Candidate for President-Elect

Lisa Rankin

I have been a member of the CAA for nearly 30 years. I am currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Archaeology at Memorial University. I am an active academic researcher and have also put in considerable time in the CRM industry. Right now, I am the Principal Investigator of a SSHRC funded research project concerning Inuit migrations into southern Labrador and their entanglements with various European populations they encountered there. I have also published research on other regions, including the Northwest Coast, the Great Lakes, and the Andes. I am standing for President elect during this cycle because I would like to help the CAA address major challenges brought about by funding cuts, austerity budgets and shifting attitudes toward heritage. This needs the help of the CAA’s entire membership. 

I spend a lot of time with students both in class and in the field. I currently supervise three PhD and six MA students and I am aware of their opinions regarding the CAA. The loss of the student conference travel grant has made it more difficult for students to attend the annual meeting. However, the accelerated professionalization of students in recent years requires their ongoing participation if they are to meet the expectations of future employers. The organization needs to find ways to keep our annual conference accessible—by choosing conference venues carefully, and by enhancing participation through online forums.  The CAA also needs to help young scholars to meet enhanced expectations—perhaps by developing paper and poster sessions specifically targeted to undergraduates, and by offering workshops and web-accessible resources on effective presentation and publication skills. A lot more emphasis has been placed on “pushing” information to our constituents recently using tools such as Facebook and YouTube. This is a great start, and should be continued, but more has to be done to ensure that we remain relevant to the student body. By actively encouraging their participation in the organization we ensure that our organization remains well supported into the future. 

The federal funding cuts and ideological shifts in the past year (including the gutting of Parks Canada, and Library and Archives Canada, as well as the proposed changed to the Museum Act) have been devastating to archaeology across the country. Apart from the loss of our student travel budget it still remains to be seen how changes to the tri-council funding guidelines will continue to affect the CAA and archaeological research in ensuing years. Now that most provinces have also announced austerity budgets, we need to be prepared for further cuts. We need to actively advocate for the continuing importance of heritage in this country in both the political and the public realm. The recent creation of the Public Advocacy committee was an important step toward strategic planning, but much work remains. For example, we need to actively work with provincial archaeology organizations to mount both local and national responses to these challenges as they arise. Additionally, partnering with other organizations for the purpose of research and advocacy will widen our voice. The CAUT and CASCA have already written in support of heritage, but many other scientific organizations are facing similar issues and there is much to be gained from cultivating cross-disciplinary dialogue.

The CAA executive has a wide range of responsibilities, but maintaining a strong, dedicated and engaged membership is essential. 

Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer

Joanne Braaten

Although I am a recent member of the Canadian Archaeological Association, I have been involved in the archaeology community for almost 20 years. Upon graduation I worked in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Calgary, as well as volunteering at Fort Calgary and the Glenbow Museum. I became involved at the local level where I held the position of secretary, director, vice-president, finally president and currently past president. At the provincial level I have been actively involved for ten years, as a representative for the ASA Calgary Centre for several years and then President for two terms (2010-2011). I was instrumental in creating the position of Provincial Coordinator in 2010 and recently worked with a committee on the ASA Bylaws as portions had become dated and required amendments. In 2002, Dr. Len Hills and I proposed to re-establish an Occasional Paper Series for the ASA to fill the void left with the cancellation of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Papers. I hold the Associate Editor position and Volume 13 is currently being published. In 2010 I was treasurer for the CAA held in Calgary in conjunction with the Archaeological Society of Alberta (ASA) AGM.

Through the years I have come to understand the necessity for more public involvement in archaeology, whether it be information booths at public events, field trips, workshops, public library talks, or school presentations. These activities create a stronger profile of what archaeology is about, to encourage the understanding of sites and discourage excavation of archaeological sites by individuals or groups without proper authorization. Currently I am part of a committee developing an Activity/Coloring Workbook designed for children and even young adults. It is a 20 page booklet that provides information of our historical cultural past and First Nations. The goal is to raise awareness and promote education of the past to an age group that has limited resources.

I would now like to take this opportunity to become more involved with the CAA and believe that I would be very suited to the duties of the Secretary/Treasurer. I am up to the tasks of the position; recording the minutes of all meetings and the AGM, giving every attention to member requests, as well as the recording and administrating of all financial transactions which include an annual public audit.