The SAA Archaeological Record March 2011 : Page 15
CAREERS IN ARCHAEOLOGY Native American history and cultures, past and present. Archaeology lectures are well-attended and often fully y packed; communities want to learn more about and preserve their archaeological heritage; and legislators value archaeo-logical resources and talk about unmarked burials with expertise. Getting to this point has taken a lot of “face time,” getting out there and talking with many people over a long time: landowners, farmers, community organizations, artifact col-lectors, developers, nonprofit organizations, state and feder-al agency staff, educators, homeschoolers, other archaeolo-gists, divers, museum directors, librarians, media people, legislators, and my bosses, among many others. I’ll shout it t loudly and clearly: our successes in archaeological heritage stewardship result from team work among various passion-ate and dedicated people— in government, academia, con-sulting, and nonprofit organizations. One of the great privi-leges and joys of my job has been meeting many extraordi-nary people, and becoming friends with them in the process of spending time together and learning from each other. Four kids and a husband who reminds me daily that our r marriage is a lot more important than my work have kept me focused on our family and Vermont archaeology. I reconciled early on that I was never going to be a famous American archaeologist. With only 24 hours in a day and so much to do, an early start while the family slept and the ability to get t by with little sleep has been a big help. Life forever changed for the better when my husband took over the cooking over r 25 years ago. There have been so many highlights as Vermont State Archeologist, it’s hard to pick a few. Some recent memorable work includes the two-year Lake Champlain Voyages of Dis--covery project, funded with a $ 250,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, showcasing the French and Native American Contact period history of Lake Champlain through community archaeology, teacher workshops, a web site, publication, and a one-hour video documentary y (http://www.historicvermont.org/imls/lakechamplainvoy-ageshomepage.html). Our virtual Vermont Archeology y Museum, funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities (http://173.201.93.108/vtarch/), has a lot of f potential. The 2006 launch of Vermont’s Archaeology Her-itage Center, our collections facility, alleviated decades of f worry about the state’s archaeology collections. In January 2010, the governor promoted me to Director of f the VT Division for Historic Preservation and State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). I also got to keep the job of f State Archeologist. This new set of responsibilities— — directing the state’s historic preservation program—made an interesting job even more complex and challenging. I learn new things by the hour. Success depends on constantly y reaching out to my own staff, the agency’s management t team, attorneys, contract staff, business managers, and all other stakeholders— there are more than ever. Again, it’s all about building and sustaining relationships. I like being able to solve problems, strengthen relationships, and influence policy and outcomes. It’s also fun to celebrate the Division’s achievements and play y “host” at big parties, such as the August 2010 grand opening of the new President Coolidge Museum and Visitor Center r in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. In 2010, I truly enjoyed the process of gathering public input and then drafting Ver-mont’s historic preservation plan, Using Vermont’s Past to Build a Better Future 2011–2015 (http://www.historicver-mont.org/). It was a lot of effort but great teamwork and a lifetime of nontechnical writing helped get the job done. As I write this in mid-January 2011, I am relieved to have just t finished yet another piece of writing: a report to the legisla-ture summarizing the work of the Unmarked Burial Sites Treatment Plan Committee. With dozens of weekly meetings and the demands of being SHPO and State Archeologist, time is scarcer than ever. It’s a very good thing my alarm still works to get me going long before my husband awakes. Free Trial -eHRAF Archaeology *Online archaeological traditions and sequences *Ideal for ethnoarchaeology, research and teaching *Subject-indexed at the paragraph level *Full-text books, dissertations, & journal articles *Online student exercises Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) e-mail: hraf@yale.edu; Web: www.yale.edu/hraf Phone: 203-764-9401 or 800-520-HRAF March 2011 • The SAA Archaeological Record 15
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here