NAGPRA Day at SAA Recap

By Nina Schreiner, NAGPRA Coordinator, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Amanda Roberts Thompson, Operations Director and NAGPRA Coordinator, University of Georgia, and Jenna Domeischel, Archaeologist & NAGPRA Coordinator, Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for NAGPRA Day at SAA! The Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting is the largest archaeology conference in the Western hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world. At past iterations of the conference, NAGPRA content was frequently sparse and scattered across the program, despite the necessity that SAA members understand the law and regulations. The goal of hosting a NAGPRA Day at the 2024 conference was to create a presence that was impossible to miss, and to connect practitioners with archaeologists wanting to learn more.

More than 70 NAGPRA representatives of Tribal, Federal, and state governments, universities and museums presented throughout the day. Each of the five sessions—two paper symposia, two forums, and one poster symposium—were attended by more than 100 people in New Orleans and on Zoom. The practitioner Meet & Greet event brought more than 130 attendees together to discuss pathways forward.

We would love to hear from attendees: What worked and what could be improved for future conferences? Email Amanda Roberts Thompson (arobthom@uga.edu), Nina Schreiner (schreinn@email.sc.edu), or Jenna Domeischel jenna.domeischel@gmail.com) with feedback.

If you have a favorite moment from the day, please share in the comments!