PRESERVATION AND RESEARCH OF SACRED SITES BY THE ZUNI INDIAN TRIBE OFNEW-MEXICO

Sacred sites are important in the ceremonial life of the Zuni Indians of the American Southwest. To protect these sites, both on and off the Zuni Indian Reservation, the Zuni Tribe has used two research and man agement strategies: (1) historic preservation, and (2) legislation and litigation. In this article, the Zuni Tribe's use of historic preserv ation to manage sacred sites is analyzed using the report series of th e Zuni Archaeology Program. While sacred sites were only a small fract ion of the total number of sites recorded, the treatment of these site s as cultural resources resulted in their protection. The Zuni Tribe h as also successfully managed sacred sites through special Federal legi slation and litigation of land claims. In two instances, sacred places have been added to the Zuni Reservation. Although the strategies empl oyed by the Zuni Tribe have generally been successful, our analysis id entifies two as yet unresolved issues: (1) the limited ability of arch aeologists to recognize sacred sites, and (2) the unknown impact that may result from the reduction of a dynamic oral tradition to the liter ate scholarly and legal forms of the dominant society.