Historical:

The Bis Sa’ani collection chronicles the archaeological investigations conducted by the Navajo Nation Cultural Resource Management Program (NNCRMP) for the Alamito Coal Company in the Gallo Wash mine lease area. In 1980, a contract was negotiated between the Alamito Coal Company and the Navajo Nation for the NNCRMP to further investigate pre-historic and historic cultures in the region. In large measure these field studies were undertaken to mitigate the potential damage strip mining could have upon the Bis Sa’ani site which was located in close proximity to the prospective mine. The field research undertaken by the NNCRMP was conducted over two years (1980-1981) and the findings were categorized under two headings titled ADAPT I and ADAPT II. ADAPT I constitutes the extensive investigation the archaic occupation of the Bis Sa’Ani region. ADAPT II focused on the mitigation of adverse impacts upon the archaeological site located within the coal lease region. This phase also includes the structuring of a published ethnohistory of the region. The completion of the research into the lease region was concluded with a series of detailed published reports.