Native American History and Culture Roundup

"Native American tribe worries pipeline will disturb graves," Washington Post, March 26, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As President Barack Obama pushes to fast-track an oil pipeline from Oklahoma south to the Gulf Coast, an American Indian tribe that calls the oil hub home worries the route may disrupt sacred sites holding the unmarked graves of their ancestors.

Sac and Fox Nation Chief George Thurman plans to voice his concerns this week in Washington. He said he fears workers placing the 485-mile Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Cushing to refineries on Texas' Gulf Coast could disturb holy ground without consideration of the tribe. He and another tribe member say the pipeline's route travels through areas where unmarked graves are likely buried>>>

"Bowers Museum Opens ‘Sacred Gold’ Exhibit," Antiques and Arts Online, March 27, 2012

The Bowers Museum's newest exhibit, "Sacred Gold: Pre-Hispanic Art of Colombia," opens to the public March 31 and remains on view through July 1.

This rich exhibit traces the legacy of gold in pre-Hispanic Colombia in more than 200 exceptional objects, supplemented by text, map, chronology and photographs that put in context the pieces that make up this collection from the Museo del Oro and the Banco de Republica, Bogotá, Colombia.>>>

Ray Mark Rinaldi,"Anschutz Collection of Western art to open to the public in 2012," Denver Post, March 27, 2012

The Anschutz Collection, one of the country's most-respected collections of Western paintings, will open its doors to the public full-time later this year, adding another attraction to Denver's growing portfolio of small, quirky art museums. . . .

The Anschutz Collection is built around the biggest names in Western art, starting in the early part of the 19th century, and includes works by such standard bearers as Frederic Remington, George Catlin and Charles Marion Russell.>>>

Sarah Yager, "Making New Promises in Indian Country," Atlantic Monthly, March 23, 2012

On December 2, President Obama delivered the keynote address at the third annual White House Tribal Nations Conference. His adoption into the Crow Tribe on the 2008 campaign trail had been a historic step in the relationship between the federal and tribal governments, and that warmth still lingered in the applause that greeted his appearance onstage.

That morning, Obama announced, in his administration's latest effort to reduce obstacles facing Indian communities, he had signed an executive order to lower the dropout rate and start closing the achievement gap for Native American and Alaska Native students. "Standing in this room, with leaders of all ages," he said, surveying the densely packed auditorium at the Department of Interior headquarters, "it's impossible not to be optimistic about the future of Indian Country.">>>

Stephanie Taylor and Dana Beyerle, "Warning issued to Alabama Historical Commission," Tuscaloosa News, March 21, 2012

MONTGOMERY | The sponsor of a bill that would change the underwater artifacts law warned members of the Alabama Historical Commission after a commission employee sent an email opposing the bill.

At stake is what lies at the bottom of Alabama's waterways and who it belongs to — the state or to the private divers who uncover artifacts.>>>