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This post is authored by John R. Welch, Director of the Landscape and Site Preservation Program with Archaeology Southwest.
U.S. Representative Thomas O’Halleran (D-AZ-1) took time out this summer to visit an important ancestral village site on White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) lands. On a warm afternoon, in the good company of WMAT Cultural Resources Director Ramon Riley, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Mark Altaha, and Archaeology Southwest CEO Bill Doelle, the Congressman heard directly from the site stewards. Riley told O’Halleran, “Apaches have taken care of these lands and places for many generations, since time immemorial. We were traditionally taught, ‘Díí nagoz’aani bidádin’ii’ le’,’ protect and respect places of power and history.”
Riley and Altaha led the group off the beaten track, to a place that once provided homes for about a dozen families, the ancestors of today’s Zuni and Hopi tribes. O’Halleran and other visitors were saddened to learn that many of the old rooms at the village—still defined by sandstone and limestone wall stubs—had been excavated without authorization or proper scientific protocol. “Gravediggers!,” Riley sneered, saying, “It did not used to be like this, with people going around and digging up graves and stealing the things people were given to help them in the spirit world.” About 20 of the rooms that defined and surrounded the plaza, the ceremonial and communal center of the village, were unceremoniously dug out about 6 years ago.
Mark Altaha offered some important history to the Congressman, explaining that “looting and grave digging was a big problem here on the reservation in the 1960s and 1970s. In the days before the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1979) and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990), people hunted down the ancestral Hopi and Zuni sites and helped themselves. I guess you could say it was a sort of hobby, but the damage and desecration was terrible. Now we are seeing fewer incidents, but the damage is just as serious. It seems like the looters and grave robbers operating today are professionals. We have to be careful.”
Riley and Altaha are part of a team working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Tucson-based non-profit, Archaeology Southwest. Bill Doelle, the leader of Archaeology Southwest, said “archaeologists, many of whom see places and objects mainly through scientific lenses, have contributed to the loss of connections between tribal communities and their ancestral sites. We archaeologists need to do more to understand community concerns and safeguard the lands and landscapes in keeping with local, and especially tribal concerns and preferences.”
Congressman Tom O’Halleran ahead of Ramon Riley (right) and Bill Doelle (left) on the trail to a badly damaged ancestral village.
Congressman O’Halleran was disappointed to learn that, “the same problem of looting we see in the Oak Creek Valley, on the Coconino National Forest, is also a concern on reservation land.” “I had hoped to learn that these criminals would at least have the respect to stay off tribal lands,” O’Halleran said. On the other hand, the Congressman voiced approval for the team’s work: “The federal government can’t solve every problem, and it is great to see the Tribe’s historic leadership in cultural and heritage conservation continue in this program to exclude grave robbing and artifact theft from the reservation.” “It is always gratifying to see community-driven partnerships that include tribes, federal agencies, and non-profits,” O’Halleran said, “I certainly support efforts to prevent, detect, and prosecute archaeological resource crime. We need more partnerships like this.”
To report suspected looting activity, please secure your personal safety first, then promptly call 911 or 1-800-637-9152 to report the crime. A reward of $500 is allowed for information leading to a looting conviction.
This week, CRM professionals from ACRA shared their expertise with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). The ACHP had asked for public comments on its strategic plan, and ACRA members were keen to weigh in.
In a substantive, 7-page letter, ACRA urged the agency to showcase best practices, expand its relationship with tribes, utilize new technology to assist in project planning, and more. Members of the Government Relations Committee were key to developing the points in this letter, and we are grateful they shared their expertise!
Click here to read ACRA's comment to the ACHP regarding their strategic plan.
ACRA's Annual Conference is the premier networking event for the CRM industry - which makes it a great opportunity for students preparing for a career in CRM!
This year's conference will be held October 24-27 at the Historic Davenport in Spokane, WA. For only $25, you get access to all 13 sessions of the conference, which cover a wide range of archaeological and historic preservation topics. You will get to hear and participate in discussions about bridging the divide between academic training and CRM employment, tribal views on CRM, and more. You can view the full schedule here.
Another special event specifically for students is our new mentor lunch program. We have almost 40 seasoned CRM practitioners signed up to buy YOU lunch, provide career advice, and more. Spaces for the lunch are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Attending the ACRA conference could net you the connections you need to quickly get a job upon graduation, and your knowledge of industry issues could make you a more attractive candidate. Don't miss this opportunity to network with the leaders of the CRM industry - register today!
Register for the ACRA Annual Conference
So often we go to a city for a conference or business meeting and spend our time three places: at the airport, in our hotel room, and in a conference room. We miss seeing the sites and soul of the host city, many of which have an incredibly rich and nuanced past. ACRA recognizes the need for a more robust visitation experience, and we strive to have outreach events at all of our conferences. For our 2019 conference in Spokane, the organizers have arranged several events to help you explore the city.
The full Schedule at a Glance, inclusive of sessions and events, can be found here.
The 2019 ACRA Conference will be held October 23–27, 2019. Rooms for the reduced rate of $149.00 at our venue, The Historic Davenport, are going fast.
This is the premier CRM event of the year and an incredible opportunity to come hear the latest on our industry and meet new business partners. Register today!
Architectural historians: what hazards do you face besides leaning buildings? Now is your chance to make an impact and educate the broader CRM industry about the health and safety issues architectural historians face in the field!
ACRA’s Health and Safety Committee is looking for new members to add some perspectives from the above-ground side of our business – archaeologists have their heads buried too deeply in the ground! Members of this committee work on developing best practices for industry safety, both in and out of the field. Chair (and incoming President-Elect!) Daniel Cassedy is committed to building a committee with cross-disciplinary representation to ensure that all ACRA members have a say in ACRA's health and safety initiatives.
Getting involved with a committee is one of the best ways to maximize your ACRA membership. Please contact Dan Cassedy or comment below if you are interested in getting involved!
As a part of our new partnership with NAEP, ACRA members are eligible to receive the member price for NAEP webinars. See below for information on an upcoming webinar on NEPA policy, and access the discount code here.
The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) will host the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Case Law Update webinar on Thursday, September 5, 2019.
This webinar will review substantive National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) cases issued by United States Courts of Appeals in 2018. The implications of the decisions and relevance to NEPA practitioners will be explained.
About the Speakers:
Michael Smith Ph.D
Michael is a Senior Environmental Practice Leader for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with GEI Consultants in Sacramento, CA, at one of the nation's leading geotechnical, environmental, water resources, and ecological science and engineering firms. His current work focuses on providing project and program management, technical analysis and review, policy development and review, and training and education focused on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance for some of the nation's and California’s most complex and controversial projects. He frequently provides training and strategic advice for NEPA and related environmental compliance requirements as an adjunct faculty member at numerous educational institutions. He has served as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) headquarters Office of Water and Office of Federal Activities in Washington, DC.
Pam Hudson Esq., Dep't of the Navy, Office of General Counsel
P.E. Hudson, Esq. is the Counsel, Department of the Navy Office of General Counsel, at Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering and Civil Engineer Corps Officer School at Naval Base Ventura County, California. She has 17 years of NEPA experience and 34 years of federal agency experience. The focus of her practice is environmental law and planning, and specifically NEPA; she also develops and teaches courses involving NEPA, environmental planning and impact analysis, and environmental law, with a special emphasis on coastal and ocean resources, to federal employees. She has published 13 federal agency, academic, and peer-reviewed articles on environmental planning and impact assessment since 2013.
ACRA members can join this webinar for the NAEP member price ($75) - click here for the discount code.
To register and view more details, please visit the event website.
All 50 states in the US use hydroelectric power in one form or another. Has your firm worked on or wanted to bid on a hydroelectric relicensing project? Do you understand the nuances of the traditional vs. integrated licensing processes? How about the difference between a FERC Boundary and a traditional APE? What is a PAD and how is a Study Plan prepared for cultural and tribal resources? What is the ex parte process?
This year's conference workshop, Water Over the Dam: "WERC-shop” on Federal Hydroelectric Project Relicensing, will answer these questions and more, helping you understand the special procedures of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing. Held from 1:00 - 5:00 pm on Thursday, October 24 before the welcome reception, the WERCshop will provide background to firms unacquainted with the process and will explore several of the more complex topics for those more familiar with relicensing.
The WERCshop may feature an expert panel composed of Industry Project Managers, Tribal representatives, CRM practitioners, and the Washington DC FERC archaeologist (pending federal budget approval!). Following the hydro relicensing roundtable, we will visit the beautiful Spokane Falls for a tour of Avista’s historic Post Street Substation in downtown Spokane.
Lower Spokane Falls
This workshop will provide you with the background and tools to conduct CRM studies for FERC relicensing. The workshop organizers will address/provide:
Don't miss your chance to participate in this exciting opportunity - reserve your spot in the conference workshop as a part of your conference registration today!
You may have heard of the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia. Since its earliest iteration in 1968 (then known as the Geochronology Laboratory), the team at CAIS have been working as scientific detectives for years, conducting investigations on behalf of industry partners, universities, government agencies and researchers, including UGA faculty and students.
Now ACRAsphere readers can get a deeper look at the work taking place inside this innovative lab with exclusive access to this piece originally published in UGA's Research Magazine.
In spring 2014, a skull was scheduled to be auctioned in Hagerstown, Maryland. It had been found on a farm about two miles north of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near a barn that served as a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. But public reaction to auctioning a soldier’s remains was strongly negative, and the skull was withdrawn and donated to the Gettysburg Foundation. The foundation planned a soldier’s burial for the skull, but first they turned to the Smithsonian for verification. Based on its appearance, Smithsonian anthropologists immediately suspected that the skull was far older than presumed and sent a tiny piece of tooth to CAIS for testing. Using radiocarbon dating, Speakman discovered that the skull was about seven centuries old. Carbon and nitrogen isotope testing suggested that the “soldier” ate a diet of mainly corn, and based on oxygen isotopes, he probably originated in southwestern New Mexico or southeastern Arizona. “Oxygen is a really good indicator of temperature. As you move farther north, water evaporates differently,” Speakman says. “By looking at isotopic ratios of oxygen, we can identify northern and southern movement.”This kind of expertise is why the Smithsonian brought its question to UGA.
In spring 2014, a skull was scheduled to be auctioned in Hagerstown, Maryland. It had been found on a farm about two miles north of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near a barn that served as a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. But public reaction to auctioning a soldier’s remains was strongly negative, and the skull was withdrawn and donated to the Gettysburg Foundation.
The foundation planned a soldier’s burial for the skull, but first they turned to the Smithsonian for verification. Based on its appearance, Smithsonian anthropologists immediately suspected that the skull was far older than presumed and sent a tiny piece of tooth to CAIS for testing. Using radiocarbon dating, Speakman discovered that the skull was about seven centuries old. Carbon and nitrogen isotope testing suggested that the “soldier” ate a diet of mainly corn, and based on oxygen isotopes, he probably originated in southwestern New Mexico or southeastern Arizona.
“Oxygen is a really good indicator of temperature. As you move farther north, water evaporates differently,” Speakman says. “By looking at isotopic ratios of oxygen, we can identify northern and southern movement.”
When first established in 1968, the Geochronology Laboratory focused primarily on radiocarbon dating, especially in marine-based research. The stable isotope lab was established in the 1980s and focused mainly on the authentication of natural materials and food ingredients, an aspect of the lab’s work that continues to thrive. However, the lab's expertise, capabilities, and technical services have continually expanded since then - thanks in part to the stewardship of CAIS director Jeff Speakman:
Speakman joined CAIS in 2011—from the Smithsonian—and became director the next year. In 2016, the center expanded its physical footprint to 24,000 square feet and also enhanced its capabilities. When Speakman arrived, CAIS had three instruments capable of measuring stable isotopes, and now it has 22, more than any other lab in the world. The staff has nearly quadrupled in that same period, growing from 13 people to around 50. About 20 percent of those are scientists, who have their own research projects and often are affiliated with other campus departments, and the rest are postdocs, students and support staff. The lab now measures carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, deuterium and sulfur isotopic signatures in environmental and biological samples. This information can be used to track animal migration patterns and ocean temperatures, help reconstruct ecosystems, monitor pollution or test products’ authenticity. In addition to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis, CAIS researchers perform tests including elemental analysis, bio-based product testing, natural product authenticity, and organic and inorganic analyses.
Speakman joined CAIS in 2011—from the Smithsonian—and became director the next year. In 2016, the center expanded its physical footprint to 24,000 square feet and also enhanced its capabilities. When Speakman arrived, CAIS had three instruments capable of measuring stable isotopes, and now it has 22, more than any other lab in the world. The staff has nearly quadrupled in that same period, growing from 13 people to around 50. About 20 percent of those are scientists, who have their own research projects and often are affiliated with other campus departments, and the rest are postdocs, students and support staff.
The lab now measures carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, deuterium and sulfur isotopic signatures in environmental and biological samples. This information can be used to track animal migration patterns and ocean temperatures, help reconstruct ecosystems, monitor pollution or test products’ authenticity. In addition to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis, CAIS researchers perform tests including elemental analysis, bio-based product testing, natural product authenticity, and organic and inorganic analyses.
CAIS Director Jeff Speakman
And CAIS doesn't just process samples - they are also involved in education and outreach both students and the larger community:
CAIS assistant research scientist [Alice Hunt] has always been passionate about empowering others. Before starting graduate school, she served as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After arriving at the center as a postdoc in 2013, she conducted science-related outreach and education activities in the Athens community in her free time. When Speakman found out, he encouraged her to make it part of her job. Hunt focuses primarily on two audiences, pre-K through 12th grade and undergraduate students, sometimes working directly with students and sometimes providing resources for teachers. For example, Hunt wrote a curriculum for high school on dropping the A-bomb and radioactive decay. “Not every teacher is comfortable leading a class on radiation physics,” she says. Hunt also spearheaded the creation of a bilingual English/Spanish comic book series. The first issue covered radiocarbon dating; Hunt wrote a curriculum to accompany it and is working with the Georgia Department of Education to make it available statewide.
CAIS assistant research scientist [Alice Hunt] has always been passionate about empowering others. Before starting graduate school, she served as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After arriving at the center as a postdoc in 2013, she conducted science-related outreach and education activities in the Athens community in her free time. When Speakman found out, he encouraged her to make it part of her job.
Hunt focuses primarily on two audiences, pre-K through 12th grade and undergraduate students, sometimes working directly with students and sometimes providing resources for teachers. For example, Hunt wrote a curriculum for high school on dropping the A-bomb and radioactive decay.
“Not every teacher is comfortable leading a class on radiation physics,” she says.
Hunt also spearheaded the creation of a bilingual English/Spanish comic book series. The first issue covered radiocarbon dating; Hunt wrote a curriculum to accompany it and is working with the Georgia Department of Education to make it available statewide.
To learn more about CAIS, including details on some of its innovative projects, click here to continue reading.
This post is sponsored by the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia. ACRA members are eligible for a 10% discount on radiocarbon dates - click here for the discount code.
Readers can now find relevant news items compiled all in one place! In our CRM Firms in the News series, we feature recent mentions of ACRA member firms and their projects across the country. Was your firm recently featured in a news article or on social media? Send it to us to be included in our next volume of the series!
Whether you couldn't make the original presentation or want to give others the option to hear a session you found informative, ACRA has its Webinars on Demand program to allow you to do continuing education on your own time. We just added two new options for you - our two most recent webinars, Planning for Successful Section 106 Agreements and Meetings for a Healthy Organization.
In Planning for Successful Section 106 Agreements, ACHP Associate General Counsel Kelly Fanizzo practices applying the tools for agreement writing and reviewing provided in the ACHP’s Guidance on Agreement Documents and guides participants in performing a “reality check” for agreement consultation. Cultural resources professionals and project/program managers with a strong understanding in the requirements of Section 106 consultation will benefit from this fresh look at effective strategies to execute implementable agreements in a timely manner.
If you missed yesterday's Meetings for a Healthy Organization, don't miss your chance to hear this very informative session! Ryan Duddleson, Senior Archaeologist and Principal of Orbis Environmental Consulting, walks attendees though a series of meeting rhythms developed specifically with the needs of CRM firms in mind. Each of these focus on different issues that require their own solutions, from administrative, tactical, strategic, and developmental. Leaders who implement these meeting rhythms will see improved communication, reduced stress, and an environment where they and others can more effectively do their jobs.
ACRA members receive a discount on Webinars on Demand - get the access code here.
Check out these and the rest of our offerings on the Webinars on Demand page!
