Arizona has a rich and storied history of ancient Native American civilizations, of Spanish explorers and white settlers, and many more who have shaped the Southwestern landscape. The ancient relics that express much of that past continue to be at risk of treasure hunters and the elements. It is through the efforts of dedicated volunteers and anthropological professionals that these clues to the past are being protected.
Selected from more than 100 nominees, the Arizona Culturekeepers has selected 10 individuals and organizations to be honored as their 2011 Culturekeeper honorees. Working in conjunction with the Sharlot Hall Museum, the Arizona Historical Society and Marshall Trimble, The Westin Keirland Resort and Spa designed the Culturekeepers program to recognize individuals from across the state for their work in preserving our state’s history.
Included in the list of honorees selected this year is the Arizona Site Steward Program. This program includes 728 site stewards and 32 partners who are dedicated to the ideal that Arizona’s vast and colorful history be something we can all enjoy and learn from.
This award holds a special meaning for Holbrook resident Darlene Brinkerhoff, who has spent nearly 30 years preserving, recording and studying the Southwest’s history and prehistory. Brinkerhoff joined the Arizona Site Stewards in 1989 and at 22 years has spent the longest amount of time with the program.
The Arizona Site Steward program was established in 1986 by then Governor Bruce Babbitt, who requested that the Governor’s Archeological Advisory Council find a way to protect threatened cultural heritage sites. According to the Arizona Culturekeepers, the goal of the Site Steward program is “to protect the remnants of a 12,000-year past and the remains left behind in shell and stone, ceramic and bone.”
Brinkerhoff has been committed to that goal since before the official Site Steward program began, with her archeological activities dating back to 1984.
Archeology has been a lifelong passion for Brinkerhoff, who studied Southwest archeology at Northland Pioneer College and attended Crow Canyon Archeology School. She honed her archeology skills by participating alongside professional archeologists over the years, eventually becoming an Arizona Archeological Society Certified Recorder.
Brinkerhoff has excavated at Homolovi and the Elden Pueblo sites. She has recorded petroglyphs at the Chevelon Steps and in Canyon De Chelley, and cave paintings at Chaco Canyon.
Over time, she began directing her own programs, and is currently working on preserving petroglyphs near the Hidden Cove Golf Course in Holbrook, which includes Spanish, U.S. Army and Latter-day Saint historical writings in addition to prehistoric symbols.
Brinkerhoff has helped with excavations, surveys and recordings at Rock Art Ranch, outside of Joseph City, surveys on Hopi lands, ranches near Heber and in Chevelon Canyon. She has worked as a site steward in the Vernon area, and in her early years drew the Navajo rock art found in Chaco Canyon.
“The archeologists liked my drawings because I didn’t embellish them to look artistic, I captured the actual image, which was how they wanted the art recorded,” said Brinkerhoff.
“When I was first asked to record the paintings, I figured I would need to just have black or dark red pencils,” said Brinkerhoff. “But I ended up needing 20 to 25 different colored pencils to capture all of the different blues, yellows, golds and oranges the people used in their cave paintings.”
A Holbrook native, Brinkerhoff moved with her mother to northern Colorado when she was 10. It was while on science class field trips to paleontological sites that her love of anthropology and paleontology was born.
Brinkerhoff returned to Holbrook, where she married and had a family and worked at the Arizona Public Service Co. Cholla Power Plant for many years before retiring and turning all of her efforts to archeology and genealogy work.
“I do it mainly for the love of it. Most of the work I do is (funded) out of my own money, although some projects will pay for my hotel and per diem,” said Brinkerhoff.
There are several criteria an individual or organization must meet to be named an Arizona Culturekeeper:
“* A Culturekeeper must have worked to preserve the image of Arizona.
“* Must maintain the traditions, rituals and/or cultures that have made Arizona a home and a referred travel destination for decades. These could be artistic, ethnic or historic traditions or activities. These could be actions taken to preserve Arizona’s natural environment or animal habitat.
“* A Culturekeeper must have a longtime commitment to services as a keeper or influencer of Arizona culture, and have served the state through paid or volunteer efforts.
“* The recognition will honor the individual who has demonstrated a passionate dedication to the issue, hobby or endeavor that keeps Arizona’s culture alive.
“* This individual must have lived within Arizona’s border’s during the time for which they are being recognized, and they must be living.”
Joining the Site Steward Program as honorees this year were Peterson Zah, educator and past president of the Navajo Nation; the Setalla Family of Winslow for Hopi pottery; Mary Manross, a land preservationist from Scottsdale; J.J. Lamb, a historic preservationist from Vail; Lloyd Clark, a writer and historian from Surprise; Carson Thomas, an artist and saddlemaker from Wickenburg; Bernard “Bunny” Fontana, a professor, author and historian from Tucson; William Otwell, a Prescott architect; and historian Lois McFarland of Scottsdale.
Established in 2002, the Culturekeepers will continue to announce and recognize 10 individuals during an annual event held at The Westin Kierland. By the state centennial in 2012, 100 Culturekeepers will have been honored.
