“Room 33 – Chaco Canyon’s Room With A View Into the Past,” by filmmaker Larry Ruiz, will premiere at the Fort Lewis College Lyceum as part of a San Juan Basin Archaeological Society presentation on Wednesday.
The documentary film has a runtime of 19 minutes 13 seconds and features Philip Tuwaletstiwa, a member of the Hopi Tribe who discovered via a DNA test his lineage traces back to the people of the Chacoan civilization, remnants of which lie in Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Tuwaletstiwa explained in the film his DNA traced back to Chile, but his closest matching relative was determined with DNA taken from human remains found within Room 33 in Pueblo Bonito, which was first excavated in the late 1800s.
He said in the film he was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the Hopi Tribe, and noted the difficulty of getting Native Americans to contribute DNA for research because of an incident in Arizona where Native DNA was collected for medical reasons and then used for other purposes, breaking trust between tribes and researchers.
Ruiz said Tuwaletstiwa’s story bolsters the sovereign Picuris Pueblo nation’s research using DNA to corroborate its oral histories as reported by The Associated Press, and it is Tuwaletstiwa’s hope his experience does not overshadow that greater research.
The film explores artifacts found in Room 33 and neighboring sites, architecture and masonry, and aspects of Chaco civilization that are or are not understood.
Rich Friedman, who spent about 40 years researching the Chacoan civilization and 25 years researching Pueblo Bonito specifically and who appears in the film, said DNA gives researchers another unique window into the past.
“It confirms what he’s heard through the years,” he said of Tuwaletstiwa and DNA research. “Finally, the sciences have come here to support the oral histories, which is a pretty important thing.”
But he also shares some doubts or hesitancy with Native Americans about the use of DNA research, who have said their cultures are much more complex than what many archaeologists and anthropologists recognize.
“Some of that complexity might be misunderstood and, and as a result, the DNA analysis not really understood the way it should be,” he said.
But he said the DNA research that contributed to the understanding of Picuris Pueblo’s ancient history does further confirm contemporary Indigenous cultures were tied to Chacoan civilization in some way.
“It helps them establish some of their ancestry that maybe people weren’t paying attention to,” he said.
Esteemed researchers not paying attention to Indigenous oral histories is a problem, he added.
“Quite often, the importance of oral histories aren’t really recognized, and what those oral histories document is isn’t recognized and isn’t given the weight is should and is quite often ignored,” he said. “This shows clearly how science now can be used to reinforce oral histories.”
Ruiz said he plans to release the film on YouTube after it premieres at FLC on Wednesday.
cburney@durangoherald.com
