<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">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.<br>
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<td width=40%><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><b>"Susan White"
<susan.white@state.or.us></b> </font>
<br><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Sent by: or_archaeology-bounces@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</font>
<p><font size=1 face="sans-serif">08/25/2009 02:24 PM</font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">To</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">"Archaeology Listserv Oregon"
<OR_Archaeology@listsmart.osl.state.or.us></font>
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<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">[OR_Archaeology] Fwd: Re: Interesting
article in Bend Bulletin
newspaper features pictographs in Mil</font></table>
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<br><tt><font size=2>>>> "j. a" <johnvallison@yahoo.com>
8/24/2009 7:42 PM >>><br>
I think that this article needs to be subject to a review article based<br>
upon what is known about the time-frame of the expansion of the<br>
Numic-speaking peoples into that is known to have been the long-standing<br>
territory of the Klamath peoples since at least 10,000 years ago. The<br>
date for the entry of the Numic peoples is address in a number of works,<br>
see especially Theodore Stern, Chiefs and Chief Traders and Young and<br>
Bettinger, The Numic Spread; and for the relation of the Klamaths to the<br>
area see Tom Connolly's work on basketry of the Ft. Rock Basin. The new<br>
article then should be sent to the same audience to address the errors<br>
which attribute these sites to Paiutes rather than to Klamath people.<br>
This is not to say that these sites are not of importance to all Indian<br>
peoples, but just to attribute the work to those who did it.<br>
John Allison<br>
<br>
--- On Mon, 8/24/09, Susan White <susan.white@state.or.us> wrote:<br>
<br>
<br>
From: Susan White <susan.white@state.or.us><br>
Subject: [OR_Archaeology] Interesting article in Bend Bulletin<br>
newspaper features pictographs in Millican Valley<br>
To: "Archaeology Listserv Oregon"<br>
<OR_Archaeology@listsmart.osl.state.or.us><br>
Date: Monday, August 24, 2009, 8:51 AM<br>
<br>
<br>
</font></tt><a href="http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090822/NEWS0107/908220383/0/NEWS01"><tt><font size=2>http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090822/NEWS0107/908220383/0/NEWS01<br>
<br>
<br>
Protecting our ancient pictographs<br>
Site in Millican Valley is now listed on National Register of Historic<br>
Places<br>
<br>
By Hillary Borrud / The Bulletin<br>
Published: August 22. 2009 4:00AM PST<br>
<br>
Over the last century, vandals damaged pictographs at an American<br>
Indian spiritual site in the Millican Valley by drawing on top of them<br>
with chalk, among other things. Now, some people hope the site’s<br>
listing on the National Register of Historic Places will help protect<br>
it.<br>
<br>
In the 1950s, Minerva Soucie’s parents often stopped at an American<br>
Indian spiritual site in the Millican Valley, where they showed their<br>
children the pictographs that Northern Paiute people painted hundreds<br>
of<br>
years ago.<br>
<br>
“It was a place (where) people come and look for direction, or to be<br>
used maybe in a spiritual quest process for their lives,” said<br>
Soucie,<br>
who is a Burns Paiute tribal elder. Her father explained the meaning<br>
of<br>
some paintings, although others were a mystery.<br>
<br>
“It was in very good condition when I was a child,” Soucie said.<br>
<br>
Two decades later, she saw that change. People damaged the site during<br>
what appeared to be parties.<br>
<br>
“I liked going there until I went one time and it was vandalized,”<br>
Soucie said. “It looked like there were panels trying to be chipped<br>
off, and that to me was a desecration of our teachings or our<br>
spiritual<br>
way of life.”<br>
<br>
After years of work by local archeologists and other concerned people,<br>
the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in<br>
mid-July.<br>
<br>
Soucie and others said they hope the new status, which is relatively<br>
rare for archeological sites in Oregon, will bring heightened public<br>
awareness of its importance and encourage people in the area to keep<br>
an<br>
eye out for vandals.<br>
<br>
Paiute Indians, who are associated with the Confederated Tribes of<br>
Warm<br>
Springs, the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Klamath Tribes, continue to<br>
use<br>
the site today. The site is on private property, and the owners played<br>
an integral role in seeking the historic designation for the site, but<br>
they could not be reached for comment.<br>
<br>
Archeological sites<br>
<br>
Cara Kazer, an architectural historian in the State Historic<br>
Preservation Office, said Oregon has about 33,000 known archeological<br>
sites, but only between 120 and 130 of those are listed on the<br>
National<br>
Register of Historic Places.<br>
<br>
“It’s pretty rare that we list an archeological site,” Kazer<br>
said.<br>
<br>
Oregon has 1,902 listings on the National Register of Historic Places,<br>
and 34 of them are in Deschutes County.<br>
<br>
The site’s place on the national register, which is maintained by<br>
the<br>
National Park Service, will add to existing protections for<br>
archeological sites under Oregon law, said Susan Lynn White, assistant<br>
state archeologist with the State Historic Preservation Office.<br>
<br>
For example, it is a misdemeanor for a person to remove an<br>
archaeological object or “excavate, injure, destroy or alter” an<br>
archaeological site or object in Oregon without a permit from the<br>
state.<br>
Another law protects American Indian graves and objects.<br>
<br>
The location of the site is not being identified more specifically by<br>
The Bulletin to protect the artifacts. The State Historic Preservation<br>
Office also redacted large sections of the draft nomination form<br>
before<br>
releasing it to The Bulletin, citing the need to keep the exact<br>
location<br>
of the pictographs secret.<br>
<br>
History of the site<br>
<br>
In prehistoric times, the Millican Valley east of Bend was covered at<br>
one point by a large lake. Water in the area fluctuated over time,<br>
creating marshes and other water features.<br>
<br>
The water attracted people to the area, although they spent less time<br>
there as the water dried up.<br>
<br>
The pictographs, which were mostly done with red paint, probably date<br>
from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1900, “When access to the site by the Paiute<br>
became limited due to their removal to reservations and further<br>
intrusions by Euroamerican settlers,” according to the nomination<br>
form<br>
released by the State Historic Preservation Office.<br>
<br>
People who stopped at the area might have been hunting, trading or<br>
traveling to Northern Paiute gatherings. But in addition to practical<br>
aspects such as water at the site, people also considered it a<br>
powerful<br>
spiritual site, as the pictographs indicate.<br>
<br>
The latest paintings at the site were probably created by Northern<br>
Paiute people who moved into Central Oregon within the last 1,000<br>
years,<br>
although there is also faded pigment underneath some of these that<br>
could<br>
come from earlier paintings and suggests people used the area even<br>
earlier, according to the nomination form.<br>
<br>
Images include human and animal stick figures, lizards, tally marks<br>
and<br>
abstract paintings such as grids, zigzags, chevrons and ladder<br>
figures,<br>
according to the nomination form.<br>
<br>
One image consists of two red-tailed circles with yellow centers and<br>
two yellow dots.<br>
<br>
“The tailed circles suggest meteorological phenomena, especially<br>
lightning, which represented a source of strong and dangerous<br>
spiritual<br>
power for the Northern Paiute,” according to the form.<br>
<br>
“The highly abstract drawings of mazes, rectilinear grids and rakes,<br>
and stylized spirit figures of humans and animals likely reflect<br>
dreams<br>
and visions associated with the acquisition of guardian spirits. ...<br>
Some may represent hunting magic or the record of a successful hunt;<br>
others suggest the more powerful spirit helpers of shamans who could<br>
cure illness, control weather, or direct the communal antelope<br>
hunt.”<br>
<br>
A large boulder shows grinding wear, polish and other marks that<br>
indicate people used it to grind plant foods, as well as possibly<br>
butchering animals and preparing hides.<br>
<br>
Vandalism<br>
<br>
Graffiti and other vandalism of the site include initials that people<br>
scratched into the rock and bullet holes in one animal pictograph,<br>
although the bullet holes were the only direct damage to a painting.<br>
<br>
Since the 1920s, visitors outlined the images with chalk to make them<br>
more visible for photography, and the chalk was offensive to American<br>
Indians who use the site, according to the nomination form. In 1988,<br>
members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs restored the<br>
pictographs by removing the chalk with water and brushes.<br>
<br>
Many of the paintings are faint and difficult to see, said Pat<br>
Kliewer,<br>
the former historic preservation planner for Deschutes County.<br>
<br>
“It depends on the time of day and lighting whether you can see them<br>
at all,” Kliewer said. “It’s really important that people never<br>
touch them.” Even brushing against the images with clothing could<br>
damage them, Kliewer added.<br>
<br>
Soucie, the Burns Paiute tribal elder, started working to protect<br>
cultural resources in the 1980s, after she saw that happened to the<br>
Millican Valley pictograph site. Now, she hopes the historic<br>
designation<br>
will help protect the site.<br>
<br>
“I think having it on the federal register will help preserve the<br>
site,” Soucie said. “I believe that the rock art that was left was<br>
from people long, long ago, and they were trying to provide us with<br>
direction.”<br>
<br>
Hillary Borrud can be reached at 541-617-7829 or at<br>
hborrud@bendbulletin.com.<br>
<br>
Published Daily in Bend Oregon by Western Communications, Inc. © 2008<br>
www.bendbulletin.com <br>
<br>
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