(3 Sep 2015) A crew of Native American youth spent most of the summer trying to repair the stone walls that make up one of the more prominent cultural sites at Bandelier National Monument.
They are helping with a massive preservation project as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's HOPE initiative, or Hands-On Preservation Experience.
The trust teamed up with the National Park Service and the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. The goal: To train more young people in preservation skills while helping historical sites on public land. From New Mexico and Arizona to Virginia and Vermont, crews worked on some 30 projects this summer.
At Bandelier, the work has taken on a greater significance because the teens are restoring structures that were built by their ancestors centuries ago.
"I think it's important because we need to know where we came from," said Vidal Gonzales, 17, of Santa Clara Pueblo.
Without the maintenance, Bandelier preservation specialist Jonathan Stark said the walls would crumble within a decade or two.
"The work that we're doing is important to a variety of people," Stark said. "Obviously, the visitors love coming out here and seeing this and learning the history of a place such as this. To the descendants, this is a footprint of their ancestors, something that proves they were here. It gives perspective to their younger generations."
The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps plans to recruit more tribal youth to work on possible future preservation projects with Acoma Pueblo and other Native communities in New Mexico.

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть