Evil spirits in The Darkness

Real Life Native American Demons Wreak Havoc In 'The Darkness'

By Jancy RichardsonYou guys. I'm super stoked to share this exclusive footage from Blumhouse Tilt's newest venture The Darkness with you. The horror powerhouse that brought The Purge, Insidious, The Conjuring, and Sinister into our lives is teaming up with Wolf Creek director Greg McLean to create The Darkness, a dark horror tale about an autistic kid unleashing something that should have been left in Native American history....

Check out the trailer for The Darkness (if you can handle tension)!

Comment:  I think we have a winner for the millionth movie to feature evil Indian spirits that come back to life. With an image of what looks like a Hopi snake dancer, something completely different that has nothing to do with evil spirits.



"They curse you"

More images suggest how the movie stereotypes Native culture and history as dark and accursed. A computer screen:



A girl with Native-style handprints:



And the Indians' evil spelled out:



I'm not sure anyone knows more about The Darkness than what's in the trailer. So we can't tell how stereotypical the movie is. But I'll stick with my rule of thumb: the stereotyping is always worse than what you see or hear initially.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Murder Digs Deep in Murder, She Wrote

An old episode of Murder, She Wrote (airdate: December 29, 1985) features a Native theme:

Murder, She Wrote: Murder Digs DeepJessica visits Cabot Cove's Dr. Seth Hazlitt at a New Mexico archaeological dig, with the idea of getting story ideas from the experience. The site is full of colorful characters, from the gold-digging Gideon Armstrong and his young wife, Cynthia, Southwest University professor Dr. Stan Garfield, TV celebrity Dr. Aubrey Benton, and the conflicted Raymond Two Crows, who both helps and hinders the dig. They're excavating in an Anasazi village, and perhaps Coronado's legendary city of gold. On a night after gold is found in the dig, Cynthia shoots at the "vengeful spirit" who shows up every night to drive out the grave diggers. The "spirit" falls back from the ledge, where the camp finds Raymond, dead on the ground. He wasn't shot, but it's not clear if his fall was really fatal, or if he died by other means. Jessica digs in, with the help of Dr. Seth, uncovering the truth behind the personalities, and the dig site itself.This episode has some good bits but more bad bits.

On the plus side, they're supposedly excavating at Gran Quivira, which is a real place:

Gran QuiviraThe Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is the biggest of the three units at 611 acres. Prior to Spanish contact, Gran Quivira was a vast city with multiple pueblos, and kivas.Gran Quivira isn't a site of the "Anasazi," now called Ancestral Puebloans. But it is a site of the Anasazi's descendants, so we're talking about similar cultures.

It's almost due south of Santa Fe, not due east. But at least it's in the same general area--i.e., north-central New Mexico.

It's not on Navajo land, but Navajo land isn't that far away. Navajos may have lived there before they were herded onto reservations. A Navajo might be concerned about white men digging on former Navajo territory.

So the details are wrong, but not terribly wrong. Since most TV shows put imaginary tribes in places where they never existed, this is better than average. So far.

On the other hand

Then there's the minus side. The archaeologists claim they're seeking "Coronado's legendary city of gold," which is ridiculous. That city never existed and nobody believes it did.

If it did exist, it wouldn't be in a known Pueblo village. We have historical accounts of Spaniards visiting Gran Quivira. They didn't find gold there or in any other Pueblo village.

I don't think archaeologists have found more than a couple of gold artifacts, if any, north of Mexico. To find two in one day is even more ridiculous. And the artifacts are perfectly preserved, not encrusted with dirt and pitted with corrosion. That's beyond ridiculous.

Then there's Raymond Two Crows. As another fansite notes about the archaeological party:

S02E11–Murder Digs DeepLater that night when they are all sitting around eating dinner they are rudely interrupted by a Native American standing on the hill above them, dancing and chanting. Karen informs JB that he appears at the same time every night, trying to scare them away from the dig, but by the time the guards get up to him he is gone. Forget Indiana Jones, this episode is a Great Dane away from becoming an episode of Scooby Doo.

The onlookers are pretty sure it's Two Crows, but how is this even an issue? Either someone sees him leave, or everyone but him is present. Either way, there's no mystery.

And the idea that his act would scare people...ridiculous. The onlookers think it's ridiculous too...but even in that context, it's ridiculous. You do an act, people laugh at you...so you continue doing it? Not unless you're in a Scooby Doo cartoon.

As it turns out, this "Navajo" isn't what he seems. That explains his in-story mistakes, but not why the others tolerate his "evil spirit" routine. Either put a guard on Two Crows or stake out the ledge and his act ends immediately.

All in all, Murder Digs Deep is a typical Native-themed TV episode. It's a sincere attempt to present a Native story with a mixed bag of results. It could be better, could be worse.

You can read the rest of the plot in these reviews, including this one:

Season 2: Murder Digs Deep

And visit IMDB for the credits:

Murder Digs Deep

Valley of Fire State Park

After visiting my family Christmas Day in Las Vegas, I spent Dec. 26 in Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park. Unlike national parks such as Zion, Bryce, and Arches, Valley of Fire has a fair amount of Native lore.

Valley of Fire State ParkThe Valley of Fire derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago. Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape.

Other important rock formations include limestones, shales, and conglomerates. Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Basket Maker people and later the Anasazi Pueblo farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley.

The span of approximate occupation has been dated from 300 B.C.E. to 1150 C.E. Their visits probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited the length of their stay. Fine examples of rock art left by these ancient peoples can be found at several sites within the park.Leaving Las Vegas….Thursday, again after a trip through Subway for sandwiches, we drove east on I-15 for about an hour to the Moapa Travel Plaza Exit. From there, it’s an easy 15 miles or so to the West Entrance to the Valley of Fire State Park. And, yes, the park is open on Thanksgiving day. What I hadn’t seen yet, and had been meaning to check out, were the thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs located in the park, only an hour east of town! Sites here have been dated between 300 B.C. to 1150 A.D. and possibly older. The narrow canyon leading to “Mouse’s Tank” contains one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs I’ve seen in one place. Think Sand Island, Newspaper Rock, Horseshoe Canyon and The Procession Panel–linked together.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, have ingested enough secondhand smoke, and need some peace and quiet, I’d recommend a day (or more) at Valley of Fire. You’ll find quiet, private campsites, a well done, informative visitor center and a long weekend’s worth of desert hiking. Bring your camera and binoculars. Some of the rock art panels are up high and you’ll want magnification. A side-note to fellow Star Trek fans: This is the place where Captain Kirk died in Star Trek Generations!Comment:  This is one of the best parks I've visited--roughly equal to Zion, Bryce, Arches, Monument Valley, and Red Rock Canyon. It's well worth a day trip if you visit Las Vegas.

22nd annual World Atlatl Contest

Contestants throw themselves into atlatl competition at Valley of Fire

By Keith Rogers“I kind of like the idea of what people used to do to survive,” he said, smiling at his wife, Judy, who was standing at the base of Atlatl Rock, pronounced “aht-LAHT-’l.” The towering landmark 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas is where Anasazi hunters etched images of these throwing sticks in the rock wall’s black varnish more than 2,000 years ago.

“I have visions of grandeur of being a great hunter who can deliver a glancing blow,” Davis quipped. “I said, ‘Honey I’ve taken a mastodon down before with an atlatl.’ I think she believed me.”

In reality, Davis was new to the sport that for 22 years has drawn veteran dart hurlers from the World Atlatl Association to the park for their annual contest.

Some were competing in rounds Friday not far from where Davis and a dozen visitors participated in a demonstration.

The event continued with final rounds Saturday in which Carey McCormack was named grand champion. About 40 men, women and children took part in the contest.Comment:  Who knew there was a World Atlatl Association or a World Atlatl Contest and Endurance Challenge? Not me!

For more on the atlatl, see Montana Atlatl Enthusiasts.

Below:  "Derek Brockway, of Las Vegas, readies his atlatl throw Friday at the World Atlatl Contest and Endurance Challenge at Valley of Fire State Park." (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Lost Mesa in Fablehaven

Debbie Reese dissects another children's book in her American Indians in Children's Literature blog:

Brandon Mull's Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow PlagueA few weeks ago, I pointed to stereotypes in Brandon Mull's Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star. Today, I'm pointing to problems in his Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague.The protagonist Kendra, who is one of the "Knights of the Dawn," seeks to recover a hidden artifact.That assignment takes her to the "Lost Mesa preserve" (p. 94) in Arizona which is on Navajo land. ... In chapter 7, Kendra and the other knights arrive at Lost Mesa. Here's the illustration at top of that page:


As Reese notes, Lost Mesa is obviously based on the real Taos Pueblo (below).

According to the book, the Navajo reservation was supposedly created to hide Lost Mesa. Even worse, "Persian magi actually established the preserve" before the Europeans arrived. The "Anasazi" and later the Pueblo and Navajo people only "managed" the "preserve" for its magical inhabitants.

There's more, but this is enough of an insult. It reinforces the typical Eurocentric belief that Indians didn't accomplish anything themselves. Native civilizations must've been built by lost races of white men or space aliens. Indians were only "savages" who couldn't do much more than grunt and kill people.

Actually, the Pueblos and their ancestors must've built hundreds of Pueblo-style structures throughout the Southwest over the last millennium. That demonstrates how unmagical and unremarkable the architectural skill was. It's ridiculous to turn an ordinary but "exotic" culture into a fairy-tale place inhabited by wizards or whatever.

For more on lost civilizations, see Indiana Jones's Criminally Bad Archaeology and "Light Beam" from Maya Pyramid.

False Kiva in Motion

I caught an episode of Motion, "a daily outdoor exercise and activity program," on TV Sunday. Apparently Motion is a syndicated show where the host and guests hike through national parks and other scenic places.

This episode featured Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The centerpiece was a stop at False Kiva, an "Anasazi" site in the park.

Here's the segment:

False Kiva



And the Wikipedia entry for False Kiva:False Kiva is a human-made stone circle of unknown origin in a cave in a remote area of the Canyonlands National Park, which is located in U.S. state of Utah. It requires some hiking knowledge or special directions to find.

It has become a popular spot for photographers capturing the Southwest, offering a unique frame for the dramatic thunderstorms or clear skies beyond.

Origin

While located in a naturally occurring cave, the name False Kiva arises from the uncertainty around the circle of stones' origins and purpose, not whether it is really an authentic kiva.

Disclosure controversy

Debate rages on whether to disclose the exact location of False Kiva as it enjoys a semi-protected status. While park rangers are required to disclose the location of the Class II site, it does not appear on official maps of the park. Because of the remoteness of the location, the site itself is not protected from vandalism of any kind.

However, local guides are available to take interested parties to the site, raising questions as to whether closely guarding the location of False Kiva is particularly effective.

The exact coordinates for False Kiva are occasionally divulged on forums, but GPS users should be aware that these exact directions can place hikers 500 feet directly above False Kiva. Moreover, the trail to False Kiva is unmarked and can take up to three hours of hiking to reach.Other websites leave the "unknown origin" muddled:

False KivaThis Ancestral Puebloan or Anasazi structure in Canyonlands National Park, while round in shape, contains no evidence indicating it was an actual kiva, and hence the name. The time of construction and use appears to have been c.1050 AD to c.1300 AD.Quiet and Alone at False Kiva in Canyonlands National ParkContrary to what one might think, the site is not an Anasazi ruin, it is actually a Pueblo Indian ruin. The rangers at the visitor center told me that it was dated around 1350 A.D.Tidbits from Motion

Some observations from the show:

Host Greg Aiello doesn't reveal the location, but emphasizes that you can find it by asking or investigating.

Aiello uses the term "Anasazi," which is politically incorrect but still commonplace. The preferred term is "Ancestral Puebloan."

Aiello says photographers may have built up the structure to make it more photogenic, which would be lame if true.

Aiello doesn't offer much Indian lore, but does say the Anasazi eventually moved away. That's a refreshing change from the sources that say they "mysteriously disappeared." If the region was hit by drought, the most common theory, of course the people moved away. They didn't just shrivel up and die because they were too primitive to think of a solution.

False Kiva also provided the Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 29, 2008:



For more on the Anasazi, see Indians in Ace in the Hole and 2010 Christmas Pix.

Indians in Ace in the Hole

Kirk Douglas stars in this 1951 movie with a Native subtext:

Ace in the Hole

By Christopher NullBilly Wilder made Ace in the Hole as a follow-up to the acclaimed Sunset Boulevard, essentially writing his own ticket in Hollywood. The story he opted to make was a cruel indictment of the American media, one which has only become more accurate and biting over the years. The film opens with reporter Chuck Tatum, a refugee from big city newspapers who's now stuck in a desolate New Mexico town. Desperate to get back on top (and earn enough money to feed his drinking habit), he stumbles upon the perfect story after toiling away for a miserable year in the sticks: A treasure hunter (a looter, if you will) has gotten stuck in a cave-in in some old Indian caves. Guy in a well: That'll sell papers, right?

What follows is genius, as Tatum engineers the story to be far bigger than it really is: He colludes with a rescue engineer, a smarmy sheriff, and the wife (Jan Sterling) of the trapped caver to ensure that he's kept in the earth as long as possible. Rather than simply shore up some of the cave passages (Tatum can actually crawl to within a few feet of the guy), he convinces everyone to dig a new tunnel all the way to our poor trapped victim. This gives Tatum time to write more stories, sell them at top dollar to other newspapers, become a major celebrity in his own right, and land piles of cash.

Naturally, he's going to lose his soul in the process. The only question is how soon, and how badly.Ace in the Hole

By Ed GonzalezThe film's genius is the metaphoric impact the pressure outside the cave has on the inside; as the immorality escalates, Leo inches closer to death. And as the drill moves in on the man, its incessant sound serves to punish the people who've deliberately prolonged his suffering. "Why shouldn't we get something out of it," says someone at one point. This is the film's mantra of greed, and Ace in the Hole allowed Wilder to question the very nature of human interest stories and the twisted relationship between the American media and its public. More than 50 years after the film's release, when magazines compete to come up with the cattiest buzz terms and giddily celebrate the demise of celebrity relationships for buffo bucks, Ace in the Hole feels more relevant than ever.The Native aspects

Ace in the Hole (film)The film set constructed outside Gallup was the largest non-combat set ever constructed at the time. It measured 235 feet (72 m) high, 1,200 feet (370 m) wide, and 1,600 feet (490 m) deep and included the ancient cliff dwelling, collapsed cave, roadside stands, parking lots, and the carnival site. More than 1,000 extras and 400 cars were utilized in the crowd scenes. After the film was completed, Paramount charged admission to the set.The cave extends from the rear of a Puebloan-style ruin into the mountain behind it. This ruin looked real to me. I was half-wondering if they'd drilled a hole through an old ruin.

I ruled this out because 1) I figured Indian ruins were protected even in 1951, and 2) the ruin was sitting out in the open, at ground level. Most ancestral Puebloan ("Anasazi") ruins are in hidden alcoves or halfway up cliffs.

The rest of the premise--that ancestral Puebloans dug tunnels into mountains and hid treasure there--is phony. So is the claim that the peak, called the "Mountain of the Seven Vultures," is cursed. But no one in a position of authority confirms these claims. We can believe the white man invented them after the Indians were gone.

Tatum certainly doesn't believe there's a treasure or curse. He exploits the legends to write his ticket out of Albuquerque and back to the big leagues.

Other Indian bits:

A couple of Navajos appear in the background as Tatum arrives in town.

Tatum passes a man who appears to be an Indian working a newspaper press. He calls the man "chief" initially but later treats him like anyone else.

Tatum asks a couple of locals--Indians or Latinos--if they'll enter the cave and rescue the trapped man. They say no because of the curse.

As tourists show up to see the spectacle, it turns into a "big carnival" (the title the film was released under). Hucksters set up teepees and pose for pictures dressed as Plains chiefs. Boys "play Indian" and shoot toy arrows. It's plausible that this would happen in a circus-like situation where Indians were involved.

Reviews

More from Wikipedia:At the time of its release, critics found little to admire. In his review in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther called it "a masterly film" but added, "Mr. Wilder has let imagination so fully take command of his yarn that it presents not only a distortion of journalistic practice but something of a dramatic grotesque . . . [it] is badly weakened by a poorly constructed plot, which depends for its strength upon assumptions that are not only naïve but absurd. There isn't any denying that there are vicious newspaper men and that one might conceivably take advantage of a disaster for his own private gain. But to reckon that one could so tie up and maneuver a story of any size, while other reporters chew their fingers, is simply incredible."

The Hollywood Reporter called it "ruthless and cynical...a distorted study of corruption and mob psychology that...is nothing more than a brazen, uncalled-for slap in the face of two respected and frequently effective American institutions--democratic government and the free press."I guess the media couldn't handle the idea of a corrupt and venal media in 1951. Modern audiences and critics are more open to the idea, and thus the movie:Nathan Lee of The Village Voice wrote, "Here is, half a century out of the past, a movie so acidly au courant it stings."

Time Out London wrote, "As a diatribe against all that is worst in human nature, it has moments dipped in pure vitriol." TV Guide called it "a searing example of writer-director Billy Wilder at his most brilliantly misanthropic" and adds, "An uncompromising portrait of human nature at its worst, the film . . . stands as one of the great American films of the 1950s."Ace in the Hole has a few flaws, but overall it's a fine movie. Rob's rating: 8.5 of 10.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

2010 Christmas pix

Christmas--December 25, 2010

On the way to Las Vegas, I visited the Calico Early Man Archaeological Site. Oddly, "early man" doesn't necessarily mean "Indian." See the album to find out why.



Christmas--December 26, 2010

Christmas--December 27, 2010

On the way back, I spend the day at Red Rock Canyon. Indians used to live there, though I didn't see many signs of them. But the scenery was spectacular.



For more Christmas photos, see 2009 Christmas Pix.

Rock art = 3rd-grade doodling?

Ancient sketches graffiti or art?

By Lee Benson[T]he announcement this week from the State Capitol of an agreement hammered out after months and years of discussion among numerous public and private agencies, including apparently everyone but the BCS, which protects the rock artwork in Nine Mile Canyon from natural gas developers gave me pause when I saw some photos of the endangered rock artwork.

What's the big deal? I found myself thinking. If any of this gets lost we can put some third graders to work on nearby unmarked rocks.

I am aware that such thinking constitutes blasphemy among lovers of ancient Indian pictographs, so let me quickly apologize to them for not seeing what they are seeing and not appreciating what they are appreciating.

But I am only being honest here. I am one of the worst artists in the world and I could draw sheep on roller skates and men with no necks as well as the ones on those rocks. Maybe better.Naturally, some commenters took umbrage with this article:Anonymous | 12:40 a.m. Jan. 8, 2010

wow that might be the worst article ive ever read.

its kinda like saying why do we still preserve the pyramids in egypt, we could obviously build better ones now, so whats the big deal.

Anonymous | 7:21 a.m. Jan. 8, 2010

Wow, how short-sighted. "Beautiful" or not, much of the "rock art" in Nine Mile is religously significant to many Native Americans, especially the Hopi who consider it sacred. But who cares what they think and feel, right?

Although by now it shouldn't be, it still surprises me when people from a state who take such pride in their history and religion have absolutely no respect for those of others.

Kat Johnson | 8:21 a.m. Jan. 9, 2010

Shame, shame, shame on the writer of this column, and the editors of this paper, for the publication of this disrespectful and racist article. Yes, of course, we must always have "Freedom of Speech", always, and humor, too, but this crosses the line into a dark no-man's land of bigotry and prejudice. The Deseret News appears to be thumbing its collective nose at Native American religious belief...and Native Americans themselves.

This article will likely make national news, and once again, Utah will be in the limelight...not for any positive reason.

Again, shame, shame, shame on you!

Robert | 10:23 a.m. Jan. 9, 2010

Our history is replete with similar examples of short sighted thnking where the true power, financial gain, always trumps art, history, culture or anything else that stands in its way.

MM | 12:21 p.m. Jan. 9, 2010

Q: How can a person be racist in 700 words or less?
A: Read this article.

I guess you get what you paid for.

Anita | 1:29 p.m. Jan. 9, 2010

You look down on the things that are sacred to the Native Americans and their destruction would mean nothing to you. I think you would feel differently if it were something cherished by your family and culture. Shame on you. These things are precious and should be protected. They are all that is left of their ancestors.

Disappointed | 2:08 p.m. Jan. 9, 2010

I (an American Indian) am very disappointed in your third grade insight, Lee. I thought you had better knowledge, judgment, and insight. People like you have a very superficial view of the Indigenous peoples of this area whom preceded you and your people.

Phillip Gottfredson - Oregon | 2:42 p.m. Jan. 9, 2010

I am not Native American and yet I find your words arrogant, offensive and racist. And ditto to the church owned newspaper for allowing such to be printed.Comment:  The article didn't include examples of Nine Mile Canyon's rock art, but it's probably similar to the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs at the top of this blog.

The Indians who created the rock art may not have considered it sacred or even artful--but since we'll never know, it's stupid to speculate about it. If today's Indians consider it important, that's enough of a reason to preserve it.

Benson has set up a false dichotomy: The rock art is either great art or worthless graffiti. It's quite possible the truth is somewhere in-between. The rock art is clearly a form of communication and it may include important cultural or historical markers.

If we had a whole library of such markers, it might not be so critical to protect this rock art. But since we have only a tiny fraction of these people's heritage left, it's vital to preserve every bit of it.

And to answer Benson's charge directly: If scrawled graffiti was all we had left of Western civilization after it disappeared, I'd say it would be vital to preserve that too. The same would be true of any messages from a lost or little-known people. Save 'em all.

For more on the subject, see Rock Art Inspires Nevada Artists and Rock Art in the 'Burbs.

Below:  Another example of rock art (not from Nine Mile Canyon).

Looters vow to keep looting

A town's love of Indian artifacts backfires

By Helen O'NeillIt is a felony to take any artifact, even a fragment, from public land. There are also laws requiring the repatriation of human remains and sacred ceremonial artifacts to tribes.

But laws can't change attitudes or traditions, or make much of a dent in the thriving black market where prehistoric Indian artifacts can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. And in the vast cliffs and mesas of the Four Corners region, where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico intersect, where a handful of rangers from the National Parks Service and the Bureau of Land Management oversee millions of acres, enforcement is practically impossible.

Archeologists like Hurst say it's up to them to try and educate people, to change "hearts and minds." But there are many who believe the arrests have only hardened the very hearts and minds that need to change.

"I'm not against them enforcing the laws, but why do they have to kill us at the same time," says Austin Lyman, a case worker at the senior center, who has vehement opinions about the raids, and his own unique way of expressing them:

"Like Jackals from hell they came,
With bullet proof vests and guns,
They came to arrest old men."

Lyman, a burly, ruddy-faced man of 62, penned "Paradise Has Been Raided Again" on June 10, the day of the raids. He reads it aloud, eyes burning, voice cracking with emotion.On the other hand:But many Navajo, who believe that for over a century their ancestors' graves have been looted for private gain, have a very different view.

In his gallery in Bluff, 25 miles south of Blanding, Curtis Yanito delicately polishes a traditional, handcrafted cedar flute as he ponders the past and the people who want to own it.

Soft-spoken and deliberate, the 42-year-old Navajo artist has no sympathy for pot-hunters or collectors or even archeologists. He is impatient with those who argue that digging used to be legal; slavery was once legal, too, he says.

Yanito's gallery is filled with beautifully crafted contemporary pieces--traditional blankets and bowls, sand paintings and jewelry, most of it handmade by Yanito's extended family. There are no prehistoric pots or arrowheads. Yanito wouldn't dream of entering a ruin.

"The cliff dwellings are ALL grave sites and everyone knows that," he says. "The dead should be left alone."Comment:  If this round of arrests wasn't enough to convince the looters to stop looting, no problem. We'll just keep arresting them and throwing their butts into jail until they get the message. If they don't like it, they can drop dead. No, really--they can commit suicide just like the two artifact thieves did.

Lyman's phrase "kill us" apparently is Blanding-speak for "shame us into committing suicide over our sins." Because the two losers who killed themselves are the only ones who died during this sequence of events.

Clearly Lyman is against the feds enforcing the laws, since that's all they did. Like every other hypocrite is Blanding, Lyman wants to continue stealing artifacts without fear of retribution.

For more on the subject, see Blanding's Criminal Culture and Looters "Outraged" Over Indictments.

Below:  "This Aug. 13, 2009 photo shows Austin Lyman, 62, standing next to steps leading to an ancient Indian altar on his property near Blanding, Utah." (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Looting is big business

Stealing the Past

Recent artifact raids shed light on today’s looting syndicate and the damage it does to New Mexico’s history

By Laura PaskusOver coffee and a hash breakfast approximately a month after the Four Corners arrests, Young recalls the variety of criminals apprehended during earlier investigations: In 1994, federal agents confiscated 11 objects considered sacred by the Mescalero Apache Tribe from Santa Fe’s East-West Trading Company. In another instance, an energy worker would scout northwestern New Mexico’s oil and gas fields for archaeological sites, then return to loot them. After he was charged, he even admitted to using a concrete saw to slice Navajo pictographs from the sandstone bluffs on which they were painted. “Fifteen minutes per panel, he told us,” Young says, “to steal those.”

Then, in the late ’90s, an operation in the Farmington area yielded indictments of a dozen looters. That particular ring was also involved in the drug trade: “The guy who was the methamphetamine dealer was trading with meth heads for artifacts,” Young says. “They would get high, work off their buzz—their high—doing destructive things to the scientific record, trying to recover these artifacts so they could go get high again.”And:“If you were to take the southwestern part of the state, we conservatively estimate that 95 percent of those sites have been damaged—and that’s [by] everything from a shovel to a bulldozer,” Nelson, who now works at the state Historic Preservation Division and is acting coordinator of the state’s SiteWatch program, says. The prehistoric pottery found in that part of the state—Mimbres-style pottery has distinctive black-on-white geometric designs and, oftentimes, human or animal figures—is a high-end item, he says, that appeals to collectors, particularly those in places such as Scandinavia, Sweden, Germany, Japan and China.

The black-market trade in artifacts is a $5 billion to $6 billion a year business, Nelson says—and it makes up a significant chunk of the illegal global market. “Arms is first, illegal drugs is second and artifacts is third.”Comment: For more on the subject, see Artifact Theft = "Organized Crime" and Redds Plead Guilty to Looting.

Looting suicides = "Anasazi sickness"

'Anasazi sickness':  Relic raiders do more than mess with history

Looters also disrespect the dead, trample on tradition and invite bad luck--or worse.

By Brandon Loomis Here in Four Corners Indian Country, though, the cultural riches that federal authorities allege 24 traffickers plundered and peddled from public lands are anything but souvenirs.

"We aren't supposed to be digging up anything like that," Navajo medicine man David Filfred says. "It's the people who lived before us, and how they lived. They had their traditions, which deserve respect."

And disrespect for either human remains or the ancients' belongings brings deadly bad medicine. According to tribal lore, it can lead to bad luck, ill health, even death.

Filfred points to what many here on the Navajo Nation call the "Anasazi sickness" as a factor in the suicides of two men indicted last month on federal charges of illegally trafficking in ancient Puebloan, or Anasazi, artifacts.

"You'll get blacked out. Just faint," he predicts for those who disturb the dead. "It will cause something like, you don't care. Seems like there's no hope."

Other Four Corners cultures report similar spiritual repercussions or "bad energy" for artifact looters. Elders believe bones, pots, amulets and other items buried with the dead--whether today's Navajos or yesterday's faded Puebloan cultures--harbor spirits. These spirits command a wide berth and sicken those who disturb them, Filfred says. The torment may be either physical or mental.

Outsiders may scoff, but believers ask the same deference that other religions command.Comment:  Today's Puebloan cultures probably would say yesterday's Puebloan cultures migrated and changed, not "faded" or disappeared. They believe the previous cultures evolved into today's cultures.

For more on the artifact looting, see Artifact Theft = "Organized Crime" and Redds Plead Guilty to Looting. For more on Native religion in general, see "Primitive" Indian Religion.

Below:  "Medicine man David Filfred, who lives on the Navajo Reservation near Aneth, Utah, believes that ancient Indian artifacts should be left alone not only out of respect for the dead but for one's health. He believes you can get sick from being exposed to bones in gravesites where artifacts are often found." (Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Blanding's criminal culture

Emotions run hot over artifact raids in Utah

Relics uproar

By Nancy LofholmThis small Four Corners community prides itself on being a law-abiding, church and family-oriented, patriotic throwback to more innocent times. So the Fourth of July is a gala of parades, prayers and pyrotechnics where sparkling apple cider is the strongest celebratory beverage.

But this year, the festivities had an angry edge.

Mayor Toni Turk opened with a prayer that included beseeching God to keep Blanding citizens free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The annual melodrama incorporated lyrics about recent raids and seizures of ancient artifacts from Blanding homes. "Legalize Pot" T-shirts, emblazoned with images of ancient ceramic pots, sold out quickly.

Blanding is in an uncharacteristic uproar because the Ancestral Puebloan artifacts that abundantly litter this area—and which have been collected by generations of residents—have become the stuff of nightmares.And:Every rain turns over new items, and residents say they can't add a carport or string a fence line without encountering kiva walls or unearthing baskets and pots.

The 1906 Antiquities Law attempted to preserve such ruins by putting protections on artifact-strewn public lands, but there are many reasons the anti-looting laws had little impact. Blanding residents say their ancestors were paid by museums to find artifacts.

Ted Black said his mother's family used the abundant ancient pottery as its dishware. He said practically every home in Blanding now has china-hutch and mantle displays of artifacts, many of them handed down and others collected during the common practice of Sunday after-church "treasure hunt" outings.

"I'm proud of my little collection," said Blanding resident Wendy Bunting, who still goes out looking for surface pottery pieces and arrowheads.And:Blanding's Edge of the Cedars Museum is trying to educate people about why they shouldn't pick up those items. The museum, which houses an estimated million artifacts confiscated from looters or donated by collectors, has a front room dedicated to explaining the laws and the reasons why, once items are removed without detailed archeological study, they lose their scientific context.

There are glimmers that the message is getting out. Boy Scouts who hold an annual summer camp in Blanding traditionally have dug up planted artifacts to earn their archeology merit badges. Camp director Jed Tate nixed that practice a week after the raids. The Scouts instead gathered in the museum with archeologists to learn about identifying, cataloguing and dating artifacts.Comment:  White privilege is thinking you can ignore the 1906 Antiquities Law because you're "law-abiding, church and family-oriented, patriotic" and taking artifacts is your birthright.

For more on the subject, see Republican Hypocrisy on Looting and Looters "Outraged" Over Indictments.

Below:  "Teri Paul of the Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding, Utah, inspects the museum's pottery." (William Woody/Special to The Denver Post)

Natives against artifact thieves

Native Americans Speak Out Against Four Corners Artifact Thefts

By Tim CiescoAs the investigation into the nation's largest ever theft of archeological objects moves forward, local Native American tribes are speaking out against what the alleged thieves did and and are providing insight into what artifacts mean to their people.

Roland McCook is a member of the Uncompahgre Ute Tribe here in Western Colorado. He says for the Utes and many other tribes across the West, objects like pottery, headdresses, and other traditional art take on special meaning.

"These were hand made specifically for a certain purpose and maybe they were left out there on purpose," said McCook. "Most of them are made so they could survive."

So when he learned that a group of 24 people from Colorado and Utah was stealing artifacts from the Four Corners region and selling them illegally, he says he was deeply offended.And:But even if the Anasazis and other tribes who live in the Four Corners area get their artifacts back, McCook says so much has already been lost. He says many tribes put power into their artifacts and believe they contain spirits that serve important purposes for the people.

"What do you do after those spirits have been discovered and released back into the atmosphere?" said McCook. "Perhaps they weren't meant to be there."A comment from a Native woman named Wazi received via e-mail:The people of Blanding seem to be put out that some of their residents have been caught robbing Native American gravesites, etc.--they just refuse to understand those places are sacred, as sacred as THEIR cemeteries, mausoleums, churches. Would they be upset if we decided to raid them, dig them up, steal what has been buried or placed in them? Wonder how they would feel if we stole and sold their revered ancestors' bones, "sacred treasures," jewelry, etc. on eBay or elsewhere?Comment:  There are no Indians called "the Anasazis" who live (present tense) in the Four Corners area. But their descendants live in the area as members of various Pueblo tribes. I think we know what McCook means despite his terminology.

Blanding's people claim they didn't rob any graves. They just "innocently" picked up artifacts they found lying on the ground. But I think we know what Wazi means too.

It's good to finally get a Native perspective on this issue. McCook makes some points that aren't obvious to non-Natives (including me). One, Indians may have placed artifacts in certain positions for a reason. Two, artifacts may have a spirit or spirits associated with them.

In other words, an object doesn't have to be on an altar or in a museum for Indians to consider it special. Removing such objects may be similar to robbing a church, tomb, or other revered place even if it isn't exactly the same.

And let's not forget the more obvious cultural offense: robbing Indians and the rest of us of America's history. Every artifact is a clue to the past, and every theft helps erase that past. Indians are invisible in our society precisely because Americans have taken away their lands and cultures.

For more on the subject, see:

Stupid graverobber tricks
Indiana Jones, tomb raider
Yale to return stolen artifacts

Below:  "I don't see any name tag on this artifact. Therefore, it's mine if I take it."

Looters "outraged" over indictments

Anti-fed fury sweeps through Blanding after artifact sting

By Christopher SmartEven before news late Thursday of James Redd's death, residents of this town south of San Juan County's Blue Mountains were furious about a federal sting that netted some of Blanding's prominent citizens for allegedly trafficking in antiquities.

"Everybody in Blanding is outraged," said 69-year-old Joy Holliday. "Why aren't they out stopping things that hurt people."

The undercover operation--which took two years and recovered more than 250 American Indian artifacts allegedly swiped from federal and tribal lands--yielded federal indictments against 24 people, most of whom are from Blanding.

In the Four Corners area, pre-Columbian ruins, potsherds, arrowheads and other relics are nothing out of the ordinary. Thousands of sites dot the landscape around Blanding.

"You can't walk two miles in any direction without running into an Anasazi site," Holliday said. "In San Juan County, [collecting relics] is a hobby for many people."Residents decry artifact-theft indictments

By Aaron FalkThe remnants of a people who lived in the cliffs surrounding this small southeastern Utah town are not hard to find here.

Stumbling across pieces of pots and arrowheads is commonplace, locals say.

So, too, is keeping them.

With the federal indictment of 24 people, most of them from Blanding, accused of taking ancient American Indian artifacts from public lands in the Four Corners area, people here say officials have made much ado about nothing.

"A majority of homes probably do have artifacts," said Holly Shumway, whose in-laws were among those indicted. "I don't know how they pick and choose the few that got arrested. It's just so common in this town to have things like that. It's not like just those 24 people have been doing this. These people have just been doing what everyone does."

Mitch Barnett, a Blanding resident, recalls his grandfather receiving Anasazi blankets as pay for work he did. "Nobody thought it was a big deal," he said.

Sandy Strom, whose husband, Aubry Patterson, is accused of stealing artifacts from caves in the La Sal Mountains and selling them to an undercover dealer, said she has a display case full of American Indian artifacts.

Otherwise, they would just be on the ground, she said.

"We weren't out grave-robbing," Strom said outside a Moab courthouse.

It's a sentiment shared among a number of people in the area.

"That's the word I just can't stand: stealing," Shumway said. "Anyone can walk out their back door and probably find something. Most of the houses in this town are built on old Indian ruins. It's everywhere. It's not like these people are going into someone's home or a museum and taking these artifacts. They're just outside on the ground."

But items taken from federal land could mean up to 10 years in prison for the "collectors."

The crime is not about property being destroyed, said Blanding archaeologist Winston Hurst, it's about preserving a priceless record of history.

"It's not about who gets to own something," Hurst said. "It's about the archaeological record. It's the only record we have of the huge majority of people who have ever lived. It's tremendously fragile, and it's being looted on a worldwide scale. They rip the guts out and leave us with nothing but objects to sell on eBay."

Whether it's pocketing an arrowhead or pillaging a ruin, "the net effect is, it all destroys evidence," said the Bureau of Land Management's Canyon Country district manager Shelley Smith.Comment:  Shumway can't stand the word "stealing"? I can't stand her "stealing" attitude.

"It's not like these people are going into someone's home"? Blanding's people are living on Indian land and going into Indian homes. They're taking artifacts that belong to Indian people or the American people as a whole.

So the looters don't think taking Indian artifacts is a big deal? Try walking into a Smithsonian museum and taking some old Euro-American artifacts. Let us know how it goes.

While you're at it, try lifting the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives or the Liberty Bell from Independence Hall? Why not, since they're only a piece of paper and a hunk of metal? They don't have any intrinsic value.

Oh, you say those are different? Why...because white men created them? That's kind of the point, isn't it? White men say everything they do is important while everything anyone else does is unimportant.

And spare us the sob stories about the crybabies didn't know they were violating the law. The media has reported often on the looting of Indian artifacts. As usual, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Besides, these people obviously aren't sorry for what they've done. They're fudging the difference between artifacts taken 50 years ago and artifacts taken recently. Between artifacts taken from private land and artifacts taken from public land. That they're trying to obscure the facts suggests that they know they're guilty.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of these people are conservatives and Mormons. No doubt they bray about the "rule of law" whenever some minority gets thrown into jail for a minor offense. Meanwhile, they're cheating on their taxes, dumping pollutants into the water, and stealing Indian artifacts.

For more on the subject, see America's Exceptional Values.

Below:  A worthless old scrap of paper. Useful for lining a birdcage if you find it on the ground.

Chocolate proves Native greatness

Chocolate's clue to civilization

Its discovery amid ancient Southwest artifacts establishes a link to Central America, and should demolish the perception that North Americans were uncivilized until 1492.

By Craig ChildsMany people balk at the idea that North America had any substantial civilization before 1492, the moment that it is customarily believed this continent switched from prehistory to history. I remember being on a National Public Radio talk show and a caller accused me of making an unwarranted upgrade when I said there was civilization in the ancient Southwest.

A thousand years ago, people in the Southwest had not invented the wheel, had no armies and relied on stone tools, which has marked them as uncivilized. They are imagined as cavemen. But the recent discovery of chocolate in a broken jar from pre-Columbian New Mexico might be enough to change that kind of thinking.

North Americans in the early centuries AD were gathering into population centers, dabbling in metallurgy and domesticating animals such as dogs and turkeys. Public works were going full swing. Beneath the modern city of Phoenix you will find remains of several hundred miles of mathematically engineered irrigation canals that once fed a hydraulic society on a par with early Mesopotamia.

Structures now known as "great houses" once stood in the Four Corners region--where New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona meet. They were masonry compounds rising as tall as five stories, their ground plans going on for acres, interiors honeycombed into hundreds of rooms including massive, vaulted ceremonial chambers.

Such an architectural landscape defies cliches about this continent's history. Add into this picture trade routes extending more than 1,000 miles along which goods were being moved from Central America into what is now the United States. These goods included copper implements, live tropical birds and, now we know, chocolate.

Chocolate is the cherry on top of Southwest archaeology, and it tips the balance of perspective.Conclusion:We often look back on prehistoric Indians through Manifest Destiny-colored glasses--we see a proud and vanishing race, but not civilization-builders. Instead, they wear breechcloths and hunt rabbits in a simplistic, almost idealistic, cultural landscape. To this day, many non-archaeologists contend that monumental ruins and earthen mounds found across North America were not the work of American Indians but came from Vikings, Europeans, Chinese or Greeks. They have even been assigned to the lost and wandering tribes of Israel. Anything but Native Americans. It is as if we don't want to see these people with a civilization of their own.

That era is over. Too much archaeological and ethno-historical evidence has accumulated against it. What happened here 1,000 years ago stands up to Stonehenge and Ban Chiang. Given another several centuries--based on timelines followed on other continents--North America could have become a major player in world civilization, but it was stopped short by the wide-scale cultural unrest between AD 1200 and 1400, followed by the arrival of Christopher Columbus, then smallpox, then the trappings of pioneers. If not for these obstacles, the people here might have turned the Colorado River into another Nile.

So, the next person who tells me not much was happening in prehistoric North America, all I have to say is, "chocolate."Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Myth of Western Superiority.

Anasazi Cannibal Woman for sale

It was a bad week for the "Anazasi" (Ancestral Puebloans) but a good week for people profiting from them. To be specific, for people profiting from stolen Anasazi rock art and naked Anasazi female art.

Anasazi back in the newsIt’s not often that the Anasazi break into the news anymore—the ancient people disappeared from their ancient homelands in the Great Basin and other western regions, including what is now southern Nevada, in the 12th or 13th centuries. But they hit the news twice last week.

A federal land management plan drew fire for exposing Anasazi ruins in southeastern Utah to hikers, cyclists and off-roaders by changing their Bureau of Land Management designation from “areas of critical environmental concern” to “special recreation-management areas.” Protests can be lodged with the BLM.

And Ebay has posted a sale of a painting purportedly of an Anasazi woman by painter Thomas Baker. The accompanying text emphasizes a cannibalism theory about the Anasazi. The painting portrays a svelte and shapely woman and could be an airbrushed Playboy image if it weren’t for the two human skulls between her legs. Shayne del Cohen of Reno, an activist on Native American issues, calls it “a disturbing image.”Here's more on the painting from its eBay listing:History and art combine in this original, museum-quality print of an oil painting by the noted artist and archaeologist Thomas Baker (the painting may be seen at his website thomasbakerpaintings.com. where it and other original oil paintings may be purchased, and portraits commissioned). This print is 11 X 14 inches, unframed, print #14 of an edition of 500. It is direct from the artist and cannot be bought anywhere else. Entitled "Anasazi Kitchen," it shows an Anasazi Indian cannibal woman stewing skulls by firelight in an underground pithouse (the Anasazi were prehistoric Native Americans living in what is now the southwestern United States). The composition contrasts the beauty of the human female form with the horror of violent death and cannibalism, and is historically accurate in every detail (the artist also holds a Master's Degree in archaeology).

Apparently a favorite Anasazi method of cooking a human body was to chop it into small pieces which could fit into a pot of boiling water. As the lumps of meat containing bone tumbled around in the boiling water, the bone rubbed against the insides of the pot, and thereby acquired a characteristic type of abrasion that archaeologists call “pot polish.” Pot-polished human bone fragments are a common find at Anasazi dig sites.Comment:  I believe the painting in question is below. If it's not clear this painting is promoting the cannibalism theory, the title makes it clear: "Anasazi Cannibal Woman (nude) limited edition print."

Unfortunately for Baker, the evidence isn't as clearcut as he thinks:

Researchers Divided Over Whether Anasazi Were CannibalsArchaeologists argue bitterly over whether the ancient Anasazi, the ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians, routinely killed and ate each other. From one point of view, the evidence seems overwhelming: piles of butchered human bones, some of which were apparently roasted or boiled. In one instance, ancient human feces even seem to contain traces of digested human tissue.

But from another standpoint, Anasazi cannibalism doesn't make sense. Eating people obviously isn't part of modern Pueblo culture, and local tribes are deeply offended by the suggestion that their Anasazi ancestors may have been cannibals. Many researchers argue that the marks attributed to flesh-eating could instead be created during slightly less gruesome activities, such as the public execution of suspected witches.Dying for dinner?

A debate rages over desert cannibalismSome archaeologists and Indians accuse Turner of recklessly ignoring native beliefs. "One of the worst things you can do in Pueblo society is to eat flesh," says Andrew Darling, an archaeologist with the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona. "That's how you become a witch, and the penalty for witches is death." Suspected Pueblo witches were killed and their corpses ravaged to find the so-called evil heart. Darling believes those actions could leave the same bone signature as cannibalism. He says Turner's theory revives racist stereotypes of savage Indians.

Other archaeologists point out that little is known about how the Anasazi normally treated their dead. Standard burial practices could have caused the skeletal damage ascribed to cannibalism. Ventura Perez, a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, found faint marks around the jaws of some of Turner's skulls. Perez suspects the marks are light because the skulls had been stripped long after the flesh had begun to decompose–suggesting that meat removal was a burial practice.

Peabody's LeBlanc thinks a more likely explanation is that the Chaco Anasazi brutalized a subclass of their own people. Healed bone fractures suggest that many Anasazi were beaten repeatedly. Others were dumped on garbage heaps after they died. And still others may be Turner's cannibal victims, butchered like game animals but not necessarily served for dinner.So Baker went for the worst interpretation of the data in his painting. And he portrayed the woman's breasts because, well, sex and controversy sell. Nice.