Interpreting a Temporary Buffalo Soldier Camp in Chiricahua National Monument

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Partners at Work: Promoting Archaeology and Collaboration in the Chiricahua Mountains" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Interpretive park rangers share the stories of Chiricahua National Monument, but sometimes some stories can slip through the cracks. That happened at Faraway Ranch, where one of the chimneys is composed of stones hand carved by Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Bonita Canyon during the "Indian Wars" in the 1880s. While the history of the chimney has been shared on tours, it wasn’t until recently that rangers began to delve into the stories of the soldiers themselves, and share these stories with visitors. Since 2017, rangers have added programs, web pages, and visitor center displays focused on the Buffalo Soldiers, their role in the complicated Indian Wars, and what the men did before and after their time in Bonita Canyon. During African American History Month, a ranger-led walk explored the archaeology site, and incorporated photographs of Buffalo Soldier artifacts found in Bonita Canyon. With the help of the park archaeologist, curators at the Western Archaeological and Conservation Center (WACC) and the Arizona Historical Society and Museum, and the Interpretive Division, the stories of Buffalo Soldiers in southern Arizona have gained a much wider audience.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Partners at Work: Promoting Archaeology and Collaboration in the Chiricahua Mountains   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26241