Indian Health Service On-call on the Tohono O'odham Nation

1989-2003

As a federal agency, the Indian Health Service (IHS) must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act prior to initiating construction projects. In many cases, these projects involved pipelines or small areas of disturbance with some flexibility of location. Wherever possible, avoidance was achieved in order to preserve significant archaeological sites, limit costs, and minimize schedule delays.

A proposed sewer lagoon near Sil Nakya was located near an area of petroglyphs and would have affected a large prehistoric village. After a limited testing program, a new location was selected in order to preserve these important sites.

Anegam is located along a major wash that flows only after heavy rainstorms. A substantial network of canals was developed by prehistoric residents of this area. A segment of one canal is visible as a linear depression highlighted by the darker green vegetation that starts in the right foreground of this photograph.

Incremental increases in the existing site inventory and reassessment of previously recorded sites were the most common outcome of these projects. Occasional projects involved a testing phase, and two of these projects revealed substantial preserved prehistoric occupations.

A number of projects where archaeological resources were encountered involved meetings with the local communities to discuss the results and to explore options. IHS works to enhance quality of life on reservations, and efficient archaeological compliance aids this goal.

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