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The National Preservation Conference is this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Staff members from around the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be blogging from the conference and sharing their experiences. This morning, Arnold Berke, executive editor of Preservation magazine, sat in on an education session about Native American preservation.

Mention "Tulsa" to your average citizen of Preservation Nation and the images you’ll likely elicit are oil, art deco, and Route 66. But the story of Tulsa and Oklahoma began considerably before those 20th-century images entered the collective mind. I refer to the original residents, the Native Americans who have long lived here. The state’s very name—in Choctaw "okla" means people and "humma" means red—refers to those inhabitants.

It’s only natural, then, that preservation and Native America should intersect at this particular conference city, and that one result would be the temptingly-titled educational session "Indian Tribes and Historic Preservation: What’s In It for Us?" What indeed? Only four of the nearly 40 tribes in Oklahoma have THPOs—tribal historic preservation officers, a newish construct akin to the state preservation officers (SHPOs) that movement pros know so well—so it would seem time, as the session promised, to "discuss why—and how—tribes should embrace preservation."

"Why" is really the first matter. Since "historic" and "preservation" don’t mean the same thing to everybody, might Native Americans have their own take on these terms? What’s historic to them? What should be preserved? A lingering popular answer, that native resources are mainly ephemeral and "cultural," their physical manifestation limited to archaeological remains, is a simplification, as session leader Jeremy Finch, the THPO for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation stated: "I take fundamental issue with the bifurcation into, ‘if it’s archaeological it’s Indian, if architectural, it’s Anglo.’ That’s just not true." The structures that Indians have as part of their history, often from interaction with those Anglos but also buildings they’ve constructed (schools to courthouses to whole towns), are increasingly embraced as part of native history.

As tribes become "economic entities," Finch said, "they’re asking if these new opportunities are consistent with their cultural values. And how will they benefit us?" Heritage tourism may be the biggest prospect for tribes to use native historic places to advantage. "That’s where the rubber hits the road." Yet he says tribes, at least in Oklahoma, have been slow to line up for preservation in the first place. Tribes are also asking how these new opportunities will affect that all-embracing, all-important requirement of maintaining sovereignty.

John Fowler, executive director the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, described how tribal participation in the federal preservation matrix has been expanded and smoothed by amendments to the National Preservation Act, which included establishing the THPOs (76 now exist). Agency recognition of native cultural properties has not always been an easy path, he pointed out. But the new laws—and regs—are smoothing the consultation process. (There is now a national THPOs association to speed this along, and the Advisory Council has created a Native American program.)

Fowler also spoke about the Preserve America program (run by the council and Park Service). Nearly 690 communities are PA towns now (they apply for the designation), but only one native community has signed up. Beyond the honorific boost, the program offers grants up to 150K for promoting historic sites, certainly a perk for the heritage tourism-inclined. Alas, he said, "we find the reaction from tribes only lukewarm at best—it takes a backseat to gaming."

Katherine McLaughlin, a Boston preservation planner, has studied the tribal preservation officer phenomenon, interviewing THPOs nationwide. What’s in it for them? Suspicions of not understanding the unique, non-Eurocentric nature of Indian heritage persist—how can others understand the importance of, for example, oral history—as do, once again, fears of losing sovereignty. (The session also included a revealing look, by Phil Lujan, chief district judge of the Citizen Potawatomi, at the history of Indian sovereignty and issues of determining the jurisdiction of courts.) Although a large number of tribes have yet to name THPOs, McLaughlin found, "there is a lot to gain for them, and for historic preservation at large."

-- Arnold Berke

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

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The National Preservation Conference is this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Staff members from around the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be blogging from the conference and sharing their experiences. Today, Max van Balgooy, director of interpretation and education for National Trust Historic Sites, reports on the official opening of the conference -- last night's plenary session and the party that followed.

The Cherokee Youth Choir performing at the Plenary.

Wednesday’s plenary session officially opened the National Preservation Conference in the magnificent Art Deco setting of the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, recently recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Its soaring tower with narrow stained glass windows is more reminiscent of a skyscraper than a church. Inside, preservationists packed the main floor and balcony while listening to the Cherokee Youth Choir sing from the risers on stage. Cliff Hudson, Chairman of the Board, moderated the plenary session and we were welcomed by Mayor Taylor of Tulsa. Commissioner Winstead of the US General Services Administration described the recent successes in preserving federal buildings and their continuing efforts to find new uses for the obsolete federal buildings, either through commercial leases or transfer to government agencies, citing the example of the rehabilitation of the U. S. Post Office in Washington, DC as the Hotel Monaco.

In his report, Richard Moe, who now celebrates his fifteenth years as president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, noted that preservation is always a work in progress and always facing new opportunities and challenges, thus the work of the National Trust will never be done. The current economic downturn is a major speed bump and the National Trust has already taken steps in response, but he acknowledged that it will cause all of us to rethink the way we are operating. He reminded us that the current situation is temporary but the loss of historic places is permanent and encouraged all of us to seek partnerships to help overcome the current challenges.

A highlight for me were the brief comments of Robert Wilson, who has long been a major supporter of preservation, most recently providing challenge grants to statewide and local preservation organizations to build a sustainability. In his tour of Tulsa, he found that he was struck both by the beauty of the architecture but also by the desolation in parts of the city, the tragic result of demolition caused by the citizens themselves. Philanthropists have many ways to give away money, including health and homeless, but he’s pursued historic preservation because of the ability of great architecture to enhance the lives of many people, both today and into the future. Pennsylvania Station in New York City was a tremendous loss, especially since it was replaced by a “grubby subterranean space” and as a result, everyone’s life has been diminished.

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National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

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The National Preservation Conference is this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Staff members from around the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be blogging from the conference and sharing their experiences. Priya Chhaya, program assistant for training & online services in the Center for Preservation Leadership, is in the Exhibit Hall checking out the poster presentations.

Bright colors and conversation surround you when you walk through the Exhibit Hall here in Tulsa. Conference-goers seem to be holding up despite the turn in the weather -- rain-rain-and more rain! People are darting to field and education sessions and attending the twice daily nosh and networking periods in the hall and most of them are smiling. On Tuesday night we got a taste of Oklahoma history at the special lecture by Dr. Bob Blackburn (we were in the gorgeous First Presbyterian Church which is just one of the architectural vistas here in Tulsa). We learned about the state’s unique preservation story and the great work that they are doing to preserve and embrace the various pasts.

Poster on the preservation of the "Heroine."

It was with this in mind that I started wandering through the poster presentations. As I took in the landscape I came across John Davis and Bob Rea of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Their poster, “Excavation and Preservation of the Steamboat Heroine” is a detailed look at their work to preserve the only underwater archaeological site in Oklahoma.

The earliest example of steamboat technology in the United States, the Heroine was built in New Albany, Indiana in 1832 and “transported freight, livestock and passengers on the Ohio, Mississippi and Red Rivers.” In May 1838 the boat got stuck in a snag two miles down from a public landing on the upper Red River and sank.

Bob and John have been working on the boat since 1999 -- working underwater for eight weeks at a time. If you’re in Tulsa visit their poster in the Exhibit Hall. If you aren’t, more information on the Heroine can be found at www.okhistory.org or www.ohs.org.

-- Priya Chhaya

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

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