Upcoming Seminars

Dr. Suanna Crowley is a trained geoarchaeologist and archaeologist with research experience in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. In addition to earning her the nickname “Dr. Dirt,” graduate school gave her the opportunity to learn her first professional survival skill: grant writing in support of her own and others’ research projects. Realizing this was a valuable tool in her kit, she pursued advanced training in fundraising, business development, and donor relations, working extensively with nonprofits and start-ups in search of new income streams. More recently, Dr. Crowley has combined her love of research, fundraising, and science communications to create messages with meaning that inform, resonate, and inspire giving as well as discovery. As an entrepreneur, she advises universities, museums, individuals, and international scientific teams on the best approaches to fundraising and public relations around their work. Dr. Crowley spent the pandemic lockdown pursuing the international Certified Fund Raising Expert credential (CFRE) and will sit for that qualifying exam later in 2021.

This seminar will survey strategic and adaptive ways in which academic, applied, and independent archaeologists can maximize the potential for obtaining financial support for research and outreach endeavors. From crowd funding to grant writing to finding the perfect individual donor, learn about resources, methods, and techniques to enhance the funding streams that get projects across the finish line.

1. To review the current landscape of funding options for scientific research and public
   outreach.
2. To offer new resources, methods, and avenues for obtaining financial support.
3. To tap into the ecosystem of public relations and science communications and to see how these factor into developing funding resources.

Eleanor M. King is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University. An archaeologist, archivist, and educator, she specializes in the prehispanic Maya of Belize and the history of Buffalo Soldier and Apache interaction in the Southwest U.S. She has also researched and lectured on public outreach in archaeology, heritage studies, and illicit trafficking in antiquities. In 2016 she co-founded The Heritage Education Network (THEN) with Carol Ellick, a non-profit aimed at disseminating information about heritage education to practitioners from the multiple disciplines that practice it.

If heritage comes from the stories we tell about our past, both individually and collectively, then how can we be more inclusive in heritage education? This question is at the heart of this one-hour seminar, which focuses on a current challenge in archaeology. In an environment where heritage is being contested and redefined, how do we research and teach it? Archaeology, which focuses on the tangible aspects of heritage, has played a part in trying to broaden the discussion, but we have not done enough. Archaeological education, in particular, whether public outreach or college classroom training, can fail to attract the diverse audiences or practitioners many hoped for. In the wake of Black Lives Matter, a number of institutions have tried to reformulate their programming to be more inclusive, not only to African Americans but to other underrepresented groups. It is not enough to create internships or field opportunities that honor diversity, equity, and inclusion without pipelines from underrepresented groups to feed into those opportunities. This talk reviews some of the obstacles to creating those kinds of pipelines and approaches to addressing them. It does not offer concrete solutions so much as ways of thinking about the problem and discussion about future solutions.

The Knowledge Series seminars are opportunities to learn from prominent archaeologists as they share their experiences and expertise.

Kimball Banks, RPA, is an experienced practitioner of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Much of that experience was gained in the federal sector, working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Reclamation. His work in both agencies involved working with tribes. He organized and held several workshops for tribes on both NHPA and NEPA. In addition, he is an expert on P.L. 93-638 - the Indian Self Determination and Education and Assistance Act. This law give tribes the option to assume the activities necessary to comply with NHPA and NEPA with respect to federal projects or programs for tribes.

J. Signe Snortland holds a B.A. from the University of North Dakota and a M.A. from the University of Manitoba in Anthropology. Snortland is an experienced NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) and Section 106 (National Historic Preservation Act) practitioner, as well as a former manager of a federal office. She has led teams preparing environmental impact statements (EISs) in Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Washington. She served as an Environmental Specialist and Area Archaeologist for the U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. Previously she was the Chief Archeologist for the State Historical Society of North Dakota (NDSHPO) and conducted thousands of Section 106 reviews.

This course is a deep dive into the steps required for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its integration into the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The instructors will cover the roles and responsibilities of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, lead federal agency, SHPO, THPO, tribes, consultants, and consulting parties in each step. They will also discuss NEPA in Indian Country in respect to Public Law 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

1. Understanding roles, responsibilities, and steps in Section 106 (NHPA) compliance.
2. Learning the relationship between NHPA and NEPA.
3. Increasing awareness of NHPA and NEPA in Indian Country.

Dan Sandweiss es un arqueólogo con más de cuatro décadas de experiencia en investigación sobre clima, cultura y adaptaciones marítimas en América Latina, principalmente en el Perú. Ha recibido financiamiento de National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, NASA, Heinz, FERCO y otras agencias. Ha evaluado muchas propuestas y participado en una variedad de comités de selección para becas y subsidios. Actualmente es el director del comité de selección para los H y T King Becas para la Arqueología de las Américas Antiguas de la SAA.

Dan Sandweiss is an archaeologist with over four decades of experience researching climate, culture, and maritime adaptations in Latin America (mainly Peru). He has received grants from the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, NASA, Heinz, FERCO, and other agencies. He has reviewed many proposals and participated in many grant selection committees. Currently, he is the chair of the SAA’s selection committee for the H and T King Grants for Archaeology of the Ancient Americas.

Conseguir una beca o subsidio puede impulsar su carrera: provee los fondos necesarios para realizar su investigación y da una línea impresionante para su curriculum. Sin embargo, simplemente pidiendo el dinero no es suficiente, aún si es un/a arqueólogo/a brillante con un proyecto importante. Postular exitosamente a una beca o subsidio es un arte. En este seminario revisaremos algunos puntos básicos. Hablaremos de cómo definir el propósito de su investigación, encajar con los intereses de las agencias financiadoras, cómo hacer un presupuesto y cómo descifrar las pautas de la agencia usando como modelo un concurso de beca o subsidio típico en la arqueología.

Este seminario online se imparte solo en español. La SAA utiliza un lenguaje inclusivo.

Getting a grant can be a career-booster: you get the funding to do your research and nice line on your CV. However, just asking for money isn’t enough, even if you are a wonderful archaeologist with a great project. There is an art to successful grant applications. In this seminar, we will review some of the basics. We will talk about defining your research problem, finding a fit to funders, budget basics, and how to decode grant guidelines using a typical archaeology funding source as a model.

This online seminar is delivered in Spanish only. The SAA uses inclusive language.

1. Definir su propósito de investigación
2. Decidir dónde postular
3. Entender cómo se evalúan las propuestas
4. Desarrollar el presupuesto

1. Define a research problem
2. Decide where to apply
3. Understand how proposals will be evaluated
4. Develop a budget

Kaitlyn Davis, RPA, is an archaeologist with 10 years of experience including cultural resource management, community collaboration, public lands management, and academic research. She is interested in community-based archaeology, public archaeology, artifact sourcing, paleoethnobotany, geoarchaeology, and landscape archaeology. She especially values community-based collaborative archaeology, having worked in consultation with the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes, the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) Tribe, the Santa Fe South Cooperative Association, the Friends of Fort Owen, and collaborating for 6 years with the Pueblo of Pojoaque. She has done archaeological projects for the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, New Mexico State Land Office, Archaeological Conservancy, and Montana State Parks, and is currently employed by the Forest Service. She has supervised the crews and planned the logistics for multiple projects. These crews have ranged from volunteers of all ages and experience levels to university and federal employees. She currently is finishing her PhD at the University of Colorado.

Pascale Meehan, PhD, has over 16 years of archaeological experience in academic and cultural resource management settings. Her interests include ethnohistory and archaeology, community-based archaeology, and intercommunity and international archaeological engagement. She has worked on archaeological projects in coastal Peru, Mexico (the central Mexican highlands, the Yucatan peninsula, and coastal Oaxaca), and Canada (coastal British Columbia). This work has included projects based in dense urban environments as well as in rural and remote areas, each presenting unique safety concerns and considerations. She has planned and supervised projects under these different circumstances and has worked with crews of varying levels of age and experience. She currently works as an archaeologist with Sources Archaeological & Heritage Research Inc. based in Vancouver, BC.

Davis and Meehan coauthored a publication in Advances in Archaeological Practice’s special issue on Health and Wellness in Archaeology, specifically focusing on safety considerations for first time field directors (such as graduate students).

Graduate schools provide students opportunities for fieldwork and training in archaeological methods and theory, but they often overlook instruction in field safety and well-being. We suggest that more explicit guidance on how to conduct safe fieldwork will improve the overall success of student-led projects and prepare students to direct safe and successful fieldwork programs as professionals. In this seminar, we draw on the experiences of current and recent graduate students as well as professors who have overseen graduate fieldwork to outline key considerations in improving field safety and well-being and to offer recommendations for specific training and safety protocols. While discussing these considerations and recommendations, we will use both domestic and international field project examples, as well as those involving community collaboration. The resources and recommendations provided in this seminar will be especially useful for projects whose crews are comprised at least partially of students, interns, or volunteers.

1. Protecting and registering your project (e.g. medical and liability insurance, legal considerations, etc.)
2. Outlining information to share with your crew (e.g. acknowledgement of risk forms, code of conduct agreements, info packets)
3. Introducing other considerations for structuring a safe project (e.g. equipment, scheduling, and communication)