Indigenous Land Histories and Technology: Internships in Archaeological Survey Methods

Project Lead:

GRIIT Board Member Clarence Cruz (Ohkay Owingeh), Jemez geologist Kevin Madalena, Acoma knapper Daniel Vallo, Jemez THPO Chis Toya, Pojoaque THPO Fermin Lopez, Former Acoma TPHO and UNM Public Archaeology student, Todd Scissons, GRIIT CEO, Jacque Kocer (mixed Hispanic and Native Ancestry from Picuris Pueblo and an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota)

Project Description:

Alfonso Ortiz Center funding will allow GRIIT to host its first internship program for New Mexican undergraduates in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness area at Gallina Canyon Ranch. This area is a vibrant outdoor learning laboratory, rich in cultural resources ancestral to current tribal groups in New Mexico. The internship is a six-week program focusing on archaeological survey methods, introduction to GIS, GPS mapping, artifact analysis, site identification, and documentation. GRIIT holds a 5-year permit with the Santa Fe National Forest to survey this area, encompassing hundreds of undocumented archaeological sites. This survey area was home to the “Gallina” people (A.D. 1100-1300), an understudied Ancestral Puebloan group in the pre-Hispanic Southwest. Past archaeological research has not properly consulted current tribal groups to situate Gallina people both historically and in the present. This 3,600-acre survey area will function as our learning laboratory, providing immersive training for native New Mexican students in collaboration with educators from Tribal communities. This project, located in the heartland of the Gallina region, will enhance our understanding of Gallina lifeways and offer valuable insights into their connections with present-day tribal groups in New Mexico.