March Faculty:

Mr. Ralph “R.E.” Burrillo is an archaeologist, researcher, author, and conservation advocate. He holds a Master of Science in Archaeology from the University of Utah and currently works for as a Project Manager for Paleo West Archaeology, based in Phoenix, Arizona. Ralph’s areas of specialization include behavioral ecology, paleodietary reconstruction, history of archaeology and ethnohistory of the Colorado Plateau. He has done field work for the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service.  His writing has appeared in Archaeology Southwest, Colorado Plateau Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune along with many regional publications. He is the author of Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape, which was chosen by ForeWord Book Reviews as their critic’s choice in nonfiction for the year 2020. His most recent book, The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words from a Wandering Local, was recently published by Torrey House Press.

Mr. Micah Loma’omvaya, is a member of the Bear Clan from Songoopavi on Second Mesa, Arizona. He is the Realty Officer for the Hopi Tribe and was previously employed as the Tribal Archaeologist in the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.  He was formally initiated into the Hopi men’s religious priesthood as a young man. Micah’s introduction to the field of anthropology was at the age of seventeen years when selected for an internship at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History; later he earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from University of Arizona in 1997. Micah draws upon his experiences within his culture to provide perspectives and traditional ways of knowing around the origins and pathways of early peoples in this region. He has done public outreach through his private company Hopi Tours, the Arizona Humanities Council and more recently for the Moab Museum. Micah has a family of four Hopi children, with the two youngest he is currently raising in the village of Songoopavi so that they may continue to learn their culture and homelands.

Mr. Jonathan Till is Curator at the Edge of the Cedars Museum, a Utah State Park and authorized repository.  Jonathan holds an M.S. in Anthropology and has worked as an archaeologist for private, state, tribal, and federal organizations and led field seminars for CFI, Crow Canyon and other educational groups. He has done extensive field research in this this region with a particular focus on Chacoan-era prehistoric roads.

October Faculty: 

Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants will serve as primary faculty for the October seminar. Woods Canyon conducts field research and stabilization projects in Bears Ears National Monument and throughout the northern Southwest for tribal, government and private entities. Woods Canyon has a history of presenting technical data from cultural resource projects to professional, academic and citizen groups. Ms. Kelly McAndrews is Archaeologist, President and Co-owner of Woods Canyon. She has more than 25 years of cultural resource management experience including survey, excavation, GIS drafting, artifact analyses, curation, and administration. Kelly has authored and presented numerous reports and professional papers. Ms. Shanna Diederichs serves as Conservation Program Director. In addition to field work, she works with Indigenous Ancestral Lands youth corps crews and led volunteer projects for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Our special tour at the Edge of the Cedars Museum will once again be led by Mr. Jonathan Till. 

An additional presentation is being arranged with an Indigenous leader to highlight BENM management and community projects.