Papers by Richard W I L L I A M Stoffle
This paper contributes an analog case for assessing cumulative impacts. An American Indian solar ... more This paper contributes an analog case for assessing cumulative impacts. An American Indian solar calendar was identified in the first large-scale power line environmental impact assessment (EIA) in an isolated region of southern Utah in 1983. That study identified increased access as a potential adverse impact, but that the solar calendar would be best protected by a commitment of silence. During the next 25 years, five utility projects were placed in this corridor. In 2006, an American Indian study team revisited the site and found it and the pilgrimage trail to it exposed to recreational visitors and partially damaged. Indian leaders chose to now publicly discuss the site so they can recommend in a new EIA mitigations to protect the solar calendar by restricting access and interpretative signs.
Geology, Earth, and Marine Science, 2025
The White River today flows along much of its 270-mile length south along the Colorado Plateau as... more The White River today flows along much of its 270-mile length south along the Colorado Plateau as it has since the Pleistocene. During wetter times,
it was a raging river flowing between high mountains and across volcanic places. It contained large side streams, and along its length were lakes and
wetlands. It was in the later Pleistocene then, much as it is today, a center of Native American spiritual and ceremonial life. This analysis is based on
more than a dozen ethnographic studies conducted over 40 years, compiled from field interpretations from tribally appointed representatives, and
subsequently reviewed by them and approved by their tribal governments.
Heritage, 2025
Ancient figures and symbols are carved into a high rock wall beside the Colorado River, just sout... more Ancient figures and symbols are carved into a high rock wall beside the Colorado River, just south of where a traditional Native American geotrail crosses the river near Moab, Utah, USA. Based on ethnographic interviews with tribal and pueblo representatives, the rock peckings identify an ancient ceremonial geosite, which, among other purposes, serves as a site for the Celebration of Creation. The interpretation of the site is situated within the geologically complex and ancient cultural heritage region composed of functionally interrelated nested geoscapes that surround the study area. The analysis is informed by ethnographic interviews from six U.S. federally funded studies that involved thirteen participating tribes and pueblos. The analysis is guided by an intellectual framework aligned with internationally recognized UNESCO heritage categories-namely, geosites, geotrails, and geoscapes. Grounded in these UNESCO heritage categories, the analysis advances new interpretive frameworks, theoretical insights, and culturally responsive strategies for heritage management.
Geology, Earth and Marine Sciences, 2025
Toponyms is a general scholarly study of place names as they have
been established and disputed o... more Toponyms is a general scholarly study of place names as they have
been established and disputed over time by different cultural groups
and nation states. Culturally based place names can reference small
geosites, long ceremonial landscapes based on established trails,
and massive geoscapes that are functionally integrated by geology,
climate, and human use. Many of these geosites have been celebrated
by nations in recent times as national parks and world heritage sites.
Multivocality is a term used by the USA federal government to reflect
multiple names for places by cultural groups. Sunset Crater in Arizona
after ethnographic studies [1] involving multiple Native groups who
are now recognizes in a trail sign containing authentic traditional
toponyms reflecting ancient connections with this volcano (Figure
1). Surrounding the park are volcanic lands (Figure 2). The park
continues to be referred to by its colonial name Sunset Crater and the
surrounding lands are called the Flagstaff Volcanic Landscape.
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections, 2006
The successful completion of any project entails extraordinary planning, patience, cooperation, a... more The successful completion of any project entails extraordinary planning, patience, cooperation, and collaborative hard work involving many individuals. Sustaining American Indian consultation partnerships that involve research, fieldwork, analysis, report writing, and mitigation meetings requires careful planning, patience, coordination, and cooperation among the numerous individuals involved in government-to-government consultation programs on the Nevada Test and Training Range and on the Nevada Test Site. This report represents the integrated efforts of two federal agencies, 18 American Indian entities, and many individuals who have collaborated at multiple levels in order to allow this project to germinate. We wish to express our sincere appreciation towards the people who have contributed to this project's success. This study and related studies conducted over the past ten years could not have been undertaken without the participation of numerous Indian elders and cultural experts who took the time away from their jobs, families, and other commitments, sometimes traveling great distances, to share with us their traditional knowledge, stories, beliefs, and worldviews, often about sensitive topics. We extend our thanks to those people who shared their stories in person as well as in written form. With apologies at the outset for anyone we may have inadvertently omitted, it is with profound gratitude and respect that we acknowledge the following Indian people: Pat Alpers,
Landscapes of Origin: Geoparks and Pilgrimage
Background The most current understanding of the UNESCO preference for using geology heritage ter... more Background The most current understanding of the UNESCO preference for using geology heritage terms like geoparks for research and management is discussed in a special issue of the journal Land entitled Geoparks, Geotrails, and Geotourism-Linking Geology, Geoheritage, and Geoeducation that was edited by Margaret Brocx and Vic Semeniuk [1]. They summarize the worldwide movement towards using these concepts to better understand heritage places that involve a number of geoparks and geotrails that have been established, e.g., UNESCO. Global Geoparks where the geology, geotours, and local economy are linked for the well-being of the local people and operate under the auspices of UNESCO, and National or State-oriented geoparks/geotrails where the geology is identified as significant and preserved in conservation estates and utilized for tours, education, and other commercial purposes. Well-designed and organized geoparks/geotrails provide valuable sites for geoeducation, including suitable localities for collecting minerals and fossils, and all types of geoparks/geotrails can function for geotourism. Geotours in geoparks/geotrails provide excellent opportunity for introducing the public and students to the wealth of information and history that the Earth has to offer and professional geologists to the diversity of Earth Science globally. This analysis contributes to our understanding of the UNESCO use of geoparks by demonstrating how Effigy Mounds National Monument (NM) and its surrounding ceremonial landscape fits into a broader discussion of multi-ethnic [Ethnicity is the social organization of cultural difference (Barth 1969). We use ethnic groups here to denote socially defined subdivisions of a common
Humans have been monitoring light from the solar system to tell the time and plan activities sinc... more Humans have been monitoring light from the solar system to tell the time and plan activities since Time Immemorial. This is an analysis regarding why Native Americans living in the upper Colorado River Basin chose to monitor light from the western sky using a light marker that is approximately 4.02 miles long and 2.07 miles wide, or approximately 12.7 square miles. The light catching is accomplished in a massive geoscape by carefully calibrated and engineered stone markers. The scale of this light marker and its functional topographic components makes it one of the biggest and most elaborate in North America. As such, it is a World-Balancing geosite. This analysis is based on 522 ethnographic interviews, with 316 that were conducted during the Canyonlands National Park (Canyonlands NP) ethnographic study and 206 that were conducted during two BLM ethnographic studies. The findings are situated among tribally approved ethnographic findings from more than a dozen other studies conducted by the authors.
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 2001
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections, 1995
ATS, 2024
Storied Rocks (Tumpituxwinap) is a term of reference used by the Numic Speaking tribal elders who... more Storied Rocks (Tumpituxwinap) is a term of reference used by the Numic Speaking tribal elders whom we have worked with for over 60 years on an estimated 200 ethnographic studies. Key in this analysis are the protocols for approaching, interacting, and using the places where Storied Rocks have been located. Concomitant with these traditional protocols are ones estab-lished to resolve the curiosity of non-Natives about why they are in a particular place and what they mean. This analysis shares the cultural understandings of Tribal representatives who par-ticipated in these ethnographic studies. Studies used in the analysis were funded by U.S. federal agencies, supported by federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and composed with the cultural understandings shared and made public by tribally appointed elders to clarify the conundrums that are Storied Rocks.
Fajada Butte, Chaco Culture National Park: A Multi-tribal Affiliation Place
This presentation was created to discuss the findings of the report American Indians and Fajada B... more This presentation was created to discuss the findings of the report American Indians and Fajada Butte.
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections, 1990
This report presents a review of the literature concerning Native American occupancy and use of t... more This report presents a review of the literature concerning Native American occupancy and use of the Yucca Mountain area and vicinity. It draws on a wide range of material, including early traveler reports, government documents, ethnographic and historical works, and local newspapers. The report complements two other concurrent studies, one focused on the cultural resources of Native American people in the study area and the other an ethnobotanical study of plant resources used by Native American people in the study area. Both concurrent studies are based on interviews with Native American people. The literature review was designed to contribute to the understanding of the presence of Native American people in the Yucca Mountain area. A review of the existing literature about the Yucca Mountain area and southern Nye County, supplemented by the broader literature about the Great Basin, has verified three aspects of the study design. First, the review has aided in assessing the completeness of the list of Native American ethnic groups that have traditional or historical ties to the site. Second, it has aided in the production of a chronology of Native American activities that occurred on or near the site during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Third, it has helped to identify the location of cultural resources, including burials and other archaeological sites, in the study area and vicinity.
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections, 2013
This is an ethnographic overview of contemporary, traditionally associated American
Indians that... more This is an ethnographic overview of contemporary, traditionally associated American
Indians that present an evaluation of the cultural and natural resources of Fajada Butte that they use and value, and an assessment of the needs of American Indian communities for plant materials from within Chaco Culture NHP in order to continue with their traditional and ceremonial practices. As such, this study emphasizes those resources defined by American Indians as having ceremonial and legendary significance. 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 focused 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 the process of tribal-park consultation including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)..
Geology, Earth and Marine Sciences, 2024
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is the traditional homeland of many Native American people... more The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is the traditional homeland of many Native American peoples, including the Southern Paiutes, Hualapai, Havasupai, Zuni Pueblo, Hopi Pueblo, and Navajo. Many massive volcanoes with widespread lava flows have been witnessed by these Native Americans over the past 40,000 years, so their various cultural understandings and ceremonial responses to volcanism are grounded in experience. Pilgrimage is one example of a persistent ceremonial response to volcanic areas by Native American peoples. This analysis is based on 902 ethnographic interviews with Paiute elders conducted over decades by the authors. The Paiute response to volcanism is typical of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States but manifests itself uniquely in the geology of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. The analysis argues that these are heritage places and landscapes to be protected by the IUCN World Conservation Congress (IUCN 2024) which is where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action. More than 9,000 people participated in the 2021 Congress in Marseille. Experts shared the latest science and best practices, and IUCN Members voted on 39 motions to guide humanity’s relationship with our planet for the decades ahead. Keywords: Volcanic cultural heritages, Geosites, Geoscapes, Geoheritage, Native Americans, Southern Paiutes aboriginal lands, Grand Canyon, Colorado River
A presentation on the historic and prehistoric use of resources at Isle Royale National Park. The... more A presentation on the historic and prehistoric use of resources at Isle Royale National Park. The complete report, which can be found in this collection, is titled 'The Isle Royale Folkefiskerisamfunn: Familier Som Levde Av Fiske: An Ethnohistory of the Scandinavian Folk Fishermen of Isle Royale National Park.'
Literature review and ethnohistory of Native American occupancy and use of the Yucca Mountain Region; Yucca Mountain Project, Interim report
ABSTRACT
Geology, Earth & Marine Sciences , 2024
Background The most current understanding of the UNESCO preference for using geology heritage ter... more Background The most current understanding of the UNESCO preference for using geology heritage terms like geoparks for research and management is discussed in a special issue of the journal Land entitled Geoparks, Geotrails, and Geotourism-Linking Geology, Geoheritage, and Geoeducation that was edited by Margaret Brocx and Vic Semeniuk [1]. They summarize the worldwide movement towards using these concepts to better understand heritage places that involve a number of geoparks and geotrails that have been established, e.g., UNESCO. Global Geoparks where the geology, geotours, and local economy are linked for the well-being of the local people and operate under the auspices of UNESCO, and National or State-oriented geoparks/geotrails where the geology is identified as significant and preserved in conservation estates and utilized for tours, education, and other commercial purposes. Well-designed and organized geoparks/geotrails provide valuable sites for geoeducation, including suitable localities for collecting minerals and fossils, and all types of geoparks/geotrails can function for geotourism. Geotours in geoparks/geotrails provide excellent opportunity for introducing the public and students to the wealth of information and history that the Earth has to offer and professional geologists to the diversity of Earth Science globally. This analysis contributes to our understanding of the UNESCO use of geoparks by demonstrating how Effigy Mounds National Monument (NM) and its surrounding ceremonial landscape fits into a broader discussion of multi-ethnic [Ethnicity is the social organization of cultural difference (Barth 1969). We use ethnic groups here to denote socially defined subdivisions of a common
Geology, Earth and Marine Sciences, 2024
People from western cultures have regularly viewed desert playas of the western United States as ... more People from western cultures have regularly viewed desert playas of the western United States as sterile and of little utility except for gathering salt or minerals. In line with this unimportant valuation of desert playas by western observers, many call the region "The Great American Wasteland" [1]. The region's culturally affiliated Native Americans, however, tend to view these playas as heritage areas extending back in deep time to the Pleistocene when they were filled with lakes, surrounded by wetlands, and drained by permanent streams. According to the University of Utah's Shoshoni Dictionary[2] (Shoshoni Language Project 2024), the Goshute people refer to themselves as the Newe[nɨwɨ] or Newenee [nɨwɨnɨɨ] meaning the Person or the People. There have been times throughout their history where they have been referred to as Kutsipiuti (Gutsipiuti) or Kuttuhsippeh which translates to "People of the dry earth" or "People of the Desert" (literally: "dust, dry ashes People") [1,3]. Goshute means people covered with dust, dusty people, or desert, terms which were reiterated generations later in Halmo et al. [4]. In the same study, contemporary Goshute people who are fluent in their language use the term in reference to the white alkali dust that lines the lowest portions of most valleys [4,5]. Our analysis explains why the playa dust symbolizes heritage connections with the land and past lives. Native American heritage perspectives regarding playas are required in national searches for places to drop bombs, make landing strips for large military aircraft, build industrial scale solar arrays, and mine rare earth minerals, including lithium.
Land, 2023
Devils Tower is located in Wyoming, USA. It is composed of volcanic elements from the Tertiary Pe... more Devils Tower is located in Wyoming, USA. It is composed of volcanic elements from the Tertiary Period of geologic time. Geologists are interested in this geosite because it is a unique, upstanding, steep-sided, high-relief exhumed Tertiary-age volcanic plug. As a Native cultural geosite, however, it is often called Mateo Tepe, and it is a sacred place to over 20 Native American tribes. It was inscribed as America's first national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, which was argued because of its special geology. It is visually dramatic due to its columns, which are understood by earth scientists as a wonder of geology, but by Native people as the claw scratches of a spiritual bear. These vertical cracks are the focus of rock climbers and Native people, respectively as opportunities for adventure and self-fulfillment and spiritual paths to another dimension and the achievement of religious balance in the world. Mateo Tepe became a national monument due to it being a unique geologic feature. The geopark concept is used in this analysis to talk about this geologically based monument.
AIMS Geosciences, 2024
This is a data-based analysis of how Native American interpretations of their distant past are be... more This is a data-based analysis of how Native American interpretations of their distant past are being considered reflecting new science findings. A key science understanding developed over the past 75 years has been that Native people did not occupy North America (or any place in the so-called New World) longer than 12,000 years before present (BP), thus they could neither have experienced nor understood any event in the late Pleistocene interglacial period (128,000 BP to 11,700 BP). As called in this analysis, the Clovis glass ceiling references the popular use of Clovis spear points to represent the earliest signs of humans in North America with dates generally later than 12,000 BP. This analysis engaged with recent science findings that Native people were present in North America up to 40,000 years ago. Opening the science limits of Native presence affords a reinterpretation of the past using extant Native interpretations. As an example, Salt Spring near Death Valley is a component of an ancient Pleistocene heritage landscape that can be reconstructed using geology and Native American interpretations. Native American perspectives were derived from 404 ethnographic interviews with Numic speaking peoples, focused on 24 ancient springs near Death Valley,
Uploads
Papers by Richard W I L L I A M Stoffle
it was a raging river flowing between high mountains and across volcanic places. It contained large side streams, and along its length were lakes and
wetlands. It was in the later Pleistocene then, much as it is today, a center of Native American spiritual and ceremonial life. This analysis is based on
more than a dozen ethnographic studies conducted over 40 years, compiled from field interpretations from tribally appointed representatives, and
subsequently reviewed by them and approved by their tribal governments.
been established and disputed over time by different cultural groups
and nation states. Culturally based place names can reference small
geosites, long ceremonial landscapes based on established trails,
and massive geoscapes that are functionally integrated by geology,
climate, and human use. Many of these geosites have been celebrated
by nations in recent times as national parks and world heritage sites.
Multivocality is a term used by the USA federal government to reflect
multiple names for places by cultural groups. Sunset Crater in Arizona
after ethnographic studies [1] involving multiple Native groups who
are now recognizes in a trail sign containing authentic traditional
toponyms reflecting ancient connections with this volcano (Figure
1). Surrounding the park are volcanic lands (Figure 2). The park
continues to be referred to by its colonial name Sunset Crater and the
surrounding lands are called the Flagstaff Volcanic Landscape.
Indians that present an evaluation of the cultural and natural resources of Fajada Butte that they use and value, and an assessment of the needs of American Indian communities for plant materials from within Chaco Culture NHP in order to continue with their traditional and ceremonial practices. As such, this study emphasizes those resources defined by American Indians as having ceremonial and legendary significance. 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 focused 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 the process of tribal-park consultation including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)..