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May 1, 2001
By Aspen C. Emmett Editor’s note: May has been designated Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month by the Colorado Historical Society. During May, the Cortez Journal will present weekly stories regarding the area’s historic past. Three boys huddle around a cold fire pit in a mud-and-twig Puebloan pithouse, feverishly attempting to spark an ember with a hearth board and spindle stick. Just outside, several girls kneel over metates, monotonously grinding blue kernels of corn into a fine powder. What was likely a scene hundreds of years ago in the area of Crow Canyon is also a likely scene today with Crow Canyon Archeological Center’s education program for school children. Students from around the country and even overseas travel to Crow Canyon every day to learn about ancient lifestyles, archaeological method sand Puebloan history. But, until recently, many children of Montezuma County have been excluded from that experience because of financial restraints. However, last year the implementation of a new program, Community Youth at Crow Canyon, extended financial resources to students in the county, allowing them to experience the history of the area they live in. Through foundation funding and local contributions, Crow Canyon Development Coordinator Oliver Sundby said, the program’s expenses require little to no tuition for students. Each year, the program aims to provide a fully-funded field day at Castle Rock Pueblo for approximately 400 local fourth-grade students, a partially-funded two-day overnight archaeological program for 210 grade-school students, two fully-funded one-week scholarships for middle-school students and two four-week fully-funded scholarships for a high-school archaeological field school. Approximately $20,000 of the $30,000 program budget is funded through foundation grants, $6,000 through local business contributions, and $4,400 from the students themselves. The overnight grade-school program costs $20 a student and is usually covered through student fund-raising. Local businesses like Citizens State Bank and Keesee Motor Company have made cash donations to aid the Community Youth program, Sundby said. Joe Keesee said he supports the program because he wants local students to have the same opportunities that the more affluent children from outside the area have. "The local youth need some financial support, whereas the ones that come in from somewhere else are more able to pay their own way," he said. "It’s kind of like our ski resorts now. All the people from other states are good skiers and the local kids don’t know how."
Citizens State Bank president and CEO Slim McWilliams said he feels the program is important because it not only teaches area children about the rich ancestral history surrounding them, but also opens their eyes to local job opportunities in archaeology and historical preservation. "We hope maybe it will encourage some of these children to make career decisions," he said. Dolores Elementary School teacher Debbie Caldwell said she has been bringing her fourth-grade classes to Crow Canyon for several years because the experience is irreplaceable as a learning tool. Her class begins fund-raising at the start of the school year, selling T-shirts to make the trip possible. She said the new project’s supplemental funding will allow other students in the county to take part. "These kids grew up in this area and it’s an exciting time for an educator because they have grown up with parents and grandparents who are used to picking stuff up, taking it home and saving it because it’s pretty," Caldwell said. "A part of the learning for these kids is to help them see that this is a unique area and these are non-renewable resources. They know how important it is, when you see artifacts, to leave them there and not take them away." Caldwell said Colorado history is a fourth-grade emphasis and her students are well-prepared for their trip to Crow Canyon. "It’s one thing to talk about it in the classroom and another to get the hands-on experience and see the kids make the connection," Caldwell said. "There’s no comparison. You can talk about it in the classroom, but when the kids come out here, all of a sudden they make the connection with what’s real and what you’ve talked about. Until you touch, feel and experience it, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to these kids." Dolores fourth-grader Kristina Umberger said that through the program, she has learned about everything from delicate excavation to responsible historical preservation. "It helps us learn about the past," she said enthusiastically. Fellow student Dylan Henry said the activity he was looking forward to the most was learning about atlatls — hunting devices used to propel arrows. "It will go twice as far," Henry explained. Students Heather Beach and Kaitlyn Fitzgerald were eager to spout an array of knowledge they had gained through their simulated digs and other hands-on projects throughout the two days. "I learned that when the ancient people left, the sand covered it all up," Fitzgerald said. "And when you excavate, you have to use a brush so you don’t break anything." Beach shared the importance of not disturbing artifacts while out hiking. "I’d look at it and put it back where I found it so other people can find it too." Caldwell said that of the 40 Dolores fourth-graders attending the two-day program at Crow Canyon last week, only one or two had been there before. "When you look at the big picture, these are the kids you want to get hooked — not the people from New York and other places — because they live right here. They’re going to grow up to be better stewards for the area." Sundby said the foundation that supported the program last year no longer exists and they are seeking other grant money to keep the program going, as well as additional local sponsors to fill financial gaps. Interested donors should contact Sundby at 565-8975, ext. 155. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
