Conduct Ethnographic Overview and Assessment (EOA) at the Flagstaff Area National Monuments

Description

Dr. T. J. Ferguson and Dr. Diane Austin will serve as Co-Principal Investigators for an Ethnographic Overview and Assessment (EOA) report for the Flagstaff Area National Monuments (FLAG), which include Sunset Crater Volcano (SUCR), Walnut Canyon (WACA), and Wupatki National Monuments (WUPA). UA anthropologists will invite FLAG⿿s thirteen traditionally associated tribes to SUCR, WACA, and WUPA, and interview tribal members about their traditional associations with FLAG landscapes, places and resources, including plants necessary for the continuation of traditional ceremonies. UA will employ a Graduate Research Assistant (.50 FTE ) for two academic years to work with Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Austin on the project. Research with participating tribes is targeted for spring break and summer so that the Graduate Research Assistant can help conduct the field work. It is anticipated that members of the Paiute Consortium and the Western Apache Working Group will conduct joint field work, so eight sessions of field work are budgeted. Each session will entail three days of work with tribal research participants, including travel to and from reservations. Funds are budgeted to support three representatives from each tribe for the field work, which will include site visits at the FLAG monuments. Tribal representatives will be provided a summary of what an ethnographic overview and assessment is and the purpose it serves in facilitating culturally informed and sensitive monument management. The thirteen (13) tribes include Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Havasupai Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, San Carlos Apache Tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Tonto Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Yavapai-Prescott Tribe, and Pueblo of Zuni. The eight (8) research trips grouped by tribes include: Paiute (San Juan Southern Paiute, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians), Apache (San Carlos Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Tonto Apache Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation), Yavapai (Yavapai-Prescott Tribe & Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation), Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Hualapai Tribe, Havasupai Tribe, and the Pueblo of Zuni. An EOA is considered a baseline document as defined in Director⿿s Order 28 (Cultural Resource Management Guidelines) for several reasons: an EOA aids in the development of management plans to identify, document, and protect the full range of the monuments⿿ cultural and natural resources, helping monument staff to make informed evaluations about access to significant resources; demonstrates the cultural significance of certain sites, structures, and natural areas and resources to facilitate their protection and access by associated tribes; develops working relationships with associated tribes; and provides the context for developing specialized ethnographic studies. An EOA will help FLAG meet its obligations under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Threatened and Endangered Species Act, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation⿿s regulations regarding the ⿿Protection of Historic Properties,⿝ the Secretary of Interior⿿s ⿿Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation,⿝ the Wilderness Act, and the ⿿Federal Agency Responsibilities under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act.⿝ Once identified, physical areas of significance will be monitored by monument staff, in consultation with tribes, to ensure their stability. A secondary goal of the project is to determine if places identified during interviews meet eligibility requirements to be listed with the National Register of Historic Places as Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs). If this is the case and the tribes consent, the UA anthropologists will also write and submit at least one National Register nomination. Underlying and central to the project is facilitating the connection of tribes with the monuments and providing an ethnographic report in a manner that is accessible to the tribes themselves for the education of their youth, and to monument staff and visitors, researchers and managers, and interpreters/educators as appropriate without revealing sensitive information. The project deliverables include a written report, photographs, and copies of interviews in a format agreed upon by monument management and the PIs, and maps detailing all findings. The EOA report will include a summary of tribal knowledge related to FLAG monuments⿿ resources and landscapes; descriptions of historical and contemporary resource uses and meanings; traditional resource management and recommendations for mitigation of climate change impacts; potential future requests related to plant gathering; a bibliography; and recommendations for future studies. In addition to an inclusive written report, UA anthropologists will also produce a shorter layperson report of the findings and a PowerPoint presentation, excluding any sensitive information, summarizing the findings for management use, as well as public education. The training of a student(s) in ethnographic interview and recording methods, making ethnographic information more accessible to tribes and monument staff in a layperson report uploaded to the SUCR, WACA, and WUPA websites, and the PowerPoint presentation fulfill the public purpose of this project.

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