms are
available online at: http://www.nps.gov/abpp/
*Contact:* Elizabeth Vehmeyer, Grants Management Specialist, at
202-354-2215 or elizabeth_vehmeyer (at)nps.gov <[log in to unmask]>.
*NPS Grants Help Native Americans to Identify, Repatriate Human Remains,
Cultural Objects*
The NPS awarded more than $1.5 million in grants under the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) to assist museums, Indian
tribes, and Alaska Native villages to document and return human remains and
cultural objects to communities of origin.
Grants were awarded to museums, Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and
Native Hawaiian organizations to document NAGPRA-related objects and to pay
for the costs associated with the return of the remains and objects to
their native people. This year, 29 grants totaling $1,471,625 are going to
24 recipients for consultation/documentation projects, and $95,423 is going
to 8 repatriation projects. Projects funded by the grant program include
consultations, training on NAGPRA, digitizing collection records, and the
preparation and transport of items back to their native people.
Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to inventory
and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their
collections, and to consult with federally recognized Indian tribes,
including Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian organizations
regarding the return of these objects to descendants or tribes and
organizations. The Act also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
award grants to assist in implement provisions of the Act.
*Contact:* Sherry Hutt, National NAGPRA Program Manager, 202-354-1479
*National Preservation Institute Offers GIS Training*
*GIS: Practical Applications for Cultural Resource Projects* will be
held in Richmond,
VA on October 21-22 and again on October 23-24, 2014. Learn how to use GIS
applications for identification, evaluation, protection and preservation of
cultural resources. From assisting with inventories, to mapping historic
districts and battlefields, to mitigating the impact of disasters on
historic areas, GIS technology can be used to provide a better basis for
planning and decision making for the nation’s heritage. Instructor is
Deidre McCarthy, NPS historian and technical services specialist, Cultural
Resources GIS (CRGIS).
A registration form is available at www.npi.org/register.html. The advance
registration rate is available through September 10, 2014. Space is limited
to 12 participants in each session. An agenda is available at www.npi.org.
Seminars held in cooperation with the NPS CRGIS, and the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources
The National Preservation Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in
1980, educates those involved in the management, preservation, and
stewardship of cultural heritage. The 2014-2015 National Preservation
Institute seminar schedule is available at www.npi.org.
*Contact: *Jere Gibber, (703)765-0100 or *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>;*
www.npi.org
*Albright-Wirth Grant Program FY 2015 Cycle Now Open*
The Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant is a prestigious developmental
opportunity that annually funds NPS employees’ personal and career
development projects. Throughout its 27 year history, the Albright-Wirth
grant has funded more than 1,000 projects, including archeological projects
and archeologists’ career development projects.
The FY 2015 Albright-Wirth Grant application period opened on August 20 and
will close on September 26, 2014. Applications must be submitted online and
are available through the AWGP SharePoint site (http://share.nps.gov/awg).
Supervisory approval is required for all project proposals. Go to the
SharePoint site for additional program information including specific
program guidelines, rating criteria, and FAQs.
Funding amounts for FY 2014 are not to exceed:
- $3,500 for individual grants
- $7,000 for partner grants (two individuals)
- $10,500 for team grants (three or more individuals)
*Contact:* Lisa Nicol at (202) 354-1998.
Also, see the interview with Jun Kinoshita in the July 2014 Archeology
E-Gram for an example of use of an Albright-Wirth grant to further an
archeologist’s career, at http://www.nps.gov/archeology/NEW.HTM
*Society for History in the Federal Government Powell Prize Call for
Nominations*
The Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) invites
nominations for the 2015 John Wesley Powell Prize (Historic Exhibit or
Display Projects). The John Wesley Powell Prize commemorates the explorer
and Federal administrator whose work demonstrated early recognition of the
importance of historic preservation and historical display.
The Powell Prize alternates annually in recognizing excellence in historic
preservation and historical displays. In 2015, the prize will be awarded to
an individual or to principal collaborators for a single major historical
display or exhibit project, including archeology, completed in 2013 or
2014. The award for historical display is given for any form of
interpretive historical presentation including, but not limited to, museum
exhibits, historical films, CD/DVDs, websites, or multi-media displays. The
winner will be announced in the spring of 2015 at the annual meeting of the
SHFG.
Applications are due November 30, 2014. Further information on the SHFG
Powell Award is available at
http://shfg.org/shfg/awards/awards-requirements/
*ICOMOS Condemns Irresponsible Excavation of Archeological Material in
Popular Media*
The presidents of the Australian Archaeological Association, the Canadian
Archaeological Association, the European Association of Archaeologists, the
ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Archaeological Heritage
Management (ICAHM), the Pan African Archaeological Association, the World
Archaeological Congress, and the Secretary-General of the Indo-Pacific
Prehistory Association have together released a statement concerning the
proliferation of content in popular media that celebrates and encourages
the destruction of the archeological record after discussions initiated at
a meeting of presidents held on 5 April 2014, in Austin, Texas.
The organizations call upon the media to refrain from broadcasting any
program that presents in a favorable manner excavation of archeological
materials in any way that does not adhere to the excavation protocols that
conform to standard archeological practice around the world. They further
note that, if appropriately produced, archaeology- and heritage-related
programs in the media can be effective tools that provide the public with
knowledge that is satisfying on a personal level and useful to all of us as
we plot our course through a globalized and rapidly changing world.
To read the Austin Declaration, go to
http://www.iccrom.org/austin-declaration-on-the-excavation-of-archaeological-material-in-the-popular-media/
*Information Wanted by BLM on Rock Art Vandals in Utah*
BLM is offering a reward of up to $500 to help catch the vandals who
spray-painted shooting targets onto rocks near ancient Native American art
in Utah County. The BLM’s Salt Lake Field Office received a report that
someone had spray-painted at least a dozen targets onto rocks in the Lake
Mountains area, west of Utah Lake. Evidence found at the scene indicated
the targets were shot with large-caliber weapons. The BLM believes the
vandalism occurred between July 25 and July 31. Though the targets were not
spray-painted directly onto Native American art, the vandals can still face
penalties that include fines and jail time.
The Lake Mountains area has been vandalized for target practice before. In
2011, the BLM went to great effort and expense to remove similar
spray-painted targets in the area. The area is also a hot spot for target
practice. But rather than deface irreplaceable relics, the BLM says
sharpshooters should use paper targets backstopped by soft earth.
The Lake Mountains area is home to rock art created by the Fremont Culture,
individuals who lived in the Utah area between A.D. 400 and 1300. The art
around Utah Lake is estimated to be at least a thousand years old.
The BLM has urged anyone with information about the Lake Mountains
vandalism to call ranger Randy Griffin at 801-977-4314.
*By Harry Stevens, Salt Lake Tribune*
*NPS Settles with Employee Who Reported Missing Artifacts*
The NPS has reached a settlement with an employee who said she was unfairly
fired over the 1990 removal of Native American human remains from Effigy
Mounds National Monument that were only returned three years ago, newly
released records show. Sharon Greener, a former employee at the
northeastern Iowa site, says she was a part-time ranger when she was
directed by then-superintendent Tom Munson to pack two cardboard boxes with
museum artifacts. Tribal representatives suspect Munson removed the
artifacts to circumvent a new federal law requiring museums to return
ancient remains to tribes.
Munson returned the artifacts, including fragments of jaws and leg bones
believed to be 1,000 to 2,000 years old, in 2011 after new superintendent
Jim Nepstad opened an inquiry into what happened. Munson said they had been
in the garage of his Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, home. Previous
superintendents looked into what happened to the artifacts, but they
weren't recovered until Nepstad's 2011 inquiry.
The NPS suspended and fired Greener even though she had reported the
missing artifacts to superiors at least eight times in the 1990s and 2000s,
she claimed in records released under the Freedom of Information Act. The
agency accused her of a "lack of candor," placed her on paid leave in 2012
and fired her a year later, in June 2013. Greener's appeal argued she was
fired in violation of whistleblower protections, made a scapegoat when her
reports "could no longer be swept under the rug."
The agency settled in April, agreeing to reinstate her with back pay,
reimburse her attorneys' fees, and allow her to retire early. The $48,000
per-year employee was ultimately paid nearly two years’ salary.
*By Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press*
*Slightly Off Topic: NPS Ranger Johnson on Why Spending Time Outdoors Is
Civil Rights Issue*
Shelton Johnson fought fires, lectured on California’s wildlife, performed
in a one-man show about the Buffalo Soldiers, and, in the documentary, The
Way Home: Returning to the National Parks, insists that African Americans
reconnecting with nature are participating in the last act of the Civil
Rights movement. African Americans spend less time in parks than European
Americans, and Johnson has been on a mission to reverse this.
Johnson has spent 30 years of his life working in Yosemite NP and
Yellowstone NP – 28 of them as a park ranger. When Johnson worked at
Yellowstone NP, he was a firefighter and worked the biggest firefighting
effort in U.S. history. Today, Johnson is an interpretive ranger,
well-versed in the park’s geological, plant life, wildlife, and cultural
histories. One of the stories Johnson is most interested in sharing is the
role that African Americans have played in protecting our national parks,
and how that history should encourage African Americans to return to their
roots by engaging with nature.
In his work, Johnston shares stories about the Buffalo Soldiers, African
American soldiers in the U.S. Army who fought in several of the American
Indian wars in the latter part of the 19th century. According to Johnston,
they got their nickname from American Indians who said that their hair was
just like the matted cushion between the horns of a buffalo. One of the
Buffalo Soldiers’ duties was to protect the Yosemite NP and Sequoia & Kings
Canyon NP, meaning African Americans were among the first stewards of
public lands, before the NPS was even created.
Johnson also shares the compelling story of how black Americans were
systematically distanced from their relationship with the earth when
enslaved. During slavery, the wilderness symbolized freedom because that
was where slaves took refuge when they wanted to escape the brutalities of
the plantation. One reason Johnson believes that black slaves were fond of
the outdoors is that it was uncharted territory that put everyone on an
equal footing.
Then slavery was abolished and black people – for the most part – gradually
were able to own property and build towns. But that progress attracted
scorn from white Americans, in part because black Americans were now
economic competitors. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan emerged and were
threatened by a burgeoning black middle class. At that point, according to
Johnson, *the home *was the black man’s safe haven and *the woods* represented
terror. That lack of interface with the outdoors persists to this day.
In the documentary, Johnson comments, “We descend from people who had that
connection—that visceral, emotional, physical, spiritual connection to the
earth,” and calls to action all black Americans to join him outside.
*Many thanks to NPS Intern Leah Bergin for editing the E-Gram this month!*
*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 NPS and other public agencies. Recipients are
encouraged to forward *Archeology E-Grams* to colleagues and relevant
mailing lists. The illustrated *Archeology E-Gram* is available on the *News
and Links *page <http://www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm_>
http://www.nps.gov/archeology/new.htm on the NPS Archeology Program website.
*Projects in Parks *is a feature of the *Archeology E-Gram *that informs
others about archeology-related projects in national parks. The full
reports are available on the *Projects in Parks*web page
http://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/index.htm or through individual
issues of the *Archeology E-Gram*.
*Contact*: Karen Mudar at [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> to contribute news
items, stories for *Projects in Parks*, and to subscribe.
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