Archeology E-gram November 2021

Archeologist Jeremy Sweat is Superintendent of Gateway Arch National Park

Jeremy Sweat has been selected as the newest superintendent of Gateway Arch NP, overseeing operations for both Gateway Arch NP and Ste. Genevieve NHP. He currently serves as division manager for the Intermountain Region’s Planning and Compliance Division.

A 15-year veteran of the NPS, Sweat has a background in resource management and policy at the park, regional and national level, and working with non-profit partners, agencies, and communities toward shared goals. Prior to his work in the regional office, he served as chief of resource management at Bandelier NM, a legislative specialist in the NPS Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, and a policy analyst in the NPS Office of Policy. He also served on detail assignments as Associate Regional Director for Resource Stewardship and Science, deputy superintendent of Rock Creek Park and as district manager for National Capital Parks – East.

Sweat started his NPS career as a seasonal archeological technician at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where he later worked as a management assistant. A native of northeast Tennessee, Sweat earned a BA and MA in anthropology at the University of Tennessee. He will assume his new role in January.

David Barland-Liles is Investigator, NPS National NAGPRA Program

David Barland-Liles is the first full-time investigator for the National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Program. The investigator provides assistance to support the civil penalty responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

Barland-Liles’ career includes 25 years of law enforcement as a park ranger, special agent, and law enforcement program manager. His achievements include an award-winning investigation chronicled by the acclaimed In Effigy training series. Barland-Liles served as the case agent of a team that successfully resolved the theft of indigenous human remains from the museum collection of Effigy Mounds NM by the unit's superintendent in 1990. This purposeful and heinous act circumvented the provisions of NAGPRA and prevented repatriation to descendants for over two decades. Barland-Liles tenacity, innovation, professionalism, and perceptiveness led to a criminal conviction, improved government-to-government relationships with affected Indian Tribes, and proper repatriation and reburial. The team’s efforts were recognized through a special NPS Cotter Award in 2021.

Nomination Period for NPS Cotter Award Now Open

The Cotter Award application period is now open until February 28, 2022. The award recognizes the archeological accomplishments of NPS staff or a partnership researcher within a unit or units of the National Park System. Any NPS employee, participating partner, or non-employee may submit nominations. The Cotter Award recognizes two categories:

Project Achievement. Eligible archeological projects may be a single fixed-year activity or a multi-year effort focused on submerged or terrestrial NPS resources. This honor can be awarded to either an individual person or a group of people, depending on the nature of the project. Focused symposia, multiagency workshop or topical conferences, and publications about park archeological resource issues, as well as outstanding outreach to public audiences and/or descendant communities are eligible.

Professional Achievement. This award is open to candidates with demonstrated long-term service in the NPS, including those who are senior career still-practicing professionals, recently retired, recently deceased (posthumous recognition to their family/colleagues/home parks), and who have recently left after a long period of service.

Nomination forms for the 2021 competition should be submitted through the NPS Awards Portal, which can accessed through the Inside NPS Awards and Recognition page (see link under “Servicewide Awards”). Nominations will be reviewed by the Cotter Award Committee. The recipient of the award is expected to make a presentation of approximately 30 minutes, in person or via webinar, to share their project findings or career highlights.

NPS archeologists created the John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in NPS Archeology to honor the long and distinguished career and pioneering contributions of Dr. John L. Cotter. This award was established as inspiration for student and professional archeologists to continue Dr. Cotter’s model of excellence.

Contact: Adam Freeburg, Cotter Award Committee Chair, [phone]; e-mail us

Lisa Davidson New National Historic Landmarks Program Manager

Lisa Davidson is the new NPS National Historic Landmarks Program Manager. Davidson served as acting program manager for the past year. During this time she led the NHL team in conducting two NHL Committee meetings; advancing the Cold War and labor history theme studies, developing Latino heritage theme study registration guidelines; and issuing the Civil Rights: Racial Discrimination in Housing theme study.

Davidson holds a B.A. in Art History and American Studies from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She has worked with the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) for many years. Her publications include Buildings of Maryland, coauthored with Catherine Lavoie, a forthcoming book in the Society of Architectural Historian’s Buildings of the United States series published by University of Virginia Press.

2020 Appleman-Judd-Lewis Awards

The NPS Director’s Appleman-Judd-Lewis Awards recognize expertise and outstanding contributions to cultural resource stewardship and management by NPS employees. Offered annually, the three awards—one for a park superintendent, one for a facility maintenance specialist, and one for a cultural resource specialist—were created to encourage creativity in cultural resource stewardship, management practices and projects. The award particularly recognizes those that may serve as examples or models for programs service-wide. This year, an archeologist was chosen to receive the Excellence in Cultural Resource Management Award.

Excellence in Cultural Resource Stewardship by Superintendents: Lauren H. Blacik, Superintendent, Pipestone National Monument
Excellence in Cultural Resource Stewardship Through Maintenance: Eric Herrera, Facility Manager, Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve
Excellence in Cultural Resource Management: Nelson Siefkin, Burned Area Emergency Response Coordinator, Fire and Aviation Management, Regions 8, 9, 10 and 12.

Archeological Site recommended as a National Historic Landmark

On October 21, 2021, the National Historic Landmarks Committee recommended the Rock Island Site II, on the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin, for designation as a National Historic Landmark. This site is a relatively rare example of an early Contact period site of Indigenous occupation of the Upper Great Lakes, reflecting intensive participation during the French fur trade. The site is virtually undisturbed, except for areas that were subject to controlled archeological investigation in the early 1970s.

The Rock Island Site II is located on lands occupied by Indigenous peoples for millennia. At various times, it was occupied by several tribal groups including the Huron, Petun, Odawa, and Potawatomi. There is also evidence that French traders lived among Indigenous peoples at this site. The site affords the opportunity to examine archeological questions related to ethnicity and population movement during the fur trade era, a critical time of dynamic change. While the material remains of human occupation have been previously explored through archeological methods, tribal oral traditions may yet provide new perspectives, interpretations, and information about the site’s significance.

The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf:
Ancient Grains: New Evidence of Ancestral Puebloan Use of Domesticated Amaranth (2021) by Michelle I. Turner, Karen R. Adams, Jean N Berkebile, and Abigail R. Dockter, American Antiquity 86(4): 815-832.

Researchers report on the first domesticated amaranth seeds to be identified at a Chacoan great house in Aztec Ruins National Monument. The samples date to the mid to late twelfth century AD. Historical documentation and traditional use demonstrates that amaranth has long been recognized as an important prehispanic resource in the region. The archeological samples expand our understanding of domesticated amaranth in the American Southwest and suggest centuries of continuity of amaranth cultivation within Puebloan communities.

Message From the Archeology E-Gram Staff

For the past 17 years the Archeology E-Gram has provided timely and useful information about training, educational resources, research, and archeological events to archeologists in the NPS, other Federal agencies, and the wider archeological community.

This year, we welcomed Josh Torres as acting WASO Archeology Program manager and DOI Departmental Consulting Archeologist; and thanked Stephanie Stephens for steering the program through the previous year. We saw four archeologists move into superintendent positions: Leslie Morlock at Saratoga NHP; Ron Fields at Arkansas Post National Memorial; Lloyd Masayumptewa at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments; and Jeremy Sweat at Gateway Park NP. In addition, Brenda Todd was named Deputy Superintendent at Badlands NP; and Brandon Bies was named Deputy Superintendent of Acadia NP. We also said goodbye to former NPS Archeologist Ron Ice.

We have now seen nearly two years of the pandemic. Currently, Federal employees are conscientiously performing their duties largely at home while trying to keep family, friends, colleagues, and our nation safe. Despite the pandemic, the E-Gram reported several memorable highlights, including the delightful NPS FriYay Podcast interview with archeologist Emily Caselman about appearing on the television show Naked and Afraid; Ranger Betty Soskin’s 100th birthday (You go, Ranger Betty!); and a feature on Moslem horror films (Halalween!).

The E-Gram staff encourages you to submit news items, training announcements, report titles and summaries for “The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf,” and suggestions for other features. We appreciate all the supportive messages that have been sent during this past year and wish you and your families all the best for the coming year. Wear your mask, social distance, and get vaccinated!

GRANTS AND TRAINING

National Park Service Section 106 Training for 2022
The NPS Cultural Resources Academy has released dates for 2022 Section 106 training. There are several options available for training, including online courses, webinars, and in-class opportunities held at different locations across the country.

Online Training that Meets the Requirement for Superintendents and Facility Managers
The Cultural Resources Academy is offering virtual Section 106 training. This training is for anyone looking to keep their Section 106 skills up to date or for Superintendents and Facility Managers looking to meet their 106 training requirement. Before registering to attend, be sure to keep in mind that each week has a 1.5hr webinar, as well as 1-2hrs of homework to complete.

Online Section 106 Essentials for Students and Interns
If you are looking for a quick summary to brush up on your Section 106 skills, this webinar-based course will provide a good review of the 106 process. It consists of an overview of the requirements of Section 106 presented by the ACHP in an interactive digital classroom using Zoom. The course is presented over two four-hour sessions on two consecutive days.

To learn more, go to the NPS Common Learning Portal at https://mylearning.nps.gov/library-resources/section-106-training/

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: Waffle Gardens (and it’s not what you think!)

From report by Greta Moran, Civil Eats, October 26, 2021
For the past 64 years, Jim Enote has planted a waffle garden, sunken garden beds enclosed by clay-heavy walls that he learned to build from his grandmother. This year, he planted onions and chiles, which he waters from a nearby stream. It’s an Indigenous farming tradition suited for the semi-arid, high-altitude desert of the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, where waffle gardens have long flourished and Enote has farmed since childhood.

“They are the inverse of raised beds, and for an area where it is more arid, they’re actually very efficient at conserving water,” said Enote, who leads the Colorado Plateau Foundation to protect Indigenous land, traditions, and water. Each interior cell of the waffle covers about a square foot of land, just below ground-level, and the raised, mounded earthen walls are designed to help keep moisture in the soil.

The Zuni Pueblo’s region is projected to see more intense droughts and storms in the coming years, intensifying the natural weather patterns. “Climate change will basically just make our extremes even more extreme,” said Kirk Bemis, a hydrologist at the Zuni Tribe Conservation Program. “Most channels and rivers around here are ephemeral, or they just vary, and they really depend on storm events.”

The Backyard Waffle Garden Resurgence

For a stretch of time, Enote was one of very few people who maintained waffle gardens in the Zuni Pueblo. “In the ‘70s, it reached a point where there weren’t hardly any waffle gardens around,” he said. Enote attributes this largely to the tribe’s move to a cash-labor economy, in the mid-20th century, but this began to shift in the late ‘80s and into the ‘90s with a revival of agricultural traditions.

“I think the future for [the pueblo] and agriculture is in our backyard gardens,” said Daniel Bowannie, an environmental technician who runs the Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Program. The program has installed about 100 modified waffle gardens, using wooden planks instead of clay-soil walls. He walks people through the process of building their own gardens. The gardens can cut a family’s need for groceries in half. Along with these benefits, reconnecting with this tradition helps preserve the Zuni language.

Adaptable Across Arid Landscapes

In the el Valle region of New Mexico, Yvonne Sandoval tends to a 20-square-foot square waffle garden. It’s part of the Bueno Para Todos Cooperative as a way to reconnect with Indigenous methods for farming on dry, arid land and to feed the surrounding community.

“In this region, we have really high winds and the air can be really dry, so waffle bed gardens are ideal,” said Sandoval. This summer, the waffle garden brimmed with corn, squash, amaranth, chilies, peas, carrots, tomatoes, and herbs, which was fed entirely by rainwater captured in cisterns and the waffle garden’s sunken beds. This catchment system enabled Sandoval to reduce her dependence on the acequia, the centuries-old irrigation canals that are at risk of running dry.

Of course, even the most effective agricultural methods for conserving water are only one piece of the solution. Protecting natural resources, sacred places, and Indigenous languages that carry agricultural knowledge are also vital for surviving the future of ongoing climate change and biodiversity loss.
“Whether it’s small streams, even springs, they need to be protected because those are always our fallback if modern water delivery systems fail,” says Enote. After all, you only need a spring or cistern to sustain a waffle garden.

To read the full article, go to https://civileats.com/2021/10/26/resurgence-waffle-gardens-helping-indigenous-peoples-thrive-amid-droughts-grow-food-less-water/

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.

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