Archaeological Field School at S’edav Va’aki

Project Overview

This project represents a field school directed by Matthew Kroot and Matthew Peeples at the Ancestral O’Odham village of S’eḏav Va’aki. Conducted in partnership with the City of Phoenix and in consultation with the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices of the Gila River Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, this program offers students a comprehensive introduction to archaeological fieldwork grounded in ethical and legal best practices.

This field project and associated field school are organized in collaboration with the City of Phoenix, the Office of the City Archaeologist (Laurene Montero 2023 and Christopher Schwartz 2025), and the S’edav Va’aki Museum. The project focuses on documenting and researching archaeological resources within a portion of the Ancestral O’Odham site of S’eḏav Va’aki (Pueblo Grande), and on developing recommendations for its long-term management on behalf of the City of Phoenix. The field school operates under a project-specific Arizona Antiquities Act permit issued by the Arizona State Museum.

In addition to supporting the City of Phoenix’s cultural resource management goals, the field school is designed to introduce students to archaeological field research, analysis, consultation, permitting and legal processes, curation, archiving, and reporting. The curriculum integrates lectures, discussions, workshops, site tours, field and laboratory sessions, and student presentations. These components provide students with both a broad understanding of archaeological practice and practical experience relevant to cultural resource management and related careers.

Students also engage directly in the tribal consultation process and examine the legal and ethical contexts of conducting archaeological research in partnership with Indigenous communities. As part of the course, they participate in meetings and discussions with representatives from the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community, as well as with officials from state and federal agencies. These experiences provide students with firsthand insight into the consultation process and the responsibilities it entails.

The project includes a public-facing component funded by the Arizona Humanities Council in partnership with the Friends of Pueblo Grande Museum. This outreach effort features public events, lectures, and receptions centered on tribal consultation, careers in archaeology, and Akimel O’Odham perspectives on the Phoenix area.

Matthew Kroot, Arizona State University
Matthew Peeples, Arizona State University
Laurene Montero, City of Phoenix
Christopher Schwartz, City of Phoenix
Lindsey Vogel-Teeter, City of Phoenix
Darsita North, City of Phoenix

Arizona Humanities Council – Creating Community for Indigenous Heritage Futures (with Friends of the S’edav Va’aki Museum)

2026 Kroot, Matthew, Matthew Peeples, Angela Garcia-Lewis, Christopher Schwartz, and Alissa Ruth. Schools, Tribes, and Governments Partnering Together: The Arizona State University Field School at S’eḏav Va’aki in Phoenix, Arizona. Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

2025 Kroot, Matthew A., Mathew A. Peeples, Laurene Montero, and Lindsey Vogel-Teeter. Developing the Arizona State University Field School Program at S’eḏav Va’aki Museum. Journal of Arizona Archaeology 11(2).

2025 Kroot, Matthew and Matthew A. Peeples. A New Non-Collection Methodology for Assessment of Twentieth-Century Sites: Results from S’eḏav Va’aki in Phoenix, Arizona. Paper Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.

2024 Kroot, Matthew, Matthew A. Peeples, and Jessie Kortscheff. The Benefits, Challenges, and Student Outcomes of an Academic-Governmental Collaboration for Local Undergraduate Field Training in Archaeology. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April 17-22.

2024 Peeples, Matthew A., Anthony Wende, and Matthew Kroot. Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Photography to Develop Preservation and Management Plans at S’eḏav Va’aki, Arizona. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April 17-22.

2024 Umbriano, Chiara, Matthew A. Peeples, and Matthew Kroot. Assessing the Viability of Limited Collection and In-Field Analysis Strategies for Ceramic Investigations at S’eḏav Va’aki, Arizona. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April 17-22.

2024 Ptacek, Alexandra, Matthew Peeples, Matthew Kroot, Eunice Villasenor Iribe, and Jessie Kortscheff. Challenges of Community-Based Heritage Work: Rights Holders, Stakeholders, and the Palimpsest Nature of the Archaeological Record. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April 17-22.