• What's New?
• About SAA
• Careers, Opportunities,
  & Jobs in Archaeology
• Education
  • Archaeology for the Public
• Government Affairs
  • Repatriation
• Meetings
• Membership
  • Members' Section
• Publications
  • The SAA Press
• Public Relations
• SAA Marketplace

Public Archaeology Interest Group

Mission and Statement of Purpose

The SAA Public Archaeology Interest Group seeks to identify and bring together members of the SAA who share an interest in public archaeology and wish to join others to exchange information and discuss common issues through networking opportunities, particularly at the SAA Annual Meeting. The goal of this interest group is to serve all those interested in public archaeology, archaeology outreach and education, public interpretation and the public understanding of archaeology - those who work at the intersection of the practice of archaeology and the sharing of archaeological information with the public. This interest group will host informal gatherings at the annual meetings and create electronic networks through which members may share their interests, exchange information, and discuss common issues.

Services and Needs Met

The Public Archaeology Interest Group will hold informal gatherings at SAA annual meetings in order for interested SAA members to meet, network, and exchange examples of their own public archaeology activities and resources. These gatherings will provide unique opportunities for all SAA members to interact with others engaged in public archaeology.

This informal group will not compete with the SAA's Public Education Committee, rather this is seen as a complementary group; members of the SAA-PEC may also wish to join this group to share ideas with others, and members of the interest group may wish at some time to join the PEC. This group's organizers do not foresee the undertaking of formal projects, publications, or research activities, such as are undertaken by the PEC. The Public Archaeology Interest Group's focus will be sufficiently broad to encompass the public archaeology interests of all those who work with the general public, tourists, avocational archaeologists, students and teachers as well as those who are required to meet the needs of compliance legislation or work in government or public institutions.

Activities

• The Public Archaeology Interest Group will hold annual gatherings at the SAA Annual Meeting.
• The group will submit an annual report of activities to the SAA Executive Committee.
• The group will establish a means of networking through electronic communications.
• The group will maintain a minimum roster of 25 SAA members.
• The group will facilitate the use of electronic communications to share activities and other opportunities.

In the case that any of the below activities are undertaken by the Public Archaeology Interest Group, an effort will be made to coordinate such efforts with the SAA-PEC to accomplish mutual objectives.

• The group may sponsor symposia, forums, workshops, or special events at the SAA Annual Meetings.
• The group may propose positions and/or policy statements for consideration through the SAA website.
• The group may propose to the Publication Committee special publications of interest to the members.

Co-Chairs and Elections and Rotations

The group's organizers propose an arrangement of shared Co-Chairs for the inaugural year to reflect their shared commitment to the group's success. The Co-Chairs for the first year will be:

Ruth O. Selig: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Special Assistant to the Director and editor, AnthroNotes

Beth Nodland: Institute for Minnesota Archaeology, Executive Director

The Co-Chairs will serve jointly the first year. Following the inaugural year, a system of rotating chairs will be implemented. Candidates will be solicited by a call for nominations from the floor of the group's gathering at the society's annual meeting. Following open discussion, a general election by enrolled members of the interest group present at the gathering will be called. Through this process a Chair will be elected at each annual meeting, and a Chair-elect will be designated for the following year. In this manner, the position will rotate among interested members.

Finance

The Co-Chairs will donate all time and resources as in-kind contributions. The group does not intend to assess a fee for service. Inclusion on the group's roster will be free-of-charge. The group will request assistance from the society for meeting space at the annual meetings. The costs of any special projects or events will be covered through donations or in-kind contributions.