The above photo shows (L to R) James Arriola, GBI Cultural Resources Program Coordinator; Wren McCullough, GBI Lassen Archaeology Crew 2023-24; Karen B. Supak, GBI Cultural Resources Program Manager, and Michelle Dominguez, GBI Lassen Archaeology Crew 2023, who recently attended the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) Annual Meeting job fair in Riverside, CA. Both Wren and Michelle worked for GBI on the Archaeology Crew at Lassen NF last season (summer/fall 2023). Michelle went on to work for ACE (American Conservation Experience), where she is currently serving as a GIS specialist, and Wren recently tied up her work with us on the Lassen this month before moving on to a position closer to home. It was great being able to connect with these two hardworking GBI crew members, as well as connecting with many other GBI members and alumni as we recruited for this season and attended the conference this year. This year’s conference was entitled “Considering Cultural Landscapes” as the SCA “acknowledge[s] that archaeology, especially as it relates to Cultural Resource Management, has an augmented responsibility to identify and describe landscapes as resource categories.
Due in part to investigations unprecedented in size and scope, landscapes have been used to embody associations and functions which evoke a sense of history for a specific place. Native American landscapes of both the recent and ancient past are increasingly recognized in part due to Native people communicating their unique perspective on places they live, and in part by archaeologists employing a structure for grouping related resources. Working in tandem, archaeologists, who may be responsible for evaluation and effects analyses, and Native people with cultural values and expertise about a place, together can provide context and perspective on these historically significant and expansive landscapes.” At this particular conference, Dirk Charley, a tribal liaison who has worked closely with GBI in the past on multiple different USFS and NPS projects, was given a lifetime achievement award.
