https://www.saa.org/quick-nav/saa-media-room/saa-news/2020/03/12/saa-cancels-85th-annual-meeting

Dear Meeting Registrants, Exhibitors, and Participants, 

It is with deep regret that we must announce that the Society for American Archaeology’s Board of Directors has voted to cancel the 85th Annual Meeting in Austin this April due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

This was not a decision we made lightly. We recognize the implications that it will have for those who were preparing to present research, for those looking to expand their professional network, and for our event partners in Austin. However, given the increasing rate of spread of the COVID-19 virus, the high-risk nature of a large public meeting, the extremely large number of presenters and attendees who are prevented from coming to Austin because of travel restrictions from their employers, universities, and from CDC guidance, the WHO pandemic classification, and the President’s statement restricting travel from Europe to the United States, we feel strongly that this is the most responsible option for our members’ health and for the broader community.

The Board chose to make this decision now in the hope that it will lessen the disruption on our attendees and meeting participants, recognizing that the closer we get to the meeting date, the more difficult it will be for individuals to cancel or recoup their financial commitments. 

Hotels in the SAA rooming block will allow guests to cancel and get a refund before 72 hours of your first night’s stay, which you can do by calling the hotel in the case of an individual registration or having your university/employer sponsor call on your behalf. For airline cancellations, we recommend contacting your airline’s reservations hotline for current information.

We have begun and will continue exploring options for remote symposiums and other forums for presenting research, but for now our primary focus is on communicating with everyone who is affected and completing the logistics of cancellation.

We recognize there are still discussions to be had with our event partners and we do not currently have answers to all of the potential questions. We are working to provide answers as soon as possible.  

We will continue to issue updates and answer questions as we complete discussions with the venue, hotels, exhibitors, and sponsors. Please feel free to submit questions via this Google form, and we will answer them as soon as possible and post an FAQ on the website. 

We would like to recognize and offer our profound gratitude to everyone involved in the 85th Annual Meeting for their incredible work and support throughout the year-long planning process, particularly program chair Matthew Bandy, and local advisory chair, Bradford Jones. We also offer our thanks to our speakers, session chairs, committees, exhibitors, and those who were excited to support Public Archaeology Day. The SAA Annual Meeting is a group effort and everyone should be tremendously proud of their contributions.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate this difficult time. We know that many of you have spent weeks and months preparing for this meeting, and we look forward to making next year’s Annual Meeting a healthy and successful one. 

Sincerely, 

SAA Board of Directors 

February 11, 2020

Mr. Chad F. Wolf

Acting Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE

Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the recent destruction of several places of great cultural and historic importance to Native American tribes in order to facilitate the construction of the border wall. We demand that all further building activity in the affected areas cease until a complete re-working of this phase of the project has taken place.

SAA is an international organization that, since its founding in 1934, has been dedicated to the research about and interpretation and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. With more than 7,000 members, SAA represents professional archaeologists in colleges and universities, museums, government agencies, and the private sector. SAA has members in all 50 states as well as many other nations around the world.

In recent days, it has become apparent that the contractors who are working for the Department of Homeland Security in building the wall along the boundary of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument are proceeding with little or no concern for the archaeological and Native American cultural sites that lie in the path of the construction. Monument Hill, for example, is a place of great spiritual importance to several Native American tribes, and the burial place of Apache warriors. Nevertheless, builders are using explosives to level the ground.

In addition, construction is adversely affecting Quitobaquito Springs, the only naturally occurring source of fresh water for miles in any direction. The oasis remains enormously important to the spiritual practices of the Tohono O'odham people, yet road expansion is threatening the physical integrity of the surface of the Springs, along with some burial places nearby. Use of the water for building materials is also diminishing the water table.

These actions were carried out under the authority of the REAL ID Act of 2005, which allows for the waiver of compliance with important federal preservation statutes in order to speed up construction of the wall. Some of those laws include the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Protection Act, the Antiquities Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. SAA and other groups strongly opposed the REAL ID Act at the time, arguing that such a waiver would result in unnecessary damage to and destruction of irreplaceable natural and heritage resources. We are now seeing the results of that unwise decision by Congress.

This terrible situation cannot be allowed to continue. In order to prevent further desecration and permanent damage to our shared cultural past, all further construction in the Organ Pipe National Monument must immediately cease, and not resume until 1) comprehensive cultural and environmental resources evaluations have taken place, 2) a plan to mitigate the damage to the sites is carried out, and 3) all impacted Native American Tribes have been meaningfully consulted.

Sincerely,

Joe E. Watkins, Ph.D., RPA
President

The next Governors Archaeology Advisory Commission (GAAC) meeting is 2/14  at 10 am at the ADEQ building, 1110 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

There will be an AZSITE Regular Board Meeting 10 am, February 5th, 2020. Meeting will be held at Arizona State Museum in Tucson. To participate remotely http://arizona.zoom.us/j/467055344 or 1-669-900-6833 or 1-646-876-9923 Meeting ID 467 055 344. Topics include Advisory Committee update, AZSITE Fees Survey Results, backlog discussion, and Discussion of wider access to ASU Mercator (GIS direct) server.

Agenda can be found here: http://azsite3.asurite.ad.asu.edu/Azsite/meetingMinutes/board_agenda/AZSITE_Agenda_02-05-2020.pdf. Also, draft minutes from last meeting can be found here: http://azsite3.asurite.ad.asu.edu/azsite/meetingMinutes/board_minutes/January2020Minutes_Draft.pdf

Hi all,

We are excited to announce that the program for the upcoming Southwest Symposium Conference (January 30th -February 1st 2020) in Tempe, Arizona is available online here: 

https://southwestsymposium.org/program/ 

We have an exciting program lined up with three organized sessions, a forum, and posters covering a diverse range of topics, time periods, and regions across the U.S. Southwest and Mexican Northwest. Please help us spread the word. It would be especially helpful for those of you who have networks that include avocational archaeologists or volunteers to reach out to them. Reduced rate early registration is open until December 30th. Thank you to those of you who have already registered. Early registration helps us cut costs by allowing us to better estimate numbers for printing/bags/coffee/etc.

We hope to see you there in January. Have a great week and a great New Year!

Thanks,

Matt Peeples, President of the Southwest Symposium Organization

 It has also been uploaded to the Arizona Preservation Foundation website:  http://www.azpreservation.org/gaac

2020 GAAC Awards nom form_Final.pdf

ADOT has several positions available for qualified archaeologists in our Phoenix office - Historic Preservation Team Specialist - Environmental Project Manager and Historic Preservation Team Lead - Environmental Project Manager Senior. For more information see the www.azstatejobs.gov - search JOB ID 51323 (HPT Lead) and JOB ID 51796 (HPT Specialist) for specific details.   

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  The Arizona Archaeological Council is soliciting nominations for five Board positions for the 2020 calendar year. The following positions are open:

   

  President - Elect

   

  The following are the responsibilities of the President-Elect:

   

  • The President-Elect serves as a member of the Board and has the same duties and responsibilities of the other members
  • Understand the AAC by-laws
  • Follow Robert Rules of Order during each meeting
  • At the outset of their term the President Elect should review all duties of the President and be prepared to complete them.
  • Vote on resolutions of the AAC
  • Introduce or second motions of the board
  • Responsible with other Board members for approving all expenditures of the AAC. The President can authorize expenditures of up to $1,000 per year without Board approval if the expenditure(s) is (are) consistent with the mission and Bylaws of the AAC.
  • Can be asked to assist other board members on specific tasks or to serve on committees, as needed.
  • Attend and support AAC annual conference
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  Treasurer

   

  The following are the responsibilities of the Treasurer:

   

  • Follow Robert’s Rules of Order during each meeting.
  • Understand the AAC bylaws
  • Keep accurate records of the AAC finances
  • Maintain membership rolls.
  • Coordinate adding President to credit union account. Be sure to bring the minutes that show the vote of the board.
  • Maintain and file the tax records for the AAC.
  • Provide full financial reports at each Board meeting and whenever requested.
  • In coordination with the President and Secretary insure that the AAC mailbox at the US Post Office is checked once a week.
  • Attend Board meetings and introduce and vote on motions.
  • Can be asked to assist other board members on specific tasks or to serve on committees, as needed.
  • Attend and support AAC annual conference.

   

  At-Large Board Members (2 positions):

   

  The following are the responsibilities of the At-Large Board Members:

   

  • Understand the AAC bylaws
  • Follow Robert’s Rules of Order during each meeting
  • The primary responsibility is voting on resolutions of the AAC
  • Introduce or second motions of the Board
  • Responsible for approving expenditures of the AAC. The President can authorize expenditures of up to $1,000 per year without Board approval if the expenditure(s) is (are) consistent with the mission and Bylaws of the AAC.
  • The Member-at-Large shall hold office for two years, maintain good standing and must attend AAC meetings to ensure a quorum.
  • Can be asked to assist other board members on specific tasks or to serve on committees, as needed.
  • Attend and support the AAC annual conference.
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The Treasurer and At-Large Board Members each serve for a two-year period. The President-Elect  will serve for one year in that position, one year as President, and one year as immediate Past President.

Members in good standing interested in running for any of these positions can apply via email to aacboard@gmail.com. We will solicit requests to run until December 6th – and voting will take place in mid to late December.

If you are interested, please provide a short bio blurb indicating why you are a good candidate for the AAC Board. Please send information to aacboard@gmail.com.