Cultural ResourcesCultural Resources
The Grand Canyon Protection Act identifies cultural resources as a focus for the Adaptive Management Program. But what are cultural resources? In an abstract sense, a cultural resource is anything that people place a cultural value on. For the Adaptive Management Program, however, this definition needs to be more focused in order to be an effective guide for developing management goals and for directing management activities. Therefore, only specific categories of cultural resources have been identified for consideration within the Adaptive Management Program.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) serves as the foundation for how the United States formally defines, preserves, and manages its cultural resources. In short, this legislation identifies the federal government’s responsibility regarding preservation of the history of the nation. To be considered a significant cultural resource, or “historic property”, under the NHPA, the place must fall into one or more of the of the following categories:
- It is related to events or people that are significant in our history
- It is representative of a period or type of construction (including the work of a master)
- It can provide information about the past
the Colorado River in Grand Canyon -
Photo by Mike Yeatts
If one or more of these requirements are met, then a property can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and becomes eligible for special treatment by the federal government. The identification plaques seen on some of the older buildings in many towns indicate that the buildings have achieved this status.
Within Glen and Grand Canyon, most of the historic properties are not actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but are nonetheless recognized as eligible for listing. This recognition conveys the same degree of protection as if they were formally listed and requires the federal agencies to evaluate how their management and other activities may affect the properties.
Historic Properties and the Adaptive Management Program
Cultural Property by several tribal groups -
Photo by Mike Yeatts
Archaeological sites comprise the largest number of historic properties under consideration by the Adaptive Management Program. They include past living places, agricultural fields, trails, ceremonial locations, inscriptions, and other evidence from the people who lived their lives in Grand Canyon. These places are generally related to the ancestors of the Native Americans that still occupy the area around the Grand Canyon, including the Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, several Paiute Bands, and the Zuni.
Other types of historic properties are related to the use of the region by miners, scientists, activities by the federal government, and recreationists. These include such things as mines, houses, inscriptions, and boats.
A special class of historic property is termed Traditional Cultural Property (TCP). These are places of importance to traditional cultures and serve a role in maintaining cultural continuity - they link the past to the present, and the present to the future. While commonly associated with Native American cultures, TCPs can exist for any traditional group.
These historic properties are often difficult for a person outside the culture to identify because they may lack any constructed evidence. TCPs in Grand Canyon include, landforms and geologic features, ceremonial sites, tribal origin locations, springs, and resource collection areas.
Culture and Our Environment
with multiple cultural values - Photo by
Mike Yeatts
The narrowly defined "historic property" of the National Historic Preservation Act fails to consider the full sweep of cultural resource concerns that are addressed in the Adaptive Management Program. The tribal participants as well as other stakeholders hold strong cultural or societal values for most of the resources in Grand Canyon, including the Grand Canyon itself. It is precisely because there are cultural values for the resources of Grand Canyon that the Adaptive Management Program exists. The plants, animals, water, geography, sounds, smells, and space all have traditional cultural values to Native Americans. These resources also have cultural values for the other participants in the Adaptive Management Program. If there were no value placed on having sand beaches as places to camp, or to provide habitat for plants and animals, then there would be no reason to care about their status and to manage them. If keeping species from going extinct had no value in our culture, then the Endangered Species Act would not exist. The Adaptive Management Program seeks to recognize the values for the resources along the Colorado River and develop appropriate management actions to achieve these values.