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Far Western

Far Western

Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., is a leader in cultural resources management services. Since 1979, Far Western has consulted in archaeological projects for private industry, government agencies, tribal organizations, and non-profit groups, to achieve the broader goals of the environmental review and compliance process.

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award

Far Western receives the Presidential Special Achievement Award

Kaely Colligan · December 27, 2018 ·

Salt Lake City, Utah – Far Western received the Presidential Special Achievement Award for Excellence and their Numerous Significant Contributions to Archaeology and CRM in the Great Basin and Beyond. The award was announced at the biennial Great Basin Anthropological Conference in October.

 

There are those who do what needs to be done to meet the law or the contract and those who go the extra mile and strive to make a contribution that influences both theory and method, and ultimately our understanding of the past, as well as sharing our story with the public. This year’s Presidential awardees exemplify the best in Cultural Resource Management. – Kirk Halford, GBAA President

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

We thank the Great Basin Anthropological Association for this honor. We dedicate this to our Far Western team, everyone contributes to this kind recognition.

GIS Awarded 1st Place at Esri Conference

Kaely Colligan · November 16, 2017 ·

Far Western’s GIS Department received the prestigious Map Gallery Award for outstanding analytic presentation—Modeling the Prehistoric Extent of San Francisco Bay and Potential for Cultural Resources—at the Esri Users Conference in San Diego, CA. Paul Brandy, a Far Western principal, and GIS Supervisor Shannon DeArmond led poster and web application development, presenting and summarizing data and research spearheaded by Jack Meyer and Phil Kaijankoski. Be sure to check out the animation at the end of the story map.

This year, the Map Gallery at the Esri Users Conference showcased over 900 maps. Far Western had two maps on display. The award-winning Modeling the Prehistoric Extent of San Francisco Bay and Potential for Cultural Resources accompanied the highly impactful Visualizing the Depopulation of Native Communities in the San Francisco Bay Region. The second map, and supporting research by Brian Byrd, is an engrossing demonstration using data from Dr. Randall Milliken’s Community Distribution Model to visually understand the impact of historic-era missionization on native communities. Click images below to enlarge.

 

 

Nearly 18,000 professionals attend the Esri Users Conference held annually in San Diego, California. Esri is an international provider of GIS (Geographic Information System) and spatial analytic software, web GIS, and geodatabase management applications.

“Most Inspirational” Film AND Telly Award

Molly · August 4, 2015 ·

TACThe Archaeology Channel film jury voted Far Western’s “Breaking New Ground: Native Americans in Archaeology“ the winner of the “Most Inspirational” award at the TAC International Video and Film Festival held in Eugene, Oregon.

telly

 

 

 

Also, our new Silver Telly Award for the film arrived this month!

Designed by the same firm that makes the Oscar® and Emmy®, the statuette is nearly 12 inches tall and weighs more than 4 1/2 pounds. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding videos and films.

The films are judged by a panel of over 650 industry professionals, each a past winner. Fewer than 10% of the nearly 12,000 entries, from all 50 states and numerous countries, were chosen as Winners of a Silver Telly, the highest honor.

Thank you to the Native Americans who shared their experiences and stories for this film,
including Two Bears, to whom the film is dedicated.

Capture6

Congratulations to all who worked on the film
and to Cinnabar Video!

Capture

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California Transportation Award Nomination

Molly · May 12, 2015 ·

The First Inhabitants Board

Far Western recently completed work on the Truckee River Legacy Trail in Nevada County, California. This long-term contract included site evaluations, data recovery, public interpretation, and a series of reports and treatment plans for the California Department of Transportation, the Tahoe National Forest, and the Town of Truckee, California. Dr. Susan Lindström, Zeier & Associates, and Penny Rucks Ethnographic Services worked with Far Western on various aspects of the project.

Chinese Emigrants in Truckee and Truckee Ice

Sharon A. Waechter and Tammara Ekness-Norton designed 15 trail-side panels, as well as a trail map and brochure.

Fish of the Truckee River and Native Plants Along the Trail

The Truckee River Legacy Trail has been chosen as one of the three finalists in the Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail category for a Transportation Award from the California Transportation Foundation (CTF). Anne Mayer, Chairperson of the CTF Awards Committee, noted that the finalists “represent the best of the projects, programs, and people who made a positive difference for California transportation in 2014.” The winner will be announced at a luncheon on May 21, 2015.

For more information on the Truckee River Legacy Trail see our featured project page HERE!

See all Finalists for the California Transportation Foundation Awards HERE!

26th-Annual-Trans-Awards

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Bill Hildebrandt Receives Baumhoff Special Achievement Award at SCAs

Molly · March 17, 2015 ·

William Hildebrandt, Far Western Anthropological Group

The Martin A. Baumhoff Special Achievement Award is given for lifetime contributions to California archaeology. The award focuses on an individual’s career accomplishments, personal and professional highlights, scope of influence, and other achievements. At the 2015 Society for California Archaeology (SCA) Conference, this March, Far Western’s founding member William Hildebrandt received the Baumhoff Special Achievement Award, presented by Kelly McGuire at the banquet event. We are honored as a company to benefit from his lifetime of dedication to and professional achievements in the field of archaeology.

The Golden Shovel Award recipient Edward Mike was introduced by Far Western Senior Archaeologist Michael Darcangelo. Ed has worked with Far Western for over twenty years. Patricia Mikkelsen was also awarded the President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the SCA.

Overall there was an outstanding showing and participation at the SCAs again this year by Far Western Staff:

  • Laura Brink presented Patrilocal Post-Marital Residence and Bride Service in the Early Period: Strontium Isotope Evidence from CA-SJO-112, a paper she co-authored with Jelmer Eerkens and Candice Ralston. Laura also co-authored a second paper, Trophy Heads or Ancestor Veneration? A Stable Isotope Perspective on Disassociated and Modified Crania in Pre-contact Central California with Jelmer Eerkens, Eric J. Bartelink, Richard T. Fitzgerald, Ramona Garibay, Gina A. Jorgenson, and Randy S. Wiberg.
  • Kaely Colligan served as this year’s Program Chair, gave the Welcome speech and organized the Plenary Session Beyond Boundaries, as well as co-authored Small Sites with Big Potential: Survey Results from the Cabrillo College Field School with Dustin McKenzie, Emily Bales, and Violet Navarrete.
  • Jill Eubanks presented The Importance of Field Records, Notes, and Maps for Future Research at the Poster Symposium.
  • Molly Fogarty and Stephen Hennek instructed the workshop Can I Touch It?: Workflows to Create Journal-Quality Images and Interactive Graphics with 3D Scanning and Photography.
  • William Hildebrandt was a symposium discussant and presented Native American Rock Features from South-Central Oregon and Northeastern California, a paper he co-authored with Paul Brandy, Nathan Stevens, and Amy Foutch Porras.
  • Philip Kaijankoski presented his poster Assembling the East Bay: Subsurface Geoarchaeological Explorations for the Silicon Valley-Berryessa BART Extension Project.
  • Jack Meyer and Jeffrey Rosenthal co-authored Paleodietary Analysis of a Central California (CA-CCO-696) Burial Population using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes with Candice Ralston and Jelmer Eerkens.
  • Patricia Mikkelsen introduced the Poster Symposium and also presented her poster Prehistoric Structures and Yucca Roasting Ovens in Cuyama Valley. She gave out over 100 copies of The Long Road Traveled.
  • Mark Hylkema and Far Western’s Tammara Norton designed the Program cover, the Archaeology Month Poster, and stunning labels for wine bottles this year.
  • Jeffrey Rosenthal also co-authored Using XRF to Reconstruct Mobility at the Skyrocket Site (CA-CAL-629/630) with Carly S. Whelan, John H. Pryor, and Jeffrey R. Ferguson.
  • Allika Ruby co-authored The Antiquity of Patwin Occupation in the Capay Valley of Central California with Al Schwitalla, and Mike Taggart.
  • Nathan Stevens presented Changes in Technology in the Cuyama Archaeological Record at the Poster Symposium, and he also presented A Reevalutaion of Tuscan Obsidian Hydration, which he co-authored with Michael Darcangelo.
  • Adrian Whitaker was a guest speaker in the forum “Women in Archaeology: Mentoring and Connecting.”
  • Eric Wohlgemuth presented Change and Stability in Late Holocene Plant Use in the Cuyama River Canyon at the Poster Symposium.

A huge thank you to the fantastic Far Western staff including Kathleen Montgomery, Nicole Birney and the Graphic Design and Publishing Department; Art Director Tammara Norton; and Paul Brandy, Jill Bradeen, and the GIS and Cartography Department for their extraordinary work creating maps and graphics for the posters and slide shows for those who presented. Also, thank you to the wonderful Administration Department for their cool and collected organizational skills and helpful work in support of the Far Western contributions to the conference.

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Main Office - Davis, CA
(530) 756-3941
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(415) 413-1450
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(775) 847-0223

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Visualizing Indigenous Persistence during Spanish Colonization of the San Francisco Bay Area

FAR WESTERN NEWS

McGuire Publishes in Terrain

February 15, 2024

Vickie Clay awarded the NAA Silver Trowel Lifetime Achievement

May 17, 2023

Archaeology Reveals Past Lives of Bay Area Native Tribe: Phil Gross and Far Western Produce National PBS Documentary

November 8, 2022

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CONTACT US

Main Office – Davis, CA (530) 756-3941
Bay Area Branch – Sausalito, CA (415) 413-1450
Desert Branch – Henderson, NV (702) 982-3691
Great Basin Branch – Carson City, NV (775) 847-0223

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