[OR_Archaeology] Fwd: Re: Interesting article in Bend Bulletin newspaper features pictographs in Mil

[Jeff LaLande]

Agreed.

I'm certainly no specialist in rock art (and thus could well be in error
here), but I've been led to believe that, on the whole, well preserved,
painted pictographs generally tend to more recent than many of central
Oregon's pecked petroglyphs, and thus many of them could well be within the
time span of the "Numic spread."

Compared to many newspaper articles on archaeological topics, this one
seemed quite informative, well within the bounds of a "reasonable degree of
accuracy," and - just as important when dealing with journalism aimed at the
general public -- a good message for why vandalism to rock-art sites should
not be tolerated.

Further, Mr. Allison's apparent hope for un-named other archaeologists to
write some sort of 'review article" (rebuttal?) to the Bend newspaper's
piece of the Millican rock-art site might more appropriately be taken on by
Mr. Allison himself.  Obviously, if he feels strongly enough about this
subject, there's nothing to prevent him, as an individual, from writing his
own letter-to-the-editor of the Bend *Bulletin*.   I would expect that,
with his store of knowledge and experience,  a well-written letter, backed
up by judicious use of the vailable evidence, and composed in a manner to be
understood and appreciated by the lay reader, would be well within his
professional capability.  If so, he might take care not to attribute any
alleged "errors" to the newspaper's reporter, but instead to those whom she
interviewed and to the original National Register of Historic Places
nomination that was prepared for the site.

Respectfully,

Jeff LaLande

On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 1:19 PM, Paul Claeyssens <pclaeyssens at fs.fed.us>wrote:

>
> While academically interesting to some, I would think the Northern Paiute
> (be they at Warm Springs, Burns Colony or with the Klamath) would find such
> statements, especially coming from an archaeological list-serve, as
> culturally offensive and insensitive.
>
>
>
>   *"Susan White" <susan.white at state.or.us>*
> Sent by: or_archaeology-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
>
> 08/25/2009 02:24 PM
>    To
> "Archaeology Listserv Oregon" <OR_Archaeology at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
> cc
>   Subject
> [OR_Archaeology] Fwd: Re: Interesting article in Bend        Bulletin
>  newspaper features pictographs in Mil
>
>
>
>
> >>> "j. a" <johnvallison at yahoo.com> 8/24/2009 7:42 PM >>>
> I think that this article needs to be subject to a review article based
> upon what is known about the time-frame of the expansion of the
> Numic-speaking peoples into that is known to have been the long-standing
> territory of the Klamath peoples since at least 10,000 years ago. The
> date for the entry of the Numic peoples is address in a number of works,
> see especially Theodore Stern, Chiefs and Chief Traders and Young and
> Bettinger, The Numic Spread; and for the relation of the Klamaths to the
> area see Tom Connolly's work on basketry of the Ft. Rock Basin. The new
> article then should be sent to the same audience to address the errors
> which attribute these sites to Paiutes rather than to Klamath people.
> This is not to say that these sites are not of importance to all Indian
> peoples, but just to attribute the work to those who did it.
> John Allison
>
> --- On Mon, 8/24/09, Susan White <susan.white at state.or.us> wrote:
>
>
> From: Susan White <susan.white at state.or.us>
> Subject: [OR_Archaeology] Interesting article in Bend Bulletin
> newspaper features pictographs in Millican Valley
> To: "Archaeology Listserv Oregon"
> <OR_Archaeology at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
> Date: Monday, August 24, 2009, 8:51 AM
>
>
>
> http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090822/NEWS0107/908220383/0/NEWS01
>
>
> Protecting our ancient pictographs
> Site in Millican Valley is now listed on National Register of Historic
> Places
>
> By Hillary Borrud / The Bulletin
> Published: August 22. 2009 4:00AM PST
>
> Over the last century, vandals damaged pictographs at an American
> Indian spiritual site in the Millican Valley by drawing on top of them
> with chalk, among other things. Now, some people hope the site’s
> listing on the National Register of Historic Places will help protect
> it.
>
> In the 1950s, Minerva Soucie’s parents often stopped at an American
> Indian spiritual site in the Millican Valley, where they showed their
> children the pictographs that Northern Paiute people painted hundreds
> of
> years ago.
>
> “It was a place (where) people come and look for direction, or to be
> used maybe in a spiritual quest process for their lives,” said
> Soucie,
> who is a Burns Paiute tribal elder. Her father explained the meaning
> of
> some paintings, although others were a mystery.
>
> “It was in very good condition when I was a child,” Soucie said.
>
> Two decades later, she saw that change. People damaged the site during
> what appeared to be parties.
>
> “I liked going there until I went one time and it was vandalized,”
> Soucie said. “It looked like there were panels trying to be chipped
> off, and that to me was a desecration of our teachings or our
> spiritual
> way of life.”
>
> After years of work by local archeologists and other concerned people,
> the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in
> mid-July.
>
> Soucie and others said they hope the new status, which is relatively
> rare for archeological sites in Oregon, will bring heightened public
> awareness of its importance and encourage people in the area to keep
> an
> eye out for vandals.
>
> Paiute Indians, who are associated with the Confederated Tribes of
> Warm
> Springs, the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Klamath Tribes, continue to
> use
> the site today. The site is on private property, and the owners played
> an integral role in seeking the historic designation for the site, but
> they could not be reached for comment.
>
> Archeological sites
>
> Cara Kazer, an architectural historian in the State Historic
> Preservation Office, said Oregon has about 33,000 known archeological
> sites, but only between 120 and 130 of those are listed on the
> National
> Register of Historic Places.
>
> “It’s pretty rare that we list an archeological site,” Kazer
> said.
>
> Oregon has 1,902 listings on the National Register of Historic Places,
> and 34 of them are in Deschutes County.
>
> The site’s place on the national register, which is maintained by
> the
> National Park Service, will add to existing protections for
> archeological sites under Oregon law, said Susan Lynn White, assistant
> state archeologist with the State Historic Preservation Office.
>
> For example, it is a misdemeanor for a person to remove an
> archaeological object or “excavate, injure, destroy or alter” an
> archaeological site or object in Oregon without a permit from the
> state.
> Another law protects American Indian graves and objects.
>
> The location of the site is not being identified more specifically by
> The Bulletin to protect the artifacts. The State Historic Preservation
> Office also redacted large sections of the draft nomination form
> before
> releasing it to The Bulletin, citing the need to keep the exact
> location
> of the pictographs secret.
>
> History of the site
>
> In prehistoric times, the Millican Valley east of Bend was covered at
> one point by a large lake. Water in the area fluctuated over time,
> creating marshes and other water features.
>
> The water attracted people to the area, although they spent less time
> there as the water dried up.
>
> The pictographs, which were mostly done with red paint, probably date
> from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1900, “When access to the site by the Paiute
> became limited due to their removal to reservations and further
> intrusions by Euroamerican settlers,” according to the nomination
> form
> released by the State Historic Preservation Office.
>
> People who stopped at the area might have been hunting, trading or
> traveling to Northern Paiute gatherings. But in addition to practical
> aspects such as water at the site, people also considered it a
> powerful
> spiritual site, as the pictographs indicate.
>
> The latest paintings at the site were probably created by Northern
> Paiute people who moved into Central Oregon within the last 1,000
> years,
> although there is also faded pigment underneath some of these that
> could
> come from earlier paintings and suggests people used the area even
> earlier, according to the nomination form.
>
> Images include human and animal stick figures, lizards, tally marks
> and
> abstract paintings such as grids, zigzags, chevrons and ladder
> figures,
> according to the nomination form.
>
> One image consists of two red-tailed circles with yellow centers and
> two yellow dots.
>
> “The tailed circles suggest meteorological phenomena, especially
> lightning, which represented a source of strong and dangerous
> spiritual
> power for the Northern Paiute,” according to the form.
>
> “The highly abstract drawings of mazes, rectilinear grids and rakes,
> and stylized spirit figures of humans and animals likely reflect
> dreams
> and visions associated with the acquisition of guardian spirits. ...
> Some may represent hunting magic or the record of a successful hunt;
> others suggest the more powerful spirit helpers of shamans who could
> cure illness, control weather, or direct the communal antelope
> hunt.”
>
> A large boulder shows grinding wear, polish and other marks that
> indicate people used it to grind plant foods, as well as possibly
> butchering animals and preparing hides.
>
> Vandalism
>
> Graffiti and other vandalism of the site include initials that people
> scratched into the rock and bullet holes in one animal pictograph,
> although the bullet holes were the only direct damage to a painting.
>
> Since the 1920s, visitors outlined the images with chalk to make them
> more visible for photography, and the chalk was offensive to American
> Indians who use the site, according to the nomination form. In 1988,
> members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs restored the
> pictographs by removing the chalk with water and brushes.
>
> Many of the paintings are faint and difficult to see, said Pat
> Kliewer,
> the former historic preservation planner for Deschutes County.
>
> “It depends on the time of day and lighting whether you can see them
> at all,” Kliewer said. “It’s really important that people never
> touch them.” Even brushing against the images with clothing could
> damage them, Kliewer added.
>
> Soucie, the Burns Paiute tribal elder, started working to protect
> cultural resources in the 1980s, after she saw that happened to the
> Millican Valley pictograph site. Now, she hopes the historic
> designation
> will help protect the site.
>
> “I think having it on the federal register will help preserve the
> site,” Soucie said. “I believe that the rock art that was left was
> from people long, long ago, and they were trying to provide us with
> direction.”
>
> Hillary Borrud can be reached at 541-617-7829 or at
> hborrud at bendbulletin.com.
>
> Published Daily in Bend Oregon by Western Communications, Inc. © 2008
> www.bendbulletin.com
>
>
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