The Cotsen Institute Takes an Active Role in the Archaeological Centers Coalition

CoTsen CommunITy evenTs

The Cotsen Institute Takes an Active Role in the Archaeological Centers Coalition

The CoTsen InsTITuTe, in concert with the Archaeological Centers Coalition (ACC), hopes to have a positive influence on the future of archaeology. The ACC, a community of academic institutions in archaeology, formed in response to urgent calls to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion and to address issues of systemic racism.

Willeke Wendrich, director of the Cotsen Institute, notes that the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) and the Indigenous Archaeology Collective (IAC) have played central roles in this first-ever collaboration between directors of the main archaeological institutes in the United States. She explained that the ACC strives for equitable access and an inclusive experience for all archaeologists while they are studying or teaching at a university as well as during fieldwork.

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the initiative emerged out of conversations between the SBA, the IAC, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Sapiens magazine, and the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies. The Cotsen Institute is one of more than a dozen institutes currently represented in the ACC. Together they seek to define avenues of impactful change in four key areas: curriculum and training, administration and finance, the culture of archaeology, and capacity-building and community engagement.

Justin Dunnavant, assistant professor of anthropology and a core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute, is cofounder of the SBA and is active in the ACC. He explains, “In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic, individuals from Sapiens and the Wenner-Gren Foundation reached out to the SBA, offered their support, and asked how they could help. We have had a number of conversations with colleagues about various issues around diversity in the field as well as other important subjects. We determined that it would be best if they could call a meeting of all major funders in archaeology and all of the major archaeological centers in the country.”

According to Dunnavant, “They followed through. From our preliminary conversations during the first meeting with the archaeology center directors, we found that it was the first time that they had ever met collectively. We reinforced the idea that if they would meet more frequently, they have the ability to shape what archaeology in the United States will look like in the future.”

One contributor, UCLA archaeology graduate student Carly Pope, explained her interest in participating in the ACC: “The summer of 2020 was the height of Black Lives Matter. We, as field archaeologists, were beginning to reckon with racial justice as a key component of moving forward.” One issue Pope brought out was that “archaeology, as with anthropology, largely grew out of White Westerners and Europeans examining other cultures. Frequently we have the issues of a White researcher going into a Black or Native or poor community and bringing in academic expertise, but not in a way that benefits or serves the community.” She continued, “There is no adequate representation of a variety of viewpoints in the field of archaeology. . . . Many American institutions have systematically disinvited Blacks and other minorities from participating in the practice of archaeology.”

Pope was active in helping the ACC create a survey about the real cost of field schools. These programs, which are seen as necessary training opportunities, cost thousands of dollars, which does not include the cost of lost wages. The survey is intended to pinpoint barriers to access that may be keeping people out of the field. The intention is to find a remedy to a systemic problem rather than just giving an individual funds, she added.

C o T sen C ommun IT y even T s

The topic of mentorship was also a major issue of the ACC, an issue that Pope has a great deal of familiarity with through her own work with the Archaeology Mentorship Program, of which she is a cofounder. ACC discussions have covered ways to bring people into the field of archaeology and how to support them while they are here, she said. The goal is to have a “whole system in place to make sure that everyone has access to the same resources and information.”

After two years, Pope is ready to step back from her participation in the ACC, creating an opportunity for another graduate student to provide their voice. Reflecting on her service, she said, “It is like seeing behind the curtain. As a graduate student, you do not see the high-level workings of an academic institution; you do not see discussions that directors have about the direction that a program should take. So being able to see and contribute to those discussions was invaluable. Plus, you bring a different perspective, having more recently been an undergraduate student and having applied to graduate schools. There is a different level of awareness about current issues in the field from a graduate student’s point of view.”

As monthly ACC meetings continued, Dunnavant realized the potential impact. The coalition could influence major research agendas for the next 5 to 10 years, the requirements for PhD programs, and best practices, he explained. The discussions became expansive around the issue of inclusivity: “We talked about gender issues, harassment issues, and of course race issues, as well as other subjects.” A resulting survey was developed and funded in part by the ACC and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. “Those survey results are being analyzed now,” he said. The organizers had more than a thousand responses from individuals who had attended or considered attending field schools. He echoed the sentiment expressed by Pope that funding of field schools was to be a major issue.

The ACC is now discussing scholarships to provide more access to individuals who cannot afford to attend field schools, as well as rethinking what field school practice looks like. “Instead of a four-week, extended field school somewhere, it could be a shorter, two-week field school locally,” Dunnavant noted. “And then there is the culture of the field schools and thinking about best practices for how to deal with harassment issues, if and when they arise, and how to prepare for that, as well as how to alleviate some of these concerns before they happen.” He pointed out that they were looking into what a more diverse curriculum looks like, considering that traditional introduction to archaeology classes tend to repeat the same narratives of how archaeology was developed and what it is today. “Just starting these conversations is going to lead the field in a new and interesting way. This actually asks us to explore these questions and come up with exciting answers,” he added.

Dunnavant is featured in episode 4 of the Sapiens season 4 podcasts, which “explores how Black and Indigenous voices are changing the stories that archaeology tells.” The podcasts are supported by the WennerGren Foundation and produced by the House of Pod. A companion series, “Talk Back,” sponsored by several archaeological institutes, including the Cotsen Institute, addresses crucial aspects of archaeology. Iman Nagy, another graduate student at the Cotsen Institute, participated in the first episode of this series, and the Cotsen Institute sponsored episode 7, “Repatriation Is Our Future,” released April 13, 2022. Wendrich acknowledges the leadership of Pope and Dunnavant at UCLA, adding, “There are opportunities for students, faculty, and staff members who are interested in participating in the discussions and practical aspects of repatriation of Native American human remains and objects, as well as the return of objects to their places of origin outside the United States. These will be rolled out in the near future.”