Ashleigh Thompson, Director of Tribal Collaboration at Archaeology Southwest, interviewed Dr. Doreen Bird (Kewa Pueblo) about the importance of protecting cultural landscapes. Bio: Doreen Bird, PhD, MPH is from Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico. She has worked for the protection of sacred places such as Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Bears Ears Monument in Utah, Mauna…

Deanna Byrd, NAGPRA Liaison Coordinator, Historic Preservation Department, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma  Here at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, I serve our community in the role of NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) Liaison. For the last four years we have actively researched and reached out to hundreds of institutions across the United…

Who We Are We are professional archaeologists and resource managers with career and organizational commitments to the protection and appropriate uses of heritage sites and objects—places and things inherited from the past and still valued today. The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Archaeology Southwest are dedicated to the proposition that archaeological and historical…

Archaeological sites are fragile and non-renewable. The impacts of our visits to sites can add up to significant damage. But there are ways to appreciate these special places and preserve them for future generations.   “I always stress respect. Everything is a sacred, living entity. Everything has a spirit… Every place you go should be…

  “Archaeological sites being ‘abandoned’ doesn’t mean that they’re abandoned in the spiritual world. They are still a part of this culture. Tangible aspects were left there so that people don’t forget.” Kenny Bowekaty, as told to Stacy Ryan   Kenny Bowekaty is from the Pueblo of Zuni and has worked as an archaeologist for…

  “Native people have been dealing with desecration of not only our homelands but our burials and our sacred places for ages and ages and ages. It’s nothing new to us.” Pete Coffey, as told to the Art Bust podcast   In 2014, Pete Coffey–One Feather received gruesome news about human remains recovered from an…