Archaeologists Blast Hasty World Heritage Listings

Archaeologists Blast Hasty World Heritage Listings

 

One of the most significant global committees that you never heard of summoned a couple of hundred experts to the island of Menorca, Spain last week. The meeting involved politics, the remnants of great civilizations, human catastrophes, architectural triumphs, religious works of art and architecture, use of tourism, the rise and fall of empires, and did we say politics? The International Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management, or ICAHM, held its first conference on how to manage the world’s myriad archaeological World Heritage sites. This wildly varied array of places encompasses many of the most celebrated sites of human cultural accomplishment and catastrophe—everything from the pyramids and Roman fortifications to Mongol-era tombs and prehistoric rock art

UN to investigate plight of US Native Americans for first time

 

The UN is to conduct an investigation into the plight of US Native Americans, the first such mission in its history. The human rights inquiry led by James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on indigenous peoples, is scheduled to begin on Monday. Many of the country's estimated 2.7 million Native Americans live in federally recognised tribal areas which are plagued with unemployment, alcoholism, high suicide rates, incest and other social problems.

 

Discovery of Indian artifacts complicates Genesis solar project

 

After human remains were unearthed near the $1-billion Genesis project 200 miles east of L.A., the Colorado River Indian Tribes are demanding that the Obama administration slow down on solar plants in the Mojave Desert.

 

Did Jim Thorpe Break Baseball's Color Line in 1913?

 

In doing research for an article on Native Americans who won Olympic gold medals (Native Americans Who Won Olympic Gold) I discovered that Native American superstar athlete Jim Thorpe played for the New York Giants for six years. He also played for the Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds, all between 1913 and 1919. It seems to me like this great Native American hero was the first to break baseball's color line back in 1913.

Peru okays more gas exploration in Amazon

 

Peru will allow the Camisea natural gas consortium to work in areas of the Amazon rain forest that were previously off-limits, a decision that an indigenous rights group criticized on Thursday. A ruling from the ministry of energy and mines, the ministry of culture and the agency that supervises environmentally protected areas has given the consortium access to areas of the Kugapakori-Nahua Reserve that overlap with one of its petroleum concessions, known as Block 88.

 

On Tribal Lands, Digital Divide Brings New Form Of Isolation

 

Native Americans have long experienced disconnection from the rest of the country -- their reservations are generally placed on remote lands with little economic potential, separated from modern-day markets for goods, as well as higher education and health care. The dawn of the Internet was supposed to bridge this gap, according to the promises of prominent public officials. Fiber optics cables along with satellite and wireless links would deliver the benefits of modernity to reservations, helping lift Native American communities out of isolation and poverty. But the rise of the web as an essential platform in American life has instead reinforced the distance for the simple reason that most Native Americans have little access to the online world.

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Native Americans march to protest Nev. coal plant

 

Native Americans, Sierra Club activists and others have completed a three-day, 50-mile walk from the Reid Gardner Station coal plant in Moapa to the Las Vegas federal courthouse. Moapa Band of Paiutes Chairman William Anderson says in a statement Sunday that the march was held to highlight air pollution, a major concern for tribal members on the reservation.