PROJECT ABSTRACT
Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
(Cooperative Agreement # H1200-09-0005)
Park: Mesa Verde National Park and Yucca House National Monument
Project Title: Conduct Ethnographic Overview and Assessment of Mesa Verde National Park
and Yucca House National Monument
Funding Amount: $90,000.00
CPCESU Partner Institution: Arizona State University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Brandt, Professor, Arizona State University, School of
Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, Tel: (480) 9655992, Fax: (480) 965-767, Betsy.Brandt@asu.edu.
NPS Key Official: Dr. Tara Travis, Ethnohistorian, Intermountain Region, Office of Indian
Affairs and American Culture, Duty Station: Mesa Verde National Park, PO Box 8, Mesa Verde,
CO 81330, Tel: (970) 529-4614, Fax: (970) 529-4637. Tara_Travis@nps.gov.
Start Date: 8/10/2009
End Date: 12/31/2012
Abstract: An overview and assessment study will identify and document ethnographic resources
within and associated with Mesa Verde National Park and Yucca House National Monument. A
Cultural Affiliation Study (Judge and Fine-Dare) was completed in 1995 in which 24 tribes and
pueblos were identified as culturally affiliated. Through consultations since 1993, it is known
that groups have strong cultural bonds to the parks and there are traditional uses of the parks, but
little documentation exists. This study will focus on past and present traditional land uses of
cultural and natural resources such as archeological sites, plant and animal communities,
minerals and physical locations that comprise the ancestral landscape of these two parks. The
Principal Investigator is an anthropologist, with extensive experience conducting research in
tribal communities in the southwest, there will be tribal collaboration through consultation
throughout the project, and a Data Collection Report, Interpretation Brief, and Final Report will
provide a baseline for park management.
Keywords:
Cultural resources, Native American, Land Use, Plant Communities, Animal Communities
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