Voices of the Ancients: Archaeology and Oral Tradition in the American Southwest

FAIN: BH-267175-19

Southern Utah University (Cedar City, UT 84720-2415)
Samantha Kirkley (Project Director: February 2019 to October 2022)
Jeanne M. Moe (Co Project Director: August 2019 to October 2022)

Two one-week workshops for 72 K-12 educators on the ancient Fremont culture of the American Southwest.

This project will model archaeological inquiry for teachers and students. Participants will have multiple opportunities to work collaboratively in small groups to ask and answer important questions about the past. Workshop participants will explore the universal human need for shelter. Educators will be able to help students connect to past cultures and value the many underrepresented communities presently residing within the United States. Participants will examine authentic content including artifacts, site maps, oral histories, and historic documents with guidance from instructors. Through this project, participants will return to their own classrooms armed with the materials and experience necessary to conduct archaeological inquiry with their students.

Associated Products

Voices of the Ancients: Providing Safe, In-Person Teacher Workshops during a Global Pandemic (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Voices of the Ancients: Providing Safe, In-Person Teacher Workshops during a Global Pandemic
Author: Jeanne Moe
Author: Samantha Kirkley
Abstract: In 2021, teachers from more than thirty states attended Voices of the Ancients: Archaeology and Oral Tradition in the American Southwest, an institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The institute, planned for the summer of 2020, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy-one teachers attended one of two week-long institutes at Southern Utah University (SUU) in June and July respectively. While project personnel were successful in conducting both sessions in person, SUU required alternate plans for instruction and a rise in Covid cases would have forced cancelation of in-person sessions or major revisions to the schedule and venues. Taught by a team of educators, archaeologists, and Native American elders, the teachers experienced Project Archaeology curricula highlighting Fremont archaeological sites. They engaged with important landmarks of Fremont history and culture including the Parowan Gap Petroglyphs, Paragonah Mounds, and Fremont Indian State Park. Speakers from local tribes provided important insights into ancestral connections to the landscape and contemporary issues of cultural heritage preservation. Initial analysis of learning outcomes indicates that the participants valued their experience, learned the basics of Fremont archaeology, and understood the importance of including Native voices in the narrative of American history.
Date: 3/31/2022
Conference Name: Society for American Archaeology

SUU’s Project Archaeology Funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities (Article)
Title: SUU’s Project Archaeology Funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities
Author: Southern Utah University
Abstract: This is a press release regarding the NEH award received by SUU and the positive outcomes of the Voices of the Ancients program.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://www.suu.edu/news/2021/07/project-archaeology-voices-ancients.html
Format: Newspaper
Format: Other
Publisher: Southern Utah University

---