Description

This ethnographic overview documents the contemporary values of American Indians regarding Fajada Butte. The study defines which Indian tribes have traditional or historic cultural ties to Fajada Butte and Chaco Culture National Historical Park (NHP). The study was funded by the National Park Service on September 15, 1992, and was managed by the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office. The ethnographic overview is focussed on two broad issues: (1) Fajada Butte and its significance to American Indian people and (2) the traditional use of plants and their cultural significance to American Indian people. An additional goal of this study is to contribute information about to the process of general tribal -park consultation including Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. This study documented that 11 tribes and pueblos have cultural relationships with Fajada Butte and Chaco Culture NHP. American Indians feel a contemporary identification with the Fajada Butte and Chaco Culture NHP. There are three main ways for expressing this identification (1) direct descent ties, (2) tribal ties, and (3) ethnic ties. No tribal or pueblo representatives expressed knowledge of living families who are direct descendants from the people of Chaco; however, many of them stated that Chaco people were their direct ancestors. All tribes and pueblo representatives who participated in the on -site visit claimed tribal or pueblo ties to the people of Chaco. The research also was concerned with the plant life of the area both on and around Fajada Butte. This study documented the American Indian traditional use placess around Fajada Butte and elsewhere in Chaco Canyon. All Indian representatives expressed the desire that the park continues to protect these plants from disturbance and emphasized the need to have a park-wide ethnobotanical study.