DAPL is the biggest issue in Public Archaeology right now

[bluedigger]

...

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL for short) is without a doubt the biggest issue in Public Archaeology right now. “But, why is this a *public* archaeology issue?” you may ask. “Doesn’t most of the pipeline route run through private land?” Well, the answer lies not only in the complicated legal framework of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, but also in Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899.

These documents are laden with jargon and legalese, but I’ll try to break them down. For the faint of heart, I’ve included a TL;DR (too long; didn’t read!) section below, and you can just jump to that. For the brave, I’ll start with the Rivers and Harbors act.

...

TL;DR

The Army Corps of Engineers is required by federal law to consider the effect that the ENTIRE Dakota Access Pipeline will have on historic properties. That included talking to nearby Native American tribes that might know the location of cultural or religiously significant places that the pipeline would destroy. Apparently, the Army Corps didn’t do this before they started issuing permits. Back in May 2016, the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation took them to task for not including enough of the pipeline in their plans, and for not communicating well with Native Americans. The Army Corps dug in their heels and continued to allow pipeline construction. Look where that got them!

...

http://mapabing.org/2016/09/09/dapl-is-the-biggest-issue-in-public-archaeology-right-now/

[OUNativeDem]

1. Permits

I can't remember where, but I believe I read that Army Corps of Engineers fast-tracked the permit process to maybe avoid any oversight?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Over 1,200 Archaeologists and Museum Staff Condemn Destruction Wrought by Dakota Pipeline

Over 1,200 Archaeologists and Museum Staff Condemn Destruction Wrought by Dakota Pipeline
by Allison Meier on September 21, 2016

In a letter released today, 1,281 archaeologists, museum directors and staff, anthropologists, and historians expressed their solidarity against the destruction at Standing Rock by the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Initiated by the Natural History Museum (NHM), a mobile museum founded by the arts collective Not an Alternative, the letter was sent to President Barack Obama’s administration.

“What was really significant about this letter, and how quickly it took off within the museum sector, is that these are institutions that don’t generally engage in advocacy,” Beka Economopoulos, director of NHM, said over the phone. She noted that this letter follows one NHM initiated last spring, signed by scientists calling for science and natural history museums to cut ties with fossil fuels and climate change deniers.

“With this letter we’re inviting museum officials and archaeologists and anthropologists to demonstrate leadership within their area of expertise,” Economopoulos added. “We believe that these institutions are not monolithic, that there are very good people working on the inside that want to make positive change in the world and that’s really what this letter is about, creating space for champions on the inside to demonstrate leadership on climate change and Native concerns.”

Those signers include professionals at the Smithsonian Institution, Field Museum, and American Museum of Natural History, as well as institutions around the world. Robert R. Janes, an archaeologist, museologist, and editor-in-chief emeritus of museum management and curatorship, told Hyperallergic he was “overwhelmed by this amount of support from academics and museum practitioners — all of whom are normally conservative and ‘neutral’ when it comes to societal issues. We are witnessing the emergence of a new level of mindfulness among these professionals — a mindfulness grounded in both social justice and climate justice.”

More:
http://hyperallergic.com/324504/over-1200-archaeologists-and-museum-staff-condemn-destruction-wrought-by-dakota-pipeline/