Forest Service whistleblower alleges threats to Cherokee cultural sites

Staff Report | Cherokee 411

A former U.S. Forest Service archaeologist alleges that decades of federal land-management practices in western North Carolina have placed Native American graves, sacred sites, and archaeological artifacts at risk—and that efforts to expose those failures ultimately cost him his career.

Scott Ashcraft, who served nearly 32 years as an archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service, says the agency ignored scientific evidence, failed to consult Tribal Nations as required by law, and retaliated against him after he raised concerns about the protection of culturally significant sites within Pisgah National Forest.

The conflict came into sharp focus following the Seniard Creek Fire in April 2021, when nearly 20 acres burned on a steep mountainside near the Buncombe–Henderson county line. Ashcraft arrived the day after the fire to document damage—routine work that would become the foundation of a years-long dispute.

Fire site reveals unexpected archaeological significance

Over several days, Ashcraft documented numerous artifacts on the steep slope, including evidence of an ancient quarry dating back thousands of years—long before European contact. The findings challenged a long-standing Forest Service probability model that assumes most archaeological resources are located on flat or gently sloped terrain.

That assumption, Ashcraft says, has left much of North Carolina’s mountainous national forests effectively unexamined, despite decades of informal discoveries by field archaeologists.

By 2021, Ashcraft had begun systematically documenting artifact finds on steep terrain, developing a theory that federal archaeological guidelines were fundamentally flawed. The Seniard Creek Fire site—steep, artifact-rich, and eligible for post-fire assessment funding—offered a rare opportunity to test that theory.

Ashcraft invited outside scientists to evaluate the site. According to him, they agreed the area held significant information about the labor systems, trade networks, and spiritual practices of the Cherokee and Muscogee peoples whose descendants still maintain deep cultural ties to the region.

Tribal consultation and federal law

In a 277-page document shared last month with five Tribal Nations—the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba Nation, and the Muscogee Nation—Ashcraft alleges that the Forest Service failed to properly protect cultural sites and repeatedly sidelined Tribal consultation.

He argues that agency practices violate federal laws including the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

“The agency’s internal processes have prioritized expedient project approval over lawful heritage protection and consultation,” Ashcraft wrote.

The document responds to a 2024 Forest Service review that largely dismissed concerns Ashcraft raised about more than a dozen projects across North Carolina’s national forests.

Whistleblower complaint and alleged retaliation

In 2023, Ashcraft filed a formal whistleblower complaint, alleging Forest Service officials were jeopardizing Native American cultural resources while minimizing scientific input to accelerate land-use projects.

He says that after filing the complaint, he faced sustained workplace retaliation. According to Ashcraft, he was stripped of responsibilities, removed from active projects, and barred from communicating with tribal officials—relationships he had built over decades.

In 2024, he was reassigned to one of archaeology’s so-called “scary rooms,” warehouses filled with uncataloged artifacts accumulated over decades. Ashcraft described the move as a professional dead end.

He retired in March 2024, just days shy of his 32-year anniversary with the agency.

His case is now under review by the Merit Systems Protection Board, which handles federal employee appeals. Even if the board rules in his favor, its authority is limited to workplace retaliation claims.

Forest Service response

The Forest Service declined to address specific allegations, citing personnel rules. In a written statement, a spokesperson said the agency “takes concerns raised by its employees seriously” and noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General referred Ashcraft’s complaint back to the Forest Service for review.

According to the statement, an internal review concluded that the agency followed all legal requirements.

“The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests are the ancestral homelands of a dozen tribes with enduring connections to these lands,” the statement said. “Honoring this rich Tribal heritage and co-stewarding these lands with Tribal Nations is a top priority for the Forest Service.”

Tribal concerns extend beyond one case

For tribal preservation officials, Ashcraft’s allegations reflect broader concerns about federal land management and consultation.

Beau Carroll, lead archaeologist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Tribal Historic Preservation Office, said communication with Forest Service officials has declined in recent years, becoming increasingly procedural rather than collaborative.

In the context of weakened federal protections—from proposed changes to roadless area rules to congressional efforts affecting historic preservation requirements—Carroll said the stakes are high.

“They have the dominoes set up,” Carroll said. “They haven’t pushed them yet. I’m just waiting.”

Carroll noted that allegations of destroyed artifacts and sidelined science fit into a larger national pattern that threatens Indigenous cultural heritage across public lands.