“The Mission of the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society is to further the education, opportunities and experiences of its members, students and the general public by partnering with and serving the archaeological, avocational archaeological, and related scientific communities of the Montezuma Valley, the Four Corners area and the State of Colorado.” VOLUME 27 NOVEMBER 2015 ISSUE 11 November Meeting 7pm Tuesday, November 3 At the Sunflower Theatre, NE corner of Main and Market in Cortez – doors open at 6:30! This presentation is part of the 2015 Four Corners Lecture Series Sheila Goff and Ernest House, Jr. present, NAGPRA at 25: Colorado's Implementation Present and Future This presentation will provide a brief overview of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and then focus on its implementation by the State through the collaboration among the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, History Colorado, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. This collaboration has provided a national model for other states to use. Finally, the presentation will discuss some of the impacts of NAGPRA in the Four Corners. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheila Goff has been the NAGPRA Liaison/Curator of Archaeology at History Colorado since 2007. She graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2005 with a degree in Museum and Field Studies. Her cognate area was Southwest archaeology and her museum focus was collections management. At History Colorado, she coordinates the efforts of the NAGPRA Team, cares for the archaeology and ethnographic collection, and participates in exhibit development. She is currently on the team for the expansion of the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose. As Executive Director for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA), Ernest House maintains the communication between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, and other American Indian organizations, state agencies, and affiliated groups. Ernest works closely with Governor Hickenlooper, Lt. Governor Garcia, and the CCIA members to maintain a government-to-government relationship between the State of Colorado and tribal governments. Ernest is an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado. He previously held the position of Executive Director under Governor Bill Owens and Governor Bill Ritter from 2005-2010. Ernest is a 2012 American Marshall Memorial Fellow, 2013 Denver Business Journal Forty under 40 awardee, and 2015 President’s Award recipient from History Colorado for his great service to Tribes and historic preservation in Colorado. Ernest currently serves on Governor Hickenlooper’s Education Leadership Council, the Colorado Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council, and the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees. He holds a rich tradition in his position as son of the late Ernest House, Sr., a longtime tribal leader for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and great-grandson of Chief Jack House, the last hereditary chief of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Upcoming Meetings December 1, Tuesday, 5:30pm at the First United Methodist Church (our old “home”) – a Holiday Potluck and Election of 2016 Officers New Members Tammy Hoier and Mike Todt – Durango Susan Montgomery – Tumwater, WA ____________________________________________________________________________ THE TROWEL AND THE GAVEL A view from the President’s Bench By Larry R. Keller, JD November, 2015 Greetings friends and fellow archaeology enthusiasts: I have chosen to write about two important subjects this month in this column, so I have divided them into separate headings: The Colorado Archaeological Society Code of Ethics in Deed and Word I feel confident that all members of our Hisatsinom Chapter are aware that CAS has a Code of Ethics which is found in the CAS Bylaws. This Code of Ethics, I am informed, has been part of CAS membership since at least the 1990s. Its principles are embodied in every professional archaeological organization of which I am aware. Every time we renew our membership, we are agreeing to abide by this CAS Code of Ethics. Every time we take one of Kevin BIack’s PAAC classes, he requires us to renew our pledge to the Code of Ethics. Given our Chapter members regular association and often partnership with Crow Canyon, the BLM Anasazi Heritage Center and the State Archaeologist’s Office, as well as other organizations, I thought it helpful to remind myself and all of you that it is sometimes not enough to simply agree we will abide by the Code. We should always try to accurately inform and educate others about our standards of ethics relating to archaeology as CAS members. This means that stating in front of others, whether CAS members or not, and whether we are joking or not, that we might bend the ethical rules a little from time to time if it is expedient, is not OK and not what we are about. Our Chapter of CAS offers multiple services to our members (as well as the public at large) such as site surveys, field trips, speakers on archaeology and anthropology, and educational and other services. Even if joking, stating ideas such as we might trespass on the lands of Native American Tribes or private property owners without permission to look for artifacts; or talking about attempting to buy or sell prehistoric artifacts on the Internet and the like, can be misunderstood by others who may see us and our commitment to ethical archaeology as hypocritical. Although I am not a fanatic about “political correctness”, telling or joking with others that we might compromise our ethical standards surrounding archaeology for any reason is something we should never do. When I had the privilege of serving as a state court judge in Utah, I was always conscious of the high ethical standards I was required to maintain. As such, ethics was something that I never suggested I might compromise, even in jest, when others who might misunderstand were around. I feel the same way in my capacity as a member of CAS. Whether we realize it all the time or not, we CAS members are part of the face of archaeology in a mostly rural area that is sometimes hostile to archaeology and archaeologists in general. Accordingly, we share with the professional archaeologists and archaeological organizations we work with the obligation to always encourage the highest ethics when dealing with the general public; again, not just in spirit and deed, but in the way we talk about what we do. The CAS Code of Ethics, in its entirety, states that members of the Society will: Uphold Local, State and Federal antiquities laws; Conduct field and/or laboratory activities using professionally accepted standards; Accept the responsibility, if serving as Principal Investigator, to publish the results of the investigation and to make the collection available for further scientific study; Support only scientifically and legally conducted archaeological activities. Members will not condone the sale, exchange or purchase of artifacts obtained from illegal activities; Respect the property rights of landowners; Report vandalism to appropriate authorities; Be sensitive to the cultural histories and spiritual practices of groups that are the subject of archaeological investigation. As the old 70’s rock song said “Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood”. As enthusiasts and strong supporters of archaeology, let’s never take the chance that others might think we do anything but support our Code of Ethics. It really is who we are and what we are about, and we want to be sure those we encounter as we are out and about know that. I hope I don’t sound too much like I am preaching, but as a Presidential short-timer now, upholding ethics in word as well as deed seems to me to be something worth reminding ourselves about. Report on the CAS Annual Meeting in Durango October 9-11, 2015 It was my privilege to have represented our Chapter at the CAS Annual Meeting in Durango Oct. 9th and 10th hosted by the San Juan Chapter. I congratulated Janice Sheftel, President of SJBAS, on the detailed planning and logistical support her Chapter provided. The Saturday Annual Meeting was held in the Fort Lewis College Student Union Ballroom, which was a perfect venue to accommodate the more than 150 delegates and presenters. Friday night, the Fourth Quarterly Meeting of the State Board of Directors and its Executive Council was held at a Main St. Durango restaurant. The activities of the next day’s Annual Meeting and other routine matters were discussed. Ten of the eleven Chapter Presidents or CAS Reps. were present, and the slate of officers for next year was announced. On Saturday, the same ten of eleven Chapters were represented. Only the Vermillion Chapter out of Craig had no delegates attending. Fifteen speakers presented Power Point programs to the delegates there assembled. All were limited to twenty minutes, except for the evening keynote speaker, Dr. Doug Owsley from the Smithsonian Institute, who spoke on the study of Kennewick man and the methodology used, for over an hour and a half. From our area, Dr. Bruce Bradley spoke about new discoveries in southern South America, most as yet unpublished, that have pushed back the earliest dates for the peopling of South America to at least 14,000 years B.P. We were fortunate to hear from Dr. Bradley, who is on sabbatical from his position as University Professor in the U.K. Fred Blackburn from Cortez spoke about curation of his lifetime of research and collections; David Dove spoke about his latest findings regarding the Mitchell Springs Ruins Group; and Dr. Mark Varien presented on Crow Canyon’s involvement with the Pueblo Farming Project. We delegates learned that once again, our Chapter was the highest seller of raffle tickets for the Alice Hamilton Scholarship Fund.