The San Juan School District, which covers the southeastern corner of the state, is planning to build a new elementary school in the community of Bluff. The old school is inadequate in a number of ways, including its septic system, and the school board has determined that a new school in a new location is preferable to remodeling or replacing the old school, which sits in the center of town, one block from the post office and adjacent to the Bluff Fort historical site, which hosts re-enactments of pioneer activities and crafts.
Land for a new school was purchased for an astonishing price of up to $50,000 an acre, in an undeveloped spot west of town. This area is known to be the location of dense archaeological occupation, particularly from the Basketmaker period, some 1,250 years or so ago. Ancient sites adjacent to the new school property were excavated by the state of Utah prior to highway construction in the 1970s. In addition to some of the largest and best preserved Basketmaker pithouses ever recorded, 18 burials were discovered and removed. Eighteen of San Juan County's earliest inhabitants had been buried there, some clearly of high status, with turquoise necklaces and elaborate grave offerings. Additional burials have been noted in the shifting dunes that cover much of the area west of town, including the proposed school site. Few burials have been found in archaeological sites in other parts of Bluff, while many have been found in the soft sands west of town. Some speculate that the dunes were a preferred burial location because excavating a grave was easier there than in the hard soils elsewhere in the area.
The presence of archaeological deposits and likely human burials at the school site has long been known to district officials. Incredibly, they continue to press forward, knowing that the majority of the students at the Bluff school are Navajo children who come from a culture that respects the dead and their resting places to the point of avoiding any contact with them. Many Navajo parents have expressed concerns, including letting the district know that they will not allow their children to be exposed to the spiritually significant burial grounds.
Equally concerning, the state of Utah has determined that the school district has no responsibility under state or federal law to avoid or protect archaeological sites that may be damaged or destroyed by construction. Known sites with buried deposits are documented at the chosen location, but the school district has no intention of excavating them or mitigating the effects of its project. The only concession the district has made is to hire an archaeological firm to watch out for burials, so when encountered, state officials can come and whisk them away.
This is not an acceptable situation for Bluff, for San Juan County, or for Utah. All public agencies should be obligated to deal responsibly with significant heritage sites that will be affected by their actions. And we should be sensitive to the culture of our students, particularly Native Americans whose beliefs and customs are often neglected and ignored. The school district and its board would not put up with plans to build a school atop the Bluff or Blanding cemeteries, even if the bones were to be whisked away by the state. Despite having already purchased the sacrosanct parcel, it should be abandoned. A Native American cemetery is no place for an elementary school, no matter how convenient.