Preservation and research of sacred sites by the Zuni Indian tribe of New Mexico

In order to protect the War Gods that have been returned, one of the shrines was reconstructed by the tribe using labor provided by the Young Adult Conservation Corps, a federallyfunded program, under the direction of the tribe's religious leaders. Reconstruction involved elaboration of the shrine to include full-height masonry walls, a locked door, and a roof. Since War Gods are supposed to disintegrate naturally by exposure to the elements, the roof of this shrine is a network of iron rebar - open to the sky, but secure enough to prohibit human access. This reconstruction was a creative effort on the part of the Zuni Tribe to protect one of its most important shrines. As a result of the power of the objects contained within the shrine, the area has received renewed visitation on the part of tribal members.

A project to document all extant War Gods at all of the shrines on the Zuni Indian Reservation was undertaken in 1991 and 1992 with funding from the Chamiza Foundation (Othole, Tsadiasi, and Ferguson 1992). This project was undertaken by the Elder Bow Priest working in association with the Zuni Cultural Preservation Coordinator. All War Gods subsequently repatriated to the Pueblo of Zuni have been documented using the suite of metric attributes developed during this project. These measurements allow each War God to be recognized as a unique artifact. The data collected about War God shrines on the Zuni Indian Reservation are kept in a confidential file at the ZHIPO for use in management of these sacred sites by Zuni Bow Priests.

Issues in the Protection of Sacred Sites

Thus far, this article has approached the protection of sacred sites and objects in terms of specific examples of how one North American tribe has accomplished its goals. In the remainder of this article, we would like to discuss several of the themes and issues that are raised by the efforts of the Zuni Tribe to protect ritually used locations. We reiterate that the protection of sacred areas by the Zuni has taken place through two principal strategies: (I) the historic preservation process, and (2) legislation and litigation. Both of these processes have been effective, but each has its advantages and disadvantages.

The first problem that we see is one that often appears within the historic preservation process. As we pointed out earlier, there have been varying approaches to how sacred sites and objects are recorded during cultural resources management projects. In large part, the problem lies with the ability or inability of archaeologists to identify sacred areas, particularly if these archaeologists are not tribal members or when there are no material manifestations of ritual activity. For some Zuni every mountain peak and every spring is sacred. Only a small proportion of these places, however, will have any cultural materials present to indicate the role that these places play in the Zuni worldview.

As anthropologist and Zuni tribal member Edmund Ladd (1983:172) has pointed out, "Anyone who has a mind to can give prayer meal and prayers at any spring, mountain top, ruins, trail, anthill, tree or bush for thanks or in supplication for a good day, long life, welfare of the people, and so on." There is a continuum of modifications of the landscape, from a very small offering of feathers, crushed turquoise, or prayer meal, to larger groups of offerings in association with shrines constructed from stacked stones or stone circles (Ladd 1983:170-172).