Category: River Guiding

Seeking My Center Place: Migrations through Science and Tradition

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, Southwest, Traditional Cultural Places3 Comments

By Lyle Balenquah Third Mesa Tep'wungwa (Greasewood) Clan, Village of Paaqavi, Arizona. The following chapter appears in the volume, "Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives". Edited by George Nicholas and Joe Watkins. (Routledge, 2024). “I know my story. But the only real, tangible evidence of the clans being here …

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Hopi Ancestors Lived In These Canyons

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, climate change, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, San Juan River, Southwest, springs,, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Youth4 Comments

This is a short essay I wrote for Plateau Magazine (Museum of Northern Arizona) about Hopi connections to the Glen Canyon region. This issue compliments a small exhibit currently on display at MNA titled, "Archaeologists in Glen Canyon". The exhibit will run through the summer of 2023. The essay, with voice-over, is also on display …

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Beyond Stone & Mortar: Preserving Indigenous Presence within Ancestral Landscapes

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, San Juan River, Southwest, springs,, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Youth1 Comment

My latest article about the conservation work we completed in the Bears Ears area is now available via the link below. The piece is featured in the Spring/Summer 2022 edition of the Grand Canyon Trust's publication,  "Advocate Magazine". Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Zuni #642. Photo: Lyle Balenquah Please consider supporting the Grand Canyon Trust in …

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“Full Circle”

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, San Juan River, Southwest, springs,, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, YouthLeave a comment

A great article, "Full Circle", authored by Karuna Eberl recently appeared that highlights the conservation work we have been doing within Bears Ears National Monument. The article is featured in the Spring 2022 edition of National Parks, the quarterly magazine of the National Parks Conservation Association. You can find the article HERE There is also …

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Lifeways of the Little Colorado River – Grand Canyon Trust

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, River Guiding, San Juan River, Southwest, springs,, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural PlacesLeave a comment

"No matter its color—clear, red, or blue—the Little Colorado River gives life to the lands, communities, and cultures through which it flows." Follow the link below to hear and read various Indigenous perspectives about Paayu, the Little Colorado River, and why it deserves continued protection and preservation as a Cultural Landscape and unique, desert ecosystem. …

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“Speak Softly, Tread Lightly & Show Much Respect….”

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Indigenous Guides, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, Southwest, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places5 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the "Science Moab Podcast" about my views on Indigenous Archaeology as well as on-going conservation work in Southeastern Utah. This interview was included as a part of the Moab Festival of Science. You can hear the interview here-->https://sciencemoab.org/perspectives-from-a-hopi-archaeologist/ The interview was followed by a live-stream Q & …

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Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, Southwest, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Uncategorized2 Comments

With the historic visit by Indigenous Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of …

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Paa’tuuwa’qatsi: Water is Life

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Coal, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Native Guides, River Guiding, Southwest, springs,, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Uncategorized3 Comments

The turquoise waters of the Little Colorado River just above the Confluence. The Grand Canyon landscape contains some of the Southwests most unique ecosystems of rivers, springs and riparian zones. These areas are home to many plant and animal species, some found nowhere else in the world, or that represent the last viable populations holding …

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Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Colorado River, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hisat'sinom, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, Southwest, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Uncategorized6 Comments

With the historic visit by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of the …

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Spirit of Place: Preserving the Cultural Landscape of the Bears Ears

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Bears Ears, Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Tourism, Hopi, Indigenous Archaeoloy, Native Guides, River Guiding, Ruins Preservation, Southwest, Sustainability, Traditional Cultural Places, Uncategorized, Youth1 Comment

1200 A.D. Dawn breaks over a secluded canyon, spreading a sliver of orange light along the rim as a lone canyon wren welcomes the morning, singing another day into existence. As the light increases in intensity, it illuminates a sheer cliff face, revealing layers of geologic time; ancient cross-bedded sand dunes and million-year old ocean …

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Kyaptsi: Respect for Ancestral Connections

On By Lyle BalenquahIn Archaeology, Colorado River, Cultural Preservation, Hopi, River Guiding, Southwest, SustainabilityLeave a comment

“When we visit the Grand Canyon and we come to this area…we just don’t show up empty handed. There’s great preparation that goes into coming down here….we bring offerings for allowing us to come through the passage of this place. As we make our way down here, there are several places that we stop and …

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