Indians Upset About Ancient Find in Utah
By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY - Some of Utah's Indian leaders are upset that state and federal officials said nothing to them about a canyon filled with nearly untouched ancient settlements, even though the inhabitants could be their ancestors.
Officials have known about the remarkable string of hundreds of sites in a remote canyon southeast of Salt Lake City since 2002, but tribal leaders found out about it through news reports beginning last month. Archaeologists showed reporters part of the area in the Book Cliffs region on Wednesday.
Patty Timbimboo-Madsen, cultural resources manager for the Northwest Shoshone tribe, characterized the omission as a slight against all American Indians.
"We know our ancestors are out there somewhere. When you find them, out of respect, let the native people go in and do ceremonies because you have disturbed something that we think is sacred," she said Thursday.
Forrest Cuch, director of Utah's Division of Indian Affairs and a Ute Indian, said the remains found at the site, some wrapped in beaver skin and cedar plank, could be his ancestors.
His tribe's reservation is the closest to Range Creek, where the sites were found. The Utes, along with the Skull Valley band of Goshute Indians and the Pauite Indians, have claimed to be descended from the Fremont people, who inhabited the region before vanishing about 1,000 years ago.
"I'm not surprised we weren't consulted or that there's thousands of human remains," Cuch said, adding that the state's Native American Remains Review Committee ultimately will determine the disposition of Range Creek's human remains.
State archaeologist Kevin Jones said American Indians haven't been notified because archaeologists haven't started digging yet for artifacts or human remains. He said he planned to notify tribes when that as-yet-unscheduled work begins.
The settlements were kept secret for more than 50 years by a rancher who turned it over for public ownership and retired. For the past two summers, archaeologists and graduate students have searched Range Creek canyon, finding a host of artifacts.
Archaeologists have said radiocarbon dating of three corn cobs found in the area shows them to be 800 to 1,000 years old. Some rock art found at the site is of a style dating as far back as 4,500 years, and archaeologists said caves in the area could hold even older artifacts.
Archaeologists did not show reporters any burial mounds or human remains Wednesday. Jones said that when researchers come across such remains, they were leaving them in place covered with dirt.
Cuch said he supports research at Range Creek, which is showing ancient Indians may have had a good life. Indians before their conquest had land, hunting grounds and good croplands, but lost it all and "were pretty much impoverished and begging" by the time textbooks pick up their history, he said.
"I do support scientific study that leads to better understanding of humanity, but you have to do it in a diplomatic way," said Cuch, who plans to visit Range Creek in August.
By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY - Some of Utah's Indian leaders are upset that state and federal officials said nothing to them about a canyon filled with nearly untouched ancient settlements, even though the inhabitants could be their ancestors.
Officials have known about the remarkable string of hundreds of sites in a remote canyon southeast of Salt Lake City since 2002, but tribal leaders found out about it through news reports beginning last month. Archaeologists showed reporters part of the area in the Book Cliffs region on Wednesday.
Patty Timbimboo-Madsen, cultural resources manager for the Northwest Shoshone tribe, characterized the omission as a slight against all American Indians.
"We know our ancestors are out there somewhere. When you find them, out of respect, let the native people go in and do ceremonies because you have disturbed something that we think is sacred," she said Thursday.
Forrest Cuch, director of Utah's Division of Indian Affairs and a Ute Indian, said the remains found at the site, some wrapped in beaver skin and cedar plank, could be his ancestors.
His tribe's reservation is the closest to Range Creek, where the sites were found. The Utes, along with the Skull Valley band of Goshute Indians and the Pauite Indians, have claimed to be descended from the Fremont people, who inhabited the region before vanishing about 1,000 years ago.
"I'm not surprised we weren't consulted or that there's thousands of human remains," Cuch said, adding that the state's Native American Remains Review Committee ultimately will determine the disposition of Range Creek's human remains.
State archaeologist Kevin Jones said American Indians haven't been notified because archaeologists haven't started digging yet for artifacts or human remains. He said he planned to notify tribes when that as-yet-unscheduled work begins.
The settlements were kept secret for more than 50 years by a rancher who turned it over for public ownership and retired. For the past two summers, archaeologists and graduate students have searched Range Creek canyon, finding a host of artifacts.
Archaeologists have said radiocarbon dating of three corn cobs found in the area shows them to be 800 to 1,000 years old. Some rock art found at the site is of a style dating as far back as 4,500 years, and archaeologists said caves in the area could hold even older artifacts.
Archaeologists did not show reporters any burial mounds or human remains Wednesday. Jones said that when researchers come across such remains, they were leaving them in place covered with dirt.
Cuch said he supports research at Range Creek, which is showing ancient Indians may have had a good life. Indians before their conquest had land, hunting grounds and good croplands, but lost it all and "were pretty much impoverished and begging" by the time textbooks pick up their history, he said.
"I do support scientific study that leads to better understanding of humanity, but you have to do it in a diplomatic way," said Cuch, who plans to visit Range Creek in August.
