I agree that this is an important issue, once it's decoupled from particular individuals.
However, my sense of Histarch is that this may not be the right setting ( I hate the word "venue") for the conversation
How about a session at SAA?
Nan Rothschild
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2013, at 9:55 PM, Catherine Dickson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Histarch,I'm sorry but I'm not quite ready to give up on this subject. I think Fred McGhee was taking an opportunity to make an important point. What constitutes consultation? What do CRM professionals need to do to complete a reasonable and good faith effort to understand the values a tribe or other community ascribes to a cultural resource? Is it enough to read the literature? What if the tribe in the area of a project was poorly studied? What if the anthropologist who studied that group 100 years ago was really more interested in the tribe next door? Is it appropriate for private CRM firms to engage with tribes? Are federal agencies doing a good job getting the data they need to make decisions?I don't know anything about Lynne Sebastian. I did not know she had been nominated to the ACHP until I heard she had been sworn in. I do know about poor consultation and I think our field should take it seriously. The ACHP has put together a handbook about working with tribes but I've never known anyone except tribes to refer to it. While I'm on my soapbox, let's not think we are disqualified because we focus on the historic era. As an archaeologist working for an Indian tribe over the past 15 years, dozens of agencies have suggested that my employer doesn't care about historic sites. I always get them to agree that the tribal folks were around a long time ago and that they are here now. Just what part of history isn't theirs? Oregon Trail sites, mining sites, railroad sites, etc. are all vividly reflected in oral histories and play large, if often destructive, roles in the tribe's history. Not to mention the historic sites occupied by tribal members.So as McGhee said, let's talk about the CRM issues that have come up, not the specific case, people, or tribe and see if we don't end up better able to protect the resources we're passionate about. Catherine Dickson
>> Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2013 16:11:54 -0700
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: ACHP and Appointment of Dr. Lynne Sebastian
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> And, as ListOwner I agree with Jeff. Please talk to each other offlist as
>> this discussion is now a dead horse.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Anita Cohen-Williams
>> ListOwner of Histarch, Sub-Arch, and Spanbord
>
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