Camping in Bandelier – Don Tucker – 1

This last spring I went camping at Bandelier National Monument in North-Central New Mexico in the heart of the Jemez Mts. During the visit I became acquainted with some the history of the pueblo peoples that had lived there. I also had the opportunity to walk ancient foot paths and view both the undisturbed ruins and recreations of village throughout the canyons. The Monument is basically an homage to self-taught historian and anthropologist named Adolph Bandelier who came to the region in the 1880’s to survey the customs and social organization of the Natives in the region. In all, Bandelier documented over 166 archeological sites in the Southwest. My visit got me thinking of how the American park service considers naming National Parks and decides what should be considered an American treasure. I find it kind of surprising that the park is named after the anthropologist that studied the people of the region and not after the actual people of the region. This sort of reminded me of one of the first class lectures and exercises we had that discussed the role of the historian and historiographical bias. Not only was this place inhabited by the pueblos here for at least hundreds of years, but many of there descendants still reside here on and off reservations.