Working at Our Edges: Managing Traditional Cultural Properties in the Desert Southwest

Summary

The most challenging work begins with federal management of these "historic properties." The term belies that TCPs are managed not only for their physical integrity, but for their intangible, associative values vital to maintaining the contemporary identities of indigenous and other traditional communities. Consequently, rather than merely relying on determinations by agency professionals of issues related to boundaries, integrity, adverse/cumulative effects and mitigation, it becomes imperative that TCP management involve routine consultation and collaboration within the context of agency control of that federal landscape. TCP management also challenges our assumptions about what constitutes "cultural" versus "natural," and our tacit struggle to search for scientific truth or validity within the context of religion. Overlaying and further challenging TCP management are the economic and political interests of diverse stakeholders related to the physical location of the TCP. Illustrative examples include the Colorado River Corridor below Glen Canyon Dam; Rainbow Bridge National Monument; and the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail in Southeast Utah. The power of anthropological research in facilitating understanding is discussed, along with ideas for constructive resolutions that allow for the accommodation by and human rights of indigenous and other traditional communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18794