Community Matters: Active Involvement with Tribal Communities, the Many Roles of Tribal Heritage Management

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Throughout the United States, individuals working in tribal historic preservation maintain a variety of roles, allowing them to undertake countless projects aimed toward preserving cultural resources for their tribe. A wide range of projects encourage active involvement from the tribal community whether it is through in-person interviews or tribal field schools and community input is crucial to understanding what tribes deem significant and necessary to preserve. Each project varies between tribes and is specific to the needs and wants of each tribal community. This forum will bring together those working in tribal historic preservation across the country to discuss the various roles they perform and the different projects their tribe finds important. Sharing these endeavors will demonstrate the broad spectrum of cultural values that exist between tribes so that tribal expectations and involvement in heritage management is better understood.

Other Keywords
Tribal Archaeology • Tribal Historic Preservation • Community • Florida • THPO • Preservation • Cowboys • Public Education • Archives • Tribe

Geographic Keywords
North America - NW Coast/Alaska • North America - Southeast • North America - Plains • North America - California • North American - Basin Plateau

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-11 of 11)

  • Documents (11)
Documents
  • Beyond the Dirt: Protecting the Council Oak (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Tiffany Cochran.

    This presentation examines one unique project in which archaeologists from the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s (STOF) Tribal Historic Preservation Office act as caretakers of a living artifact; the Seminole Tribe’s Council Oak tree in Hollywood, Florida. The Council Oak evolved from a convenient shady spot for meetings to one of the most important cultural symbols of the Tribe today. Tribal archaeologists, despite a lack of experience in arboriculture, must face challenges such as natural...

  • Flipping the Desk: Increasing Tribal Participation in Archaeological Investigations (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Crystal Geiger. Jack Chalfant.

    Tribal archaeology expands the interpretation of the archaeological record through the incorporation of tribal perspectives. The Seminole Tribe of Florida (STOF) Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) partnered with the sixth grade students of STOF Pemayetv Emahakv (“Our Way”) Charter School in 2014 to excavate a little known, historic, Anglo-American home-site on the Seminole Brighton Reservation. The THPO worked with the students to document their observations and participate in the site’s...

  • Kilkich Youth Corp: Tribal Youth Taking an Active Role in Historic Preservation (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kassandra Rippee.

    Tribal Historic Preservation Officers are responsible for the preservation and management of their Tribe’s cultural resources. For the Coquille Indian Tribe, that means engaging the community in the protection, preservation, and maintenance of these traditional resources. The Coquille Tribal Historic Preservation Office connects with the community in a number of ways, the most important of which is through its Kilkich Youth Corp. The Kilkich Youth Corp is a tribal employment and enrichment...

  • New Directions of THPOs: The Perspective from One Tribe. (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Briece Edwards.

    Tribe’s perspective and understanding of practice, place and context is as unique and diverse as Tribes themselves. The roles of Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) are equally diverse between Tribes but all have one consistent thread – they, like states, are charged with the identification, recordation, and protection of cultural resources. Tribes are integral to the ‘Section 106’ process and are often required to reacquaint individuals with the state and federal laws and procedures...

  • Preserving Cultural Landscapes beyond the Reservation Boundary (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only James Harrison.

    The Spokane Tribe of Indians Preservation Program conducts a range of projects within the Tribe’s ceded areas in northeast Washington State. The goal of this work is to increase tribal sovereignty and to help preserve intact portions of the Tribe’s traditional landscape and resource patches in order to secure long-term access for tribal members to a mosaic of traditional cultural sites beyond the reservation boundary. The program competes with private CRM firms for archaeology consultation...

  • Preserving Our Past and Providing For Our Future: Heritage Management at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Montana (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kelsey Noack Myers.

    Like all Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, our staff are required to wear many hats. The diversity of projects undertaken by the Chippewa Cree Cultural Resources Preservation Department (CCCRPD) includes on-reservation resource documentation and mitigation, educational programming for the local community, development of governmental agency policies and procedures, and consultation on repatriation and current archaeological and museum research. In addition, the CCCRPD has developed the...

  • Preserving Tribal Resources on the Reservation (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher Casserino. Jennifer Pietarila.

    The Spokane Tribal Preservation Program’s work within Reservation boundaries focuses on locating and monitoring tribal resources along the Spokane River and upland areas by a tribal field crew. Artifacts recovered from field surveys and excavations are curated within a tribal collections facility. Utilizing a partnership between its staff and tribal members, the Program is able to identify these important resources and provide a rich layer of tribal history to these objects. Through collections...

  • Seminole Cowboys: From Cowkeeper to Today (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jessica Freeman. Matthew Fenno.

    Cattle herding is not new to the Seminoles. It is a centuries old way of life that is embedded into their cultural heritage. This tradition began in the 1700s in the Alachua prairies of north Florida under the leader Cowkeeper and has continued into modern day on the Seminole Tribe of Florida (STOF) Reservations. The STOF Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) is currently investigating several early 20th century sites related to the formation of the Seminole cattle program, including the...

  • Stewards of the Land: Agua Caliente Tribal Historic Preservation (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Patricia Garcia-Plotkin.

    As stewards of the Tribe’s heritage, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has designated the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) responsible for the protection, preservation, and management of a wide array of Historic Properties and Cultural Resources such as archaeological sites, historic-period properties, as well as expanses of land which are of traditional or ceremonial importance to Tribal membership. In order to best protect the Tribe’s cultural heritage the THPO has...

  • The Suquamish Tribe Approach to Incorporate Tribal Historic Preservation into School Curricula (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Dennis Lewarch. Stephanie Trudel.

    The Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison Indian Reservation in Western Washington promotes incorporation of tribal history, culture, and language into school curricula. Staff members in the Archaeology and Historic Preservation Program participate in curriculum development and make presentations in the North Kitsap School District and at the Suquamish Tribe’s own Chief Kitsap Academy Middle and High School. Tribal archaeologists contribute to the classroom experience in a variety of ways to bring...

  • Tribal Community Engagement and Archaeology: The Story of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Maureen Mahoney. Jessica Freeman.

    Like other THPOs across the country, the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office (STOF THPO) is charged with serving the STOF communities and preserving their cultural heritage. With a staff of 17 individuals, the STOF THPO is heavily involved with both on and off reservation compliance projects ranging from home sites, pasture improvement projects, and wetland mitigations. However, as this paper and the symposium will demonstrate, these projects only make up a percentage...