Dominquez Archaeological Research Group - DARG

10/14/2026

Our friends over at Cultural Heritage Partners have been working hard to protect Section 106, and all the important places protected by the National Historic Preservation Act! Tomorrow is a big day. Stay tuned for more information and ways to make a difference!

10/14/2026

Take action: save history.

10/10/2026

10/03/2026

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09/27/2026

There is an urgent need to reach out to elected officials to protect Section 106. ALL elected officials need to hear from us on this, but there are key players that need extra pressure. The law firm that is taking the lead on this issue, Cultural Heritage Partners, sent us this message. Contained in it is an urgent request for help.

"We are hearing that President Trump and certain Senators are still considering a deal this week to introduce "permitting reform" that severely weakens Section 106.

Four key Senators need to hear from us - starting tonight and through Friday 5PM Eastern. Your grassroots Coalition is approaching 900 orgs and 9 million citizens. We can be LOUD. Please ask all of your organization's members to call the following officials and say simply this:

"No permitting reform that weakens Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act."

That's it. If you have members who live in these four states, they should certainly mention that at the start of the call. But everyone should call. Volume matters.

They woke the bear. Let them hear us roar.

Senator Mike Lee (Utah): 202-224-5444

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia): 202-224-6472

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island): 202-224-2921

Senator Martin Heinrich (New Mexico): 202-224-5521

Greg, Marion and the Team"

07/24/2026

"Elizabeth Merrit, deputy general counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, wrote in an open letter that she will vote against the proposed changes, calling them 'likely to cause
widespread chaos and confusion, and … curtail the consultation process that has led to thousands of win-win outcomes around the country.'

"Werkheiser agreed that the proposal would be "terrible for developers," who want predictability and information early on to avoid delays and issues down the road. He said that's why the existing Section 106 process generally works so well. Trying to speed it up by even a few days, he said, would be 'a losing trade for America in the long-term.'"

A council packed with Trump appointees is poised to rewrite historic preservation rules. Critics say that could help him build his D.C. arch faster — and endanger important sites across the country.

07/20/2026

For 60 years, the Section 106 process has protected historic places on our public lands. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will dismantle that process. These changes will do the following: 1. Make consultation optional and agency-directed; 2. Reduce the projects that will be reviewed under Section 106; and 3. Change what is considered both "historic" and "adverse".

You can help. Please begin drafting your response in order to make your voice heard and your comment count. I recommend you DO NOT copy and paste from a form letter. In the comments are Cultural Heritage Partners' review of the changes. I urge you to read through it and follow their guidance by taking the time to develop your own thoughts. You can do this by focusing on 8 key points:
Lead With Evidence: Real projects, data, costs, and delays outweigh opinions in the record.
Cite the Exact Provision: Reference the specific section — e.g., § 800.16(k)(2) — not the rule in general.
Propose Alternative Text: Don’t just object — suggest the specific fix you want to see adopted.
State Who You Are: Tribes, SHPOs, CRM firms, and local governments each carry distinct weight.
Preserve Issues for Litigation: Courts generally only review arguments raised during the comment period.
Keep It Organized & Concise: Executive summary, section headers, one clear ask per point.
Nail the Mechanics: 30-day deadline; submit via regulations.gov with the docket/RIN number. We will let you know when the comment period has started and how to submit when it is time.

Now is the time to get loud and to speak out. Our shared history is counting on it.

*Image below taken from a ruin site located near Bears Ears NP.

07/15/2026

We are saddened to hear about reductions in protections for Bears Ears and Grand Escalante. We know that those areas are rich in cultural heritage and have great significance to Native American tribes in the region

05/08/2026

Friday Field Notes: Bison Association with Birth-giving Goddess
Mythological images identified as the “Birth-giving Goddess” are found around the world in various art forms and date as early as the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. They are linked with primal mothers in animal form such as the she-bison, -bear, -elk and -deer (Gimbutas 1989:xxii). This is just one example of many universal elements of the hunting religion mytho-religious complex that rock art panels share across the oceans. Closer to home: “There is a legend [Blackfoot Medicine Legend], known to a number of bison-hunting tribes of the North American plains, of a woman who married a bison and through her life-restoring magic became the institutor of those hunting rites by which the lives of the slaughtered beasts were restored” (Campbell 1983:68, 234). Keyser and Klassen note ethnographic evidence of bison/female human themes in rock art as related to fertility, fecundity, and the sacred relationship between women and bison (2001:177-179).

A rock art panel located on the Uncompahgre Plateau features a prominent depiction of a "Birth-giving Goddess." The anthropomorphic figure is female, as indicated by a subtle breast impression on the right side of the image. Also, the line-and-bulb shape situated between the legs represents birth. [Note the difference between the apparent female image and the anthropomorph (photo right) that is obviously a male representation.] The presence of a cloven hoof on at least one foot suggests the figure symbolizes a mythological “she-bison” being.

References:
Campbell, Joseph (1983) The Way of the Animal Powers: Volume I, Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Alfred Van Der Marck Editions. Distributed by Harper and Row, San Francisco.
Gimbutas, Marija (1989) The Language of the Goddess. Published in paperback in the United States in 2001 by Thames and Hudson Inc., New York.
Keyser, James D. and Michael A. Klassen (2001) Plains Indian Rock Art. University of Washington Press, Seattle

05/05/2026

Today is Missing and Mudered Indigenous Women (MMIW) awareness day. Our hearts are with the families of those affected, and we hope with further awareness we can end the cycle of violence.