Proclamations Proc. 7317 versity and recognize the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and var- ied contributions have enriched our national life. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of }une, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7317 of June 9, 2000 Establishment of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Containing the highest known density of archaeological sites in the Nation, the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument holds evidence of cul- tures and traditions spanning thousands of years. This area, with its inter- twined natural and cultural resources, is a rugged landscape, a quality that greatly contributes to the protection of its scientific and historic objects. The monument offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe, study, and experience how cultures lived and adapted over time in the American Southwest. The complex landscape and remarkable cultural resources of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument have been a focal point for archae- ological interest for over 125 years. Archaeological and historic objects such as cliff dwellings, villages, great kivas, shrines, sacred springs, agricul- tural fields, check dams, reservoirs, rock art sites, and sweat lodges are spread across the landscape. More than five thousand of these archaeologically important sites have been recorded, and thousands more await documentation and study. The Mockingbird Mesa area has over forty sites per square mile, and several canyons in that area hold more than three hundred sites per square mile. People have lived and labored to survive among these canyons and mesas for thousands of years, from the earliest known hunters crossing the area 10,000 years ago or more, through Ancestral Puebloan farmers, to the Ute, Navajo, and European settlers whose descendants still call this area home. There is scattered evidence that Palco-Indians used the region on a spo- radic basis for hunting and gathering until around 7500 B.C. During the Ar- chaic period, generally covering the next six thousand years, occupation of the Four Corners area was dominated by hunters and gatherers. By about 1500 B.C., the more sedentary Basketmakers spread over the land- scape. As Ancestral Northern Puebloan people occupied the area around 750 A.D., farming began to blossom, and continued through about 1300 A.D., as the area became part of a much larger prehistoric cultural region that included Mesa Verde to the southeast. Year-round villages were estab- lished, originally consisting of pit house dwellings, and later evolving to well-recognized cliff-dwellings. Many archaeologists now believe that throughout this time span, the Ancestral Northern Puebloan people periodi- 93
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