NPS Sallie Pierce-Harris (Van Valkenburgh) was an archeologist who began her career working in Chaco Canyon in the 1930s. In 1934, she began working for the Civil Works Administration, classifying artifacts at Montezuma Castle. During this time, she met and married Jim Brewer, the monument’s custodian. Because of her accomplishments as an archeologist, Sallie was soon given the title “Honorary Custodian Without Pay,” a title reserved for wives of NPS employees who were considered equally as qualified as their husbands to work as park employees.
After divorcing Jim, Sallie went on to hold several paid positions with the NPS and publish several archeology and ethnography papers. Over the course of her career, she contributed to archeological projects at seven different monuments, including Navajo, Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, Tumacacori, Casa Grande, and of course, Montezuma Castle. She became an influential archeologist in the NPS whose work laid a foundation for archeology today.
If you’ve visited our museum and enjoyed seeing our monument’s artifacts, you can thank Sallie for helping us identify them!
Further reading:Sallie Pierce-Harris collection 1918-1994, finding aid, Museum of Northern Arizona
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Last updated: January 28, 2025