To understand geologic time, you have to stretch your mind across knowledge sets and time scales. That’s exactly what geologist and paleontologist Kevin Madalena has done as he’s worked to understand and defend the fossil record and cultural sites on Ancestral lands. Here, we spoke with him about how he has crossed scientific disciples and knowledges to understand the deep past and help safeguard the future. We talk about the recent defacement of cultural sites in the Moab region and how those acts are an extension of looting, ecological destruction, and missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Meet the Scientist: Kevin Madalena
Kevin is a geologist/paleontologist from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. He is an Indigenous scientist who has worked with nonprofit land conservation organization Utah Dine Bikeyah in Salt Lake City, Utah. He worked remotely from Arizona and New Mexico assisting with protection and conservation of ancestral structures belonging to the Ancestral Puebloan people, vertebrate fossils, vast field work, archaeology inventory, environmental policy and community outreach. He loves outreach and teaching and seeks to contribute to the greater tasks and conservation of our natural resources with research.
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Interview Transcript - Rocks and Fossils on Ancestral Lands
