Archeology E-Gram August 2022

2022 John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in NPS Archeology

The NPS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in NPS Archeology. This award is presented to individuals and teams who demonstrate innovation in archeological practice, resource stewardship, and public outreach, among other criteria. This year’s winners are Dave Cooper (Professional Achievement) and the team of the Slave Wrecks Project (Project Achievement). Congratulations to all the winners!

The Cotter Award recognizes two categories. The Professional Achievement Category is awarded to individuals with demonstrated long-term service in the NPS. The Project Achievement Category is awarded to an individual or a group of people for a single fixed-year activity or a multi-year effort of work on submerged or terrestrial archaeological resources. This work may include excavation and analysis, symposia, publications, outreach, collaboration, or a combination of these activities.

Professional Achievement: Dave Cooper
Dave Cooper’s work shows the impact one person can have not only within a Park, but within communities of every scale. As an archeologist for the state of Wisconsin, he founded the state underwater archeology program; initiated survey of historic Great Lakes shipwrecks; and played a lead role in locating, protecting, and educating public about submerged resources in Lake Superior. He helped establish the U.S. Navy’s first underwater archeology program. At Grand Portage National Monument Cooper - working with Grand Portage Anishinaabeg tribal members - revolutionized understanding of the park’s eight and half mile portage use prior to the fur trade era. At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Cooper works creatively to expand the baseline documentation of the park’s cultural resources and advises on historic preservation, working with historic use families and public interest organizations. Cooper activelyworks closely with Tribal partners, State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, friends groups, and others to bring expertise and support to cultural resource stewardship.

Whether acting as a boat operator, wildland fire-fighter, Search and Rescue Team member, diver, youth mentor, or acting Chief of Interpretation, Cooper enlightens from the perspective of his audience, creating access to information but also to lifeways, people, and landscapes. He makes this information relevant to vastly diverse audiences, all while making real the connection that the past has to the present and future. A letter in support of the nomination put it best: “Every park deserves to have a Dave Cooper.”

Project Achievement: Slave Wrecks Project
The Slave Wrecks Project (SWP) is an international network that investigates the global history and enduring legacies of the transatlantic and domestic trade in enslaved people from Africa. For over a decade, the NPS and other SWP partners, including George Washington University and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, have worked to help rewrite a long-neglected history and change the demographics and practice of maritime and terrestrial archeology. The NPS, a founding member of the SWP, is represented by staff from the Submerged Resources Center, the Southeast Archeological Center, and the Washington Support Office Archeology Program.

Project accomplishments include leveraging external funds to inventory over 150 km of submerged lands in national parks in the southeastern United States, discovering six new shipwrecks and dozens of other resources; hosting a multinational workshop on the Maritime Archeology of the Slave Trade; and working with partners to help institutionalize a submerged heritage resource management and archeology curricula within major universities. Capacity building with African professionals has resulted in increased regulation, protection, and management of submerged cultural heritage in Senegal and Mozambique.

NPS partners have collaborated with the Diving with a Purpose, Youth Diving with a Purpose, the Greening Youth Foundation, and the Society of Black Archaeologists, among others, to engage youth and volunteers as part of NPS park operations. More than 300 youth, many from underserved and underrepresented demographics, have taken part in activities at Biscayne NP, Buck Island Reef NM, Christiansted NHS, and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Preserve.

The John L. Cotter Award for Excellence in National Park Service Archeology is awarded annually to honor the long and distinguished career and pioneering contributions of Dr. John L. Cotter. The award was established as inspiration for student and professional archeologists to continue Dr. Cotter’s model of excellence. The award recognizes the archeological accomplishments of NPS staff or a partnership researcher within a unit or units of the National Park System.

Call for Mellon Fellow Host Applications

On September 1, the National Park Foundation will open its application portal for a request for proposals to host one or more of 15 Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellows (Mellon Fellows) for two-year fellowships starting September 2023 and ending August 2025. Postdoctoral fellowships are distinctive positions that offer both hosts and Fellows an opportunity to learn and grow in partnership. Prospective hosts should have the capacity to support and mentor a Fellow over two years and be open and receptive to incorporating new ideas and perspectives into programming.

Hosting a Mellon Fellow is a unique opportunity to support and expand research and interpretation at individual sites and across the NPS. Mellon Fellows draw on expertise in fields including American Studies, anthropology, archeology, ethnic studies, history, language and literature, museology, philosophy, study of the arts, women’s studies, or related disciplines to create new and dynamic programming that enriches the stories shared with park visitors. In the past, Mellon Fellows have served on exhibit development teams, led audience-centered dialogues, produced podcast series, created online content, led training sessions, and organized public events, to name a few of the projects.

Prospective hosts may be individual or consortia of parks and program offices. National Heritage Areas are eligible to apply in partnership with a park unit, regional office, or program office. The selection panel will consider geographic and thematic representation as well as the merit of individual proposals in making selections. The fellowship team will work with selected applicants to refine projects. Applications may be for individual fellows or for a team of (likely two) fellows. The application portal will be available on September 1, 2022. Proposals are due September 26, 2022.

To apply to host a Mellon Fellow and for more information, go to National Park Foundation (nationalparks.org).

Contact: Eleanor Mahoney (e-mail us); Barbara Little ([e-mail]).

Department of the Interior Publishes Paleontology Regulations

The U.S. Department of the Interior has promulgated the Paleontological Resource Regulation under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. This regulation provides for the management, preservation, and protection of paleontological resources on lands administered by the BOR, BLM, NPS, FWS and ensures that these federally owned resources are available for present and future generations to enjoy as part of America's national heritage. The regulation addresses the management, collection, and curation of paleontological resources from Federal lands using scientific principles and expertise, including collection in accordance with permits; curation in an approved repository; and maintenance of confidentiality of specific locality data. The regulation details the processes related to the civil and criminal penalties for illegal collecting, damaging, otherwise altering or defacing, or selling paleontological resources.

The rule will go into effect September 1, 2022.

Contact: Vincent Santucci, Chief Paleontologist, NPS e-mail us

To read the full regulation, go to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/02/2022-16405/paleontological-resources-preservation

Grand Canyon National Park Working to Include American Indian Perspectives

Grand Canyon NP is ushering in a new era when it comes to relationships between the park and associated tribal communities. The Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group, a grassroots advisory body that formed around the centennial anniversary of the park, is working to advance educational, economic, and stewardship change at Grand Canyon NP. Members of the advisory group include the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Band of Paiute Indians, Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and Pueblo of Zuni, Yavapai-Apache Nation.

The park now recognizes Native peoples as the original but displaced stewards of the Grand Canyon and is working to center Indigenous perspectives in park management and interpretation. Desert View, the gateway from Grand Canyon NP to Navajo and Hopi lands, is transforming into an intertribal cultural heritage site, with an emphasis on first-voice cultural interpretation. And Indian Garden, along the Bright Angel Trail, will soon be re-named Havasupai Gardens.

The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf: will be back soon

GRANTS AND TRAINING

Tribal Consultation Webinar Series
Federal agencies are required to engage in regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with Tribal officials. Government-to-government relationships should include regular and timely communication so that tribes may provide input on issues that may have a substantial direct effect on them. The Tribal Consultation Webinar series is being offered for NPS employees looking for an introduction into the Tribal consultation process, or those who want to refresh their skills or ask experts for advice on best consultation practices for managing park resources.

September 13, 2022 - Historical Trauma and Mistrust of the Federal Government

October 11, 2022 - Players in the Tribal Consultation Process

November 15, 2022 - Cross-cultural Communication - How to Communicate with Tribes

December 13, 2022 - Shared Stewardship

January 10, 2023 - Applied Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

These webinars are offered on the second Tuesday of the month, using the MS Teams platform, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET.

Register through the Common Leaning Portal. The link registers you for full series but you may attend as few or as many as you wish. Speakers for each session and additional information are available on the Common Learning Portal.

Contact: Cari Kreshak, e-mail us

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: will be back soon.

Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities, national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to public archeology in the NPS and other public agencies. Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and relevant mailing lists. The E-Gram archive is available at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1038/archeology-e-gram.htm.

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